HIGH SCHOOL SPORTS REPORT BASEBALL POLLS (APRIL 21)

By Billy G. Baker Moncks Corner - All signs point to number one HSSR rated Hannah-Pamplico , the defending Class A softball champions in South Carolina, eventually engaging with a rematch in the state finals against Lewisville when the gold medal round starts later in May. Last year it took a third game neutral site tie-breaker at McBee High for the winner to be crowned. Hannah-Pamplico earned the school’s first ever state softball championship with an 8-4 win over Lewisville. The Lady Raiders hit four home runs in the third game with three of them being two-run homers and the victory celebration on the field registered like low level seismic activity. Anything can happen in this competitive world of high school sports but H-P and Lewisville have dominant pitching, consistent hitting throughout their line-ups and good coaching staffs. H-P has steam-rolled over their first two playoff opponents Whale Branch (17-0) and Carvers Bay (10-0) and they should little problems winning their district on May, 8. H-P is head coached by alumni Amber Knight . “Our focus right now is being all-business and staying focused on our goals,” said Coach Knight. “I will put up op our top four to six batters against anyone’s in the state. We have never worked harder and everything is all about taking care of business. “I hope we have good weather throughout the playoffs,” said Coach Knight. “Having a bunch of rain slows down your momentum. We know what is in front of us. No softball team in Class A is fortunate to have two quality pitchers like the Lady Raiders who are 18-1 on the year with their only loss to Aynor early in the year. Sophomore Kadence Poston is 9-0 in the circle with a sterling .036 ERA. Poston, who would love to play at Clemson one day, has 126 strike-outs in just 57.2 innings of work with only 14 walks. She and fellow senior pitcher Isabella Davis alternates at first base. Davis is 8-0 with 76 strike-outs in 45 innings of work. At the plate K. Poston is hitting .289 with 14 RBI’s and four home runs. Davis is at .317 with 11 RBI’s. Junior Jaden Lee is a complete shortstop for H-P both in the field and at the plate. She is batting .510 with 33 RBI’s including four doubles six triples and 5 home runs. Lee has speed with 14 stolen bases also. Next on the hit index is soph left fielder Savannah Owens at .364 with 10 RBIs, and 12 stolen bases. Soph third baseman Chloe Cooper is at .340 with 10 RBI’s. Speedy junior center fielder Peyton Poston is batting .315 with six RBI’s and she has 14 stolen bases. Meredith Stone is the sophomore catcher batting .283 with 7 RBI. Senior RF Karah Turner is hitting .271 with 11 RBI’s. The HSSR recently talked to Lewisville head coach Jerry Thomas after his team’s two play-off wins over Thornwell (15-0) and R-S-M (19-5). “Losing to Hannah-Pamplico last year ,in a very competitive three game series, does not haunt us, and we are not seeking revenge on anyone,” said Coach Thomas, who has been the Class A runner up the past two seasons after the Lady Lions won the school’s only state softball championship in daughter when his daughter was the Class A Player of the Year. “You certainly have to have a dedicated team with solid pitching, hitting and defense, but a little luck and getting a break at the right time is a huge part of winning championships also.” The team’s only senior is shortstop Saleen Rollins and she is currently batting .492 with 22 stolen bases and three home runs. “She’s our team captain,” said Coach Thomas. “She’s either broken or is about to break the school’s all-time stolen base record. I know she is well over 70 stolen bases right now.” She’s a hard worker and I promise you she experienced some hurt feelings over being in the runner-up spot the past two seasons,” said Coach Thomas. “She is focused on her main goal of leaving Lewisville with a state championship.” Sarah Owens is the Lion’s sophomore pitcher. To date she has hurled 152 strike-outs in 96.7 innings of work with a 1,68 ERA. At the plate she is hitting .431 with 31 RBI’s and two home runs. “She has worked hard at becoming a good pitcher and her goal is to continue to develop towards her focus on being a pitcher at the next level. She is more balanced and focused in the circle this year and she keeps improving all the time.” Championship teams need a good battery and junior catcher Jordyn Miller is starting for the second year behind the plate. She is batting .400 with 17 RBI’s. All-region junior Sydney Rollins is a gold glove type center fielder and after two games of the playoffs she is batting .395. Other starters of the Lewisville team include first baseman Aubrey Smith (.340/15 RBI’s), freshman RF Laney Lambert (.320/10 RBI’s), freshman LF Kylee Waggoner (.255/6 RBI’s) and Kylie Flecther holds down third base (/264/11 RBI’s). The D-H is 8 th grader Kinley Lambert (.278). Abby Barnes is a gold type second baseman who tracks down bunts very well. “Right now, we are sitting back waiting on who wins between Dixie and Wagener-Salley on Monday,” said Coach Thomas. “If we win on Wednesday (May, 8) it looks like we will be playing either Whitmire or McBee next, depending on what they do.” Class A is divided into 8 four team districts for the play-offs. At press time McBee was in the winner’s bracket in District 1. Whitmire was in the winner’s bracket in District II followed by Lewisville in District III. Dixie was in the winner’s bracket in District four to complete the upper state bracket. In the Lower State, Lake View was in the winner’s bracket in District 5 while Hannah-Pamplico had the upper hand in District 6. Johnsonville was in the winner’s bracket in District 7 and Latta was in the winner’s bracket in District 8. HSSR-SCHSL Class A Softball Ranking - (As Of 5-3-2024) 1. Hannah Pamplico 2. Lewisville 3. Latta 4. Dixie 5. Lake View 6, Whitmire 7. McBee 8. Johnsonville 9. Green Sea Floyds 10. Bamberg Ehrhardt 11. Branchville 12. East Clarendon 13. Lowcountry Leadership 14. Wagener-Salley 15. R-S-M

