The Beaufort Builders built up some momentum for its tournament run as it topped Riverbank Clearing 15-5 on Tuesday to advance a round in the Rookie Division of the Cal Ripken League.
Each team entered the contest with one tournament loss under its built, but the Beaufort Builders were able to survive thanks to some hot hitting.
“We’re excited, we get to play Thursday against the winner of Kids Kollege and Frank’s Pizza,” Beaufort Builders coach Greg Warren said.
The Builders racked up five runs in the first inning and then rallied for five more in the second before striking for five in the fourth to close out the ball game.
The Builders got big nights from several hitters as Trey Cherry went 3-3 with a three-run home run and finished with five RBIs, while Isaac Campbell and Josh Kittrell each went 3-3 and scored three times.
“We started out this season slow with our hitting but we’ve been hitting the ball good lately,” Warren said. “We’ve been doing a lot of batting practice.”
Riverbank Clearing entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed and gave the fifth-seeded Builders a good run. Riverbank began the game rallying for three runs, then added one in the third and another in the fourth.
Bryce Evans and Shane Biggs came up big for Riverbank as they each finished the contest with two RBIs.
The loss ended the season for Riverbank, but coach Mark Clinkscales said he was pleased with his team’s performance and how they progressed throughout the year.
“The guys have grown immensely,” Clinkscales said. “They have gotten better since Day 1 and I just hope that they had some good fun and enjoyed playing this year.
“We improved a lot in our fielding. They can all hit and put the ball in play but the thing is can you play a little defense, and towards the end of the year we started understanding where to throw the ball and things like that and that’s the biggest thing.”

River Bank Clearing    301    1    —    5    13
Beaufort Builders    550    5    —    15    17
Hitting: RBC — J.C. Woolard 2-2 (1R), Tres Cherry 2-2 (1R), Caden Cullipher 1-2 (R, RBI), Bryce Evans 1-2 (RBI), Shane Biggs 1-2 (2 RBI), Sam Warren 1-2, Carson Clinkscales 1-2 (1R), Drew Van Staauldien 2-2, Gavin Moore 1-2, Cooper Evans 1-2 (RBI), Charlie Dickson 1-2 (1R); BB — Henry Woolard 2-3 (2 R), Evon O’Neal 2-3 (2 R, RBI), Isaac Campbell 3-3 (RBI, 3 R), Trey Cherry 3-3 (3 R, 5 RBI), Josh Kittrell 3-3 (3 R), Kevin Moore 2-2 (R, RBI), Tucker Jackson 1-2 (2 RBI), Wyatt Campbell 1-2, Devin Warren 2-2 (1R).