Bishop England topped Loris, 6-2, in the opening round of the Class AAA baseball state playoffs Tuesday on Daniel Island.

The Bishops (17-8) advance to host Brookland-Cayce in the semifinal round of the District VII bracket on Thursday.

Bishops junior lefty Gregory Sanders struck out seven and scattered six hits and two walks through the first 4 1-3 innings against Loris. Matthew McManus didn’t allow a hit through the next 1 2-3 innings.

Loris loaded the bases two outs into the seventh with Timmy Bell representing the tying run at the plate. Geoffrey Gilbert retired Bell swinging for his third strikeout of the inning.

Bishop England struck early with two runs in the first inning and opened a 6-0 lead by the fourth.

Leo Albano lined an RBI single to left field and stole second in the first. Chris Dengler brought him home in the next at-bat with his own liner to left. 

Corey Cochran scored on a fielder’s choice in the third and Leo Albano followed off a wild pitch two pitches later. Sanders then lined the next pitch into center field to score Albano and open a 5-0 Bishops advantage.

Will Bastian plated the Bishops’ sixth run on a sacrifice fly in the fourth. Bishop England gave two back in the bottom frame both off walks with the bases loaded.

Albano finished 2 for 2 with two runs, two walks and an RBI. Dengler hit 1 for 2 with two RBIs and a walk, and Sanders went 2 for 3 with the RBI double.

Tuesday was the Bishops’ fourth straight win over Loris and sixth in the past seven games, all in the postseason the past five years.

Loris falls into the loser’s bracket where it’ll travel to May River, who lost to Brookland-Cayce in its postseason opener.