The Florence RedWolves are running low on leadoff hitters.

First, it was Corey Tilton who discovered he needed arthroscopic knee surgery. Then it was Shane Brown who suffered a torn labrum in his left (throwing) shoulder.

Both injuries ended the players’ summer season in the past week.

Tilton had hit leadoff for much of the season before being moved down in the order in favor of Brown, who plays college ball at Charlotte.

And Brown had taken a liking to that spot. In 15 games, he hit .400 with a .550 on-base percentage and was 10-of-10 in stolen bases.

“And you’re also talking about a guy who had walked 15 times and struck out three. He just fit perfectly there,” RedWolves coach Russell Carter said. “And if he didn’t get on base, it seems like he had a six-, seven- or eight-pitch at-bat.”

Carter said he’s working on getting a couple of outfielders to replace those two but doesn’t have too many options to fall back on for a leadoff hitter.

Saturday in a doubleheader at Wilmington – a pair of 4-0 wins by the RedWolves – second baseman Herman Petzold hit leadoff and shortstop Stephen Carmon batted second.

“Right now, we’re treading water,” Carter said. “We put Herman in the leadoff spot and put Carmon in the two spot and let him bunt and go from there. Herman gets on base a lot, too, even though he doesn’t have speed like Brown has.”

Win, get rewarded

While winning the first half with a league-best 19-8 record might not seem like too much of a deal, it did one thing for the RedWolves.

Florence is guaranteed to host the first playoff game of the first round on Aug. 4.

The opponent will be determined by Florence’s overall seed at the end of the regular season, which will be based on winning percentage.

What seed that might be is anybody’s guess. In theory, the RedWolves could end up first with a solid second half and host two of three first-round games. But if they falter, they could end up as low as eighth. Even in that case, Florence would still host the Aug. 4 game, but would travel to play the higher seed in the second and, if needed, third game of the series.

Doyle earns All-America honors

Wofford’s Mac Doyle, who plays left field for the RedWolves, was named recently to the ABCA/Rawlings All-America second team.

Doyle, who also earned All-Atlantic Region first-team honors as the Terriers’ designated hitter, is just the second Wofford baseball player to be named an All-American, joining Brandon Waring, a first-teamer in 2007.

Doyle, a sophomore from Conway, was second on Wofford’s team with a .377 batting average and was the team leader with 16 home runs. His 75 RBI led the team and set a school single-season record.

CPL alums dot USC roster

Fourteen Coastal Plain League alumni were members of the South Carolina team that won the NCAA national championship over UCLA on Tuesday.

Included on that list is Florence’s John Taylor, who played for the RedWolves in 2009. Other current and former RedWolves on the Gamecocks’ roster include Colby Holmes (2010), Logan Munson (2008) and Steven Neff (2009).

Others include Parker Bangs (Fayetteville, 2007-08), Brison Celek (Columbia, 2010), Blake Cooper (Columbia, 2007), Kyle Enders (Gastonia, 2006; Spartanburg, 2007), Jordan Propst (Thomasville, 2009), Patrick Sullivan (Columbia, 2009; Edenton, 2010), Tyler Webb (Columbia, 2010), Jake Williams (Outer Banks, 2010), Scott Wingo (Gastonia, 2008, Columbia, 2009) and coach Sammy Esposito (Durham, 2000).