Lexington Post 7’s AAA baseball team rules the state. 

The team finished its regular season (11-1) overall before running through the state tournament. In the playoffs, Lexington won all six of its games and avoided entering the elimination bracket entirely. 

Winning the title caps an almost near-perfect season for the team. Post 7 started the season (11-0) before losing the regular season finale to West Columbia by one run. 

The team shook that loss off and swept Chesnee in the first round of the postseason. Lexington won game one 11-4 at home before going on the road and exploding for 21 runs in a win. 

From there, the team began its run through the double-elimination portion of the tournament. 

Lexington got things started with a 9-0 shutout over Aiken. That was the team’s fifth shutout on the season. 

Chase Rice and Cannon Britt split pitching duties in the win. The pair combined for seven strikeouts, while allowing just four hits and three walks. DJ Jennings made his presence felt on offense, earning three RBIs. 

Lexington followed that performance with a 4-1 victory against Inman. Both teams finished first in their respective leagues, but it was Lexington that had the advantage this time. 

Post 7 got on the board first, with a run in the opening inning. Inman would tie the game at one in the top of the fourth, but Lexington responded with three runs of its own in the bottom half. 

From there, the team coasted to the end and got the win. Kendall Moorer pitched the entire game, going seven innings with five strikeouts, one run, one error and six hits allowed. 

Lexington’s next outing was another close one, with the team also winning 4-1 over Florence. 

This time, Post 7 was able to build a more comfortable lead early, going up 3-0 through three innings. With the win, Lexington advanced to the state semifinal round for a meeting with Sumter. 

Against Sumter, Lexington had its biggest victory of bracket play, winning by 14 runs, 18-4. Jones Bell, Kelsyn Felton and Logan Taylor each had multiple RBIs. Bell led the way with three. 

Lexington scored 11 of its runs in the bottom of the first inning. The team scored the last seven in the second. 

Post 7’s hot start buried Sumter under an avalanche of runs early and forced the team to go deep into its bullpen. Sumter used four different pitchers in the game’s first two innings. 

Since Lexington reached the championship game without a loss in the playoffs, the team could afford to drop one game and still win the whole tournament. 

While the breathing room was nice, Lexington did not need to use it to close out the season. Post 7 claimed the AAA American Legion Ball State Championship in one game thanks to a 7-4 victory against Richland Post 215. 

It was Lexington’s toughest test of the postseason. The team found itself down twice before regaining the upper hand. 

Richland got two runs on the board to start the game, but Lexington responded in the bottom of the first and scored three runs of its own. 

After a scoreless second inning, Richland snatched the lead back to go up 4-3. Lexington couldn’t score in the third, but kept Richland off the board in the fourth before retaking the lead with two runs. 

The team put one final exclamation point on the game and expanded their lead to three with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. 

Richland needed to score three in the top of the seventh to keep the game going, but scored none. Lexington did not have to bat again, as that marked the end of the game and secured the team the title. 

Rice won Most Outstanding Pitcher, and Kelsyn Felton was named the Most Valuable Player.