Baseball: Season Ends for Gators in Lower State Championship

Sunday, May 24, 2026 | River Bluff High School From early in the season, the talking heads and experts in SC high school baseball predicted a James Island vs Dorman state championship series for AAAAA-Division I. The River Bluff Gators nearly threw a wrench into that highly anticipated and expected matchup, taking the Trojans of James Island Charter to a tight game 3 in the Lower State championship on Saturday at James Island. The Gators led 1-0 after the first inning, but could never manage to bring another run across the plate, while James Island Charter plated two runs in the second inning and one more in the third. From that point on, the game featured top notch defense and pitching on both sides and the 3-1 score from the third inning would be the final score four innings later. River Bluff struck first on a balmy Saturday afternoon on the Low Country coast. Dominick Norton drew a one-out walk to get things going for the Gators. Up next, Walker Godwin cranked a double into right field, advancing Norton to third. Then, Sam Turner sent a sacrifice fly ball to right field to bring home Norton. That gave River Bluff a 1-0 lead, their second lead of the series. Their first lead came in game two, when River Bluff took an 11-10 lead in the fifth inning. The Gators hung on to that lead to win the game. James Island scored twice in the bottom of the second inning. A couple of singles resulted in runners on second and third for the Trojans. Then, a one-out fielders-choice ground ball scored a run to even the score at one apiece. Another run would come in on a wild pitch to put James Island Charter up 2-1. River Bluff stranded runners on first and third in the top half of the third inning. James Island scored their third run in the bottom of the third. Both teams went three up-three down in the fourth. In the fifth, River Bluff stranded baserunners on second and third and James Island Charter left a runner on first. River Bluff left runners on first and second in the top of the sixth and James Island Charter came up empty with the bases loaded in their half of the inning. While River Bluff put runners on first and second for their last chance in the top half of the seventh, they were unable to bring them in, giving the win to the Trojans 3-1. Walker Godwin started the game for the Gators, surrendering three runs on five hits over two innings of work. Ray Kastner pitched three and two-thirds innings in relief, Mason Iser took the mound in relief, and Brooks Peloso pitched the final third of the sixth inning. Each of the three relievers surrendered a hit and no runs. Gators at the plate: D. Norton - 1-for-3, 1 run W. Godwin - 2-for-3 S. Turner - 1 RBI A. Rye - 1-for-1 The loss ended the season and the deep playoff run for River Bluff. The Gators won seven of ten games in the postseason. Despite losing twelve seniors from this year's squad, River Bluff will look to build on the momentum built in the playoffs with a good core of returners and talented young players for next season.