Blythewood High School will be the site of the third annual S.C. Diamond Invitational baseball tournament, which throws out the first pitch Thursday (April 4) at noon with an opening contest between Brookland-Cayce and Greenville high schools. Also competing in this year’s tourney are Wesleyan Christian, Wren, Mauldin, South Aiken, Hammond and hosts, Blythewood High School.
“We’ve really been looking forward to hosting the Invitational,” Blythewood head coach Barry Mizzell said. “We are going to have the opportunity to play some really good teams this week.”
Wren is currently ranked at the top of the Class 4A S.C. Baseball Coaches Association poll, while Blythewood is ranked fifth, Mauldin sixth and South Aiken eighth. Greenville is ranked fourth in the Class 3A poll. Six players in this year’s tournament have already committed to play at the University of South Carolina, including Blythewood’s Tyler Romanik, while five others are on their way to Clemson. Blythewood’s Thomas Bessinger has committed to the College of Charleston and Bengal senior Andrew Beckwith to Coastal Carolina.
“This gives us a chance to play some top caliber teams,” Mizzell noted. “Playing this competition is a good way to prepare us for the second half of the season and the playoffs.”
Blythewood is scheduled to play tonight at 7:30 p.m. against Hammond, tomorrow at 8 p.m. against Wren and Wesleyan Christian on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. Tournament passes are $25. Individual game tickets are $7. You can listen to a live broadcast of all the games at www.facebook.com/bhathletics.
Schedule:
April 4
Noon – B.C. vs. Greenville
2:30 p.m. – Wes. Chrst. vs. Wren
5 p.m. – Mauldin vs. S. Aiken
7:30 p.m. – Hammond vs. BHS
April 5
Noon – B.C. vs. Mauldin
2:30 p.m. – Hammond vs. Wes. Chrst.
5:30 p.m. – S. Aiken vs. Greenville
8 p.m. – Wren vs. BHS
April 6
8:30 a.m. – S. Aiken vs. B.C.
11 a.m. – Wren vs. Hammond
1:30 p.m. – BHS vs. Wes. Chrst.
4 p.m. – Greenville vs. Mauldin
6 p.m. – Home run Derby /
Base-running Competition
7:30 p.m. #4 vs. #4
April 7
11 a.m. – #2 vs. #2
1:30 p.m. – Championship Game
4 p.m. – #3 vs. #3