Moncks Corner – Any team that is able to advance into the second week of the high school baseball state playoffs should be considered to have as much a chance to win it all as any other team. However, while there are teams more favored to win, there also can be a dark horse contender, or two. Or three. The Class AAAA baseball talk this spring has been about a few teams that most consider to be the team or teams to beat. Defending state champion Catawba Ridge is certainly near the top of the list as a veteran, talented team should be. The Copperheads have slipped a time or two, including in district play when they were knocked off by Laurens. Catawba Ridge will have to beat Laurens twice on May 6 to continue their title defense. Laurens, while certainly a solid team all season, would likely be in the dark horse category simply because a lot of fans outside of Laurens know a lot about the Raiders. Laurens has won more than 20 games and won the region two championship so there is certainly championship level talent and coaching. Another Upper State team with a great record but very little fanfare is Easley. The Green Wave have quietly won 24 games with a roster that includes eight seniors. Easley is hitting .360 as a team with a team ERA under two, certainly two major pluses. Senior Kaleb Owens is a candidate for AAAA player of the year as he has contributed both on the mound and at the plate. Owens is hitting .418 with 18 RBI while boasting an 8-1 pitching record and a 1.03 earned run average. Owens, however, has tons of help. Easley will soon have six players in their lineup with at least 20 RBI. Junior Aaron Tolbert leads the club with 34 runs driven in while hitting over .400. Senior Braxton Patton his hitting .409 with 26 RBI and sophomore Ayden Beeco is hitting .340 with 20 RBI. Aiding on the mound is a bevy of arms, led by Brayden Owens, another senior. Want a few more dark horses? Keep an eye on Lucy Beckham in the Lower State and Indian Land in the Upper State. Again, two talented teams that hardly anyone talks about during the season. Two teams normally in the conversation, Airport and AC Flora, have been eliminated in the district play. When looking at the favorites to win the Lower State look no further than defending Lower State champion North Myrtle Beach and James Island. Both teams have been dominant since day one of the season. The Chiefs of North Myrtle are 24-2 after three playoff wins while James Island is 24-2-1 with a preseason tournament tie on their ledger. The wise baseball sage says it takes talent and some luck to win a championship. James Island has talent, that’s for sure. Lady luck also has been on their side in the playoffs. The Trojans trailed Hartsville, 2-1, in the sixth with two outs before sophomore Trip Ostergard delivered a two-run single to push the Trojans to a 3-2 win. Against West Florence, James Island trailed 5-1 early, rallied to take a 6-5 lead but entered the bottom of the seventh down, 7-6. After the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch, James Island bunted. An errant throw to first rolled down the right field line, allowing the tying run to score. Then, as the batter, Grayson Bennett, headed for third, an errant throw got past third and he scored the winning run. “Our guys are just so competitive. They never think they are out of any game, no matter the score or the situation,” James Island coach Matt Spivey said.

