Early Tuesday afternoon, James Walkup was at Clemson University, attending summer session classes.

As the sun set, he was on the mound at the Dreher High School field, trying to keep Richland Post 6's American Legion playoff hopes alive.

Walkup, struggling with his release point, walked two of the first three batters he faced to load the bases and went to a full- count on the fourth. However, he began his escape with a called third strike. Two strikeouts later, Richland was on its way to a 7- 5 victory against Newberry.

"When I started working from the stretch and quit using the windup, I felt my body was moving slower and I found my release point," said Walkup, who struck out six in three innings to earn the save in his latest weekly appearance.

Walkup took over for starter Josh Landry, who earned the win with five shutout innings before tiring and giving up three runs in the sixth.

A call to the bullpen two hours away isn't that farfetched for Richland.

"From a pitching standpoint, we've pieced it together all season, and pitching wasn't our strongest point to start with," Richland Post 6 coach Ray Derrick said. "We've really lost four pitchers (through the course of the season), and when you play nine innings three times a week, losing any arms is tough."

The road to the playoffs grew even tougher on Monday.

The Pathfinders were leading Orangeburg 3- 2 with one out in the top of the fifth when a thunderstorm wiped out the game. Instead of succeeding in a must- win game against one of the three teams in front of it in the race for the league's three playoff berths, Richland burned through a starting pitcher, Russell Gahagen, and gained only an unwanted need for a fourth starter.

"We've had to struggle to find pitchers, but we are hitting the ball and fielding well," said Raymond Prince, whose first homer, a two- run shot, capped Richland's decisive six- run third on Tuesday. "If we can get into the playoffs and everything comes together, we'll be tough to beat."

Thanks to the rainout, the Pathfinders are finishing the regular season with 3½ games in four days - the final two against Orangeburg and Columbia Northeast, which are a combined 4- 0 against Richland entering the final stretch and also are battling for a playoff berth.

"It's a strain on the staff," Derrick said. "The kids are giving me everything they have. I just don't know if I have enough."