Bennettsville – The ultimate goal of winning a state championship was not to be for the Marlboro County softball team in 2023, but coach Kevin Inglis saw his squad compete at a very high level this spring.
The Bulldogs were dominant in region play, posting a 10-0 record in region 6-AAA and a region championship. Marlboro County entered the AAA Lower State playoffs with a solid chance of advancing, though the field of teams was difficult.
Marlboro County won their first challenge, the district championship, with a win over Waccamaw and two wins over Beaufort.
The Lower State bracket proved quite challenging. The Bulldogs ended their season with a 3-1 loss to Dillon and a 7-6 loss to Loris in 10 innings of the elimination game. The final record of 19-4 was quite respectable.
Senior Mackenzie Kubas was named the region 6-AAA player of the year for the second straight year. Kubas was magnificent in the circle, winning 17 games with a 0.67 earned run average. She struck out 167 hitters in 104 innings while walking only 49.
At the plate, Kubas batted .280 with four homeruns and 16 RBI.
The team’s leading hitter this season was senior Isabel Allen, who batted .462 with eight doubles and 22 RBI.
Freshman Amir Bridges batting .421 with 13 RBI and sophomore Abby Quick batted .381 with seven doubles and 16 RBI.
Eighth-grader Addison Skipper posted a .351 average with 30 runs scored and 18 RBI while senior Destani Barfield batted .338 with 14 RBI after missing last season with a knee injury.
The baseball team had a solid run this season, finishing with a 15-9 record. The Bulldogs reached the district finals but came up short in two losses to Hanahan. The Bulldogs beat Hanahan earlier in the district.
Members of the school’s track and field team competed in the region six meet at Camden in early May.
Recording top six finishes in their events on the girls team were Haylee Duncan (sixth in 1600 meter), Bernaisha Stokes (sixth in triple jump), and Jaila Bostic, who won the region title in the shot put.
Elijah Chalmers had a good day for the boys team, finishing second in the 200 meter dash and second in the long jump. He also finished third in the 100 meter run.
Jalen Johnson was sixth in the 100 and Jona Green was fifth in the 1600. Kha’Mari Eaddy was third in the discus and Marte Simmons was fourth in the discus and fifth in the shot put.
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