Moncks Corner – The wild, wild west that is Class AAAAA baseball continues into the second week of the state playoffs. While many of the teams that were expected to still be playing into the first full week of May are still very much alive, a few have some work to do. That makes for what should be a fun few weeks. Already, one region champion has bitten the dust as region six champ Wando is done. The Warriors, after beating River Bluff, lost to Ashley Ridge and were eliminated by River Bluff on May 4. Speaking of Ashley Ridge, the Swamp Foxes of coach BJ Bellush won only seven games during the regular season and limped into the playoffs. None of that mattered once the postseason began as Ashley Ridge sits one win away winning a district title. Despite losing their ace pitcher Carson Messina to a season-ending injury, the Summerville Green Wave have been the hottest team in AAAAA since spring break. Summerville has won 10 straight games as they host Stratford in the district finals. Thayer Tavormina, Drew Hayes and Jayce Stone have been very good on the mound since losing Messina. The Green Wave also have started getting more offensive production even with MLB prospect PJ Morlando seeing tons of walks. West Ashley and Berkeley are sitting in the district championship game as well, setting up what could be four Charleston area teams in the final four bracket of the Lower State. Berkeley, like Summerville, has found ways to win without their ace, USC signee Cole Greer, who injured an ankle in early April and had surgery. Connor Barham and Gavin Gaskins have been really good down the stretch on the mound while senior leaders Gavin Edens and Mason Salisbury have raised their level of play offensively. Chapin will have to come from the loser’s bracket and beat West Ashley twice to keep their season alive. The Eagles are 21-6 but lost to West Ashley earlier. If any team is capable of going on the road and winning twice, it would be Chapin. The Eagles have an impressive lineup offensively but were shut down by West Ashley in their first meeting. The Upper State brackets have some familiar contending teams still in the mix. Perennial contender Lexington is in the district finals having won 13 of their last 14 games. The Wildcats are likely to be one of the final four teams in the Upper State. If one was to bet, Lexington looks good to come out of the Upper State. Fort Mill has been ranked No. 1 this season but took an early playoff loss to Dutch Fork. The Yellow Jackets will have to beat Dutch Fork twice to have a shot at playing for the Upper State. Blythewood and Dorman are still in the mix to advance to the Upper State bracket.

Tigers No. 2 in HSSR poll behind top-ranked Gray Collegiate

Aynor, Loris, Dillon each a win away from another district title

Region 3 foes Catawba Ridge, York could be upper state matchup; Hartsville, West Florence in lower state

