By DAN BISER

VINEGAR HILL - Playing their first game in nearly two weeks, the South Columbus Stallions made the most of a scrappy pitching performance by senior righthander Justin Creech Monday night by rallying for three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 10-9 Waccamaw 1A-2A Conference baseball victory over the visiting East Columbus Gators.

The Stallions got the winning run on a two-out bases-loaded single by Jeremy Harrelson. SCHS had tied the score moments earlier when Creech drew a bases-loaded walk.

East Columbus had scored three runs in the top of the seventh inning to gain a 9-7 lead.

“The best thing you can say about tonight’s game is that we stayed with it,” said SCHS coach Willie Gore. “We hadn’t played since the Easter tournament in Whiteville and we’re not the type team that does very well with a lay-off like that.

“We came in banged up and got a little more banged up tonight but our guys did a good job hanging in there. East Columbus came to play tonight and fortunately we had something left in the end.”

The win put the Stallions’ conference record at 7-1. SCHS played host to Pender Tuesday (see related story).

Creech went the distance on the mound, surpassing the 150-pitch mark while working around some control problems.

“I was kind of all over the place tonight,” said Creech, who yielded 10 hits, eight walks and hit a batter. “It was a struggle. I just tried to keep it together out there.”

Creech, who struck out seven batters, also had two hits, including a triple, and drove in three runs in the see-saw battle. Stallion catcher Dakota Piver had three hits while Harrelson and Donovan Watts each had two hits. Watts had a triple.

East Columbus got three hits by freshman shortstop Alex Sasser, and Jonathan “Earl” Reaves had two hits. Caleb Andrews knocked a triple and Chad Malpass had a double for the Gators, who slipped to 3-6 in the conference.

Malpass was the losing pitcher after relieving starter B.J. Patrick in the fifth.

East Columbus took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Sasser led off with an infield single and scored from third on a fielder’s choice ground out by Reaves.

Coach Karl Bracey’s Gators made the score 3-0 in the third inning behind hits by Reaves and Cameron Spears. Andrews was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Forrest Steed drove in a run with a sacrifice bunt.

South Columbus quickly tied the score in the third as Piver led off with single and scored on Watts’ triple to straightaway center. Harrelson, Garrett Bullock and Landon Simmons followed with hits.

The Stallions took a 5-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth on singles by Blake Spivey, Watts and Creech. East Columbus regained the lead with three runs in the fifth with Malpass hitting his double and Sasser and Brisson hitting run-scoring singles.

South Columbus regained the lead by a 7-6 score in the bottom of the sixth on a single by Piver, Creech’s triple and a passed ball.

But East Columbus answered the challenge one more time when Andrews led off the seventh with his triple and scored when a popped up bunt attempt by Steed fell in for a base-hit. Two outs later Robert Pierce drew a walk and Reeves followed with his hit to centerfield to score Steed. Pierce also scored on a wild throw to third to give the Gators a 9-7 edge.

With two outs and a Stallion runner on base in the bottom of the seventh, Malpass plunked pinch-hitter Buster James with a pitch and Piver followed with his third hit of the game to load the bases. Watts followed with a walk to bring home Charlie Gore before Reaves came to the mound for the Gators. Creech then walked to tie the score and Harrelson singled to bring in the game-winner.

Coach Bracey said the loss was disappointing as his team had come within a strike of pulling out a big win.

“We just weren’t able to finish,” said Bracey, whose team owns a win over conference co-leader Whiteville. “South Columbus did a good job and came away with it. We played well enough to win much of time but it just didn’t happen.

Patrick, Malpass (5) and Reaves; Malpass, Williamson (5), Malpass (7); Creech and Piver.