The fourth-ranked Braves baseball team is only one win away from advancing to its third consecutive Lower State tournament after lopsided victories over Region 7 members Andrews and Aynor last week in the District 7 playoffs.

The Braves improved to 19-5 with the two victories as they extended their 10-run rule winning streak to six games. They have also outscored their opponents, 83-11, in that span.

The Braves hosted Andrews, an 8-3 winner over Aynor, on Wednesday. All the Braves needed was one win to earn a berth in the four-team Lower State tournament Saturday. (Results were not available at press time.) Cheraw's likely opponent will be third-ranked Chesterfield, but the Rams still had to defeat Central Wednesday night to secure their berth.

Barnwell and Bamberg-Ehrhardt are the other two unbeaten teams still left in the District 5 and 6 tournaments.

The Andrews Yellow Jackets, the No. 3 seed from Region 7, came to town last Thursday night, and the homestanding Braves jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after two innings. They cruised to a 10-0 victory in five innings.

Tommy Grice got the home team off and running with a three-run homer in the bottom of the first inning. Keith Munns followed that blast with a solo homer of his own for a quick 4-0 advantage. Grice then hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the second to increase the lead to 6-0, as Jonathan Gainey singled to score in front of both of Grice's homeruns.

The Braves added three more tallies in the bottom of the fourth to increase their lead to 9-0, with Brian Campbell's single being the big hit in that frame. The home team then closed things out with a single run in the bottom of the fifth inning, as Austin Caulder led off the inning with a single. He later scored the 10th run on an error.

Gainey, Grice, Campbell and Caulder all had two hits in the win, while Munns had the other safety with his solo homerun. Andy Quick went the distance for the Braves to improve to 6-1 on the season, as the junior righty only allowed two singles in his five innings of work.

The victory over Andrews earned the Braves a trip to Aynor last Saturday to face the Blue Jackets, the Region 7 regular season champions, a 9-1 winner over Andrew Jackson in the opening round.

The road trip didn't seem to bother the Braves one bit as they came out swinging the bats with authority in the first inning. They put five runs on the scoreboard to jump out to another quick lead.

For more information on this story, please read the April 29, 2004 edition of the Cheraw Chronicle/Chesterfield Advertiser.