Green Wave No. 1 in HSSR poll; Byrnes No. 2

Isabella Davis from Hannah-Pamplico High School

The Good, Bad, & Challenges Of Being On A HSSR Deadline! Moncks Corner - The second season of Spring Sports, a.k.a. the play-offs, are in high gear across South Carolina; as the HSSR goes to press (Monday, May 6), and we can all expect many highly competitive games across numerous sports that bring communities together in support of thousands of young student athletes. The HSSR extends best wishes to all teams competing. Always remember, that good sportsmanship will be honored and appreciated in all situations, no matter who is calling the balls and strikes! In the process of my goal of “original and self-directed research” over 100 hours are spent coordinating the production of the nation’s only statewide publication, devoted exclusively to prep sports in any one state during, “deadline week.” In helping prepare this one-of-a-kind 72- page publication, with a joint web site companion known as of hssr.com each month, we have a team of experienced and seasoned writers, a senior photographer with a five-star camera, and a network of contacts second to “no one else” in the Palmetto State. We also thank the high school coaches across the state who understand when they get a call at 11 p.m. on deadline nights, from yours truly, often with this opening comment, “I hope I didn’t wake you, but you never returned my phone calls the past three days, or my 8 text messages, and we go to press in seven hours!” (Reactions vary from Coach to Coach) We feel blessed at the HSSR, and honored, to be a one-of-kind combination print/web site media, devoted exclusively to promoting the positive achievements of our hard-working prep athletes in South Carolina. It has been over 38 years of “one day feeding into the next day:. (Pretty soon you have a whole lot of days making your hair grayer by the day!) Here are just some of the musings, happenings and seat-of-the-pants issues confronted by this Publisher on this deadline alone: For the first time ever a certain high-profiled softball coach in our state was asked “once again” to e-mail the stats of her highly regarded team to the HSSR for information to be used on one of the “Softball Class Feature pages in this very issue. We got the stats in a matter of hours, Thank you! This note was written in the body of the e-mail: “My stats are attached. Will these be published somewhere before playoffs are over? If so, I would prefer to not be included - I don't share stats with my players / parents until after the season;) A short while later this e mail arrived that read: “I appreciate it. If we get to the championship series then I'm good with you using it at that point).” Well, I said this was a “first time ever” because for the past 10 years this coach has always provided stats for our publication that we put up on our widely read stats page, in both the publication and on our web site at hssr.com. I have not checked, but if this team’s games are live streamed through Game Changer or Facebook, that is the best scouting report you could ever give to your opponents. By live streaming your games you could be providing “real video” for opposing coaches to record your athletes in competition allowing them to observe your players strengths and weaknesses batting, fielding and all of the above for example! I am likely to ask God at the Gates of Heaven one day, why is the publishing of players stats somehow giving opponents an advantage over their competition? With all the social media available these days (in real time also) the publishing of stats should be the least of our worries. If stats are not important to the resumes of student athletes, or to the scrap books of our hard-working student athletes, and their parents, then go-ahead and take down the score boards on our ball fields and in our gyms, and quit keeping score! (Yes, I honored the wishes of this coach but I will never request her stats again!) The SCHSL has a wonderful partnership with Max Preps and I wish more coaches would use this media to at least publish their rosters so “we” in the media can make sure we have player’s names spelled correctly. During this deadline one Max Preps soccer team site had a team roster on it, but it was missing the names of all three senior co-captains! (I told one of the parents of this team to leave my name out of the conversation after I had to call them to ask them how they spelled their last name because no roster was available at their game I had just covered). I cover all games using player’s jersey numbers and match the numbers with names later. On this deadline I also got a call back at exactly mid-night from Dillon head softball coach Stevie Grice . “You sound wide awake,” was the first thing he said when I answered the phone, still plugging away on deadline. Got in bed four hours later, and was back-up at 8 am sending text messages and e mails out to coaches all over South Carolina. Lastly, I get some of the most unusual phone calls from people during the tense moments of a deadline. Some folks confuse the HSSR with the SCHSL, and they call at the wrong times sharing their concerns. “Sir, I just want to report that the plate umpire in our game yesterday was so confused that he kept going out to the field ref to consult with him to see if he had the count right out on the batter at the plate. Do you have any idea who this umpire was and why did he get assigned to my team’s game?” After pausing for a few seconds, a stab at humor was attempted, “Mam, I have not a clue who the umpire was in your game yesterday. Nor, can I speak to his apparent confusion. However, it just so happens that the Sports Report needs a current copy of the stats from this team you follow. You mind stopping by the school and asking your favorite coach to send his stats in right away?”