Andrew Jackson Academy Warriors
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt — Andy Palmer has become the new athletic director and head football coach for Andrew Jackson Academy and the 34-year coaching veteran says he is very appreciative for the school and community embracing him and his family with open arms. Coach Palmer previously served as the head football coach at Holly Hill Academy where his teams were very successful. Prior to that he was with Orangeburg Prep and Edisto High schools. “I am just now getting my feet on the ground at Andrew Jackson Academy,” said Coach Palmer. “My family lives only live 9 miles from Andrew Jackson Academy, in Bamberg, so we live in the same community as the school. “I am still evaluating the 25 or so players we have had at weight room work-outs since early June,” said Coach Palmer. “I was still working at Holly Hill Academy until the end of May. With our baseball team at Andrew Jackson competing for a state title it hurt our opportunity to have a full-scale Spring work-out schedule. “I also feel good about being the athletic director, and being in the same building every day with the student athletes,” he said. “This will give us a chance to communicate often and build relationships with our athletes. “We have good coaches in place in all of our sports, and the majority of our teams made the play-offs this past season, with the boys’ basketball team ( Josh Barnes ) competing for a state championship also,” said Coach Palmer. “As athletic director I want all visiting teams to our school to feel a very competitive and championship type atmosphere when they compete against us. “I want all our student athletes to know that I have their back and I will do everything I can to ensure they have good facilities to compete on,” said Coach Palmer. Some of the players returning to Andrew Jackson Academy football include Hall Sease , who played quarterback last year, but he could also see time at wide receiver also. Ollie Barnes has worked hard in the weight room over the summer and will likely play running back. Tanner Chassereau is a varsity candidate in the offensive and defensive line along with returning player Cooper Hiers who was an outside linebacker a year ago. Brad Hightower returns and he is a running back/linebacker candidate. Grayson Hay with see time at tight-end and outside linebacker while Connor Mount will likely start at center and flip some to the defensive line. Everett Ulmer is a retuning skilled athlete. Eli Mathys has been to most of the weight room work-outs in June and he is a tight end candidate. Landon Johnson is a quarterback returnee and Walker Terry started in the offensive line last year. Junior Elizuh Davis is back and he started at tight-end/defensive end last year. “We are getting alate start and I am still evaluating and getting to know the players we will have on the team this season,” said Coach Palmer. “While we are a little behind, we will get things pointed in the right direction. We always do.” Coach Palmer is currently assisted by Cade Wiles , who was a player on one of his Orangeburg Prep teams a few years ago. He has also asked Gene Sease, a former championship head coach at Andrew Jackson Academy to be an assistant for this season. The Warriors first three games this season will be at home against Faith Chrisitan on August, 15 and then at Dorchester Academy the following week. On August, 29 the team will host Orangeburg Prep .
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —Despite being out-hit 6 to 2, the visiting Lee Academy Cavaliers took advantage of several errors to defeat Andrew Jackson Academy 6-5 in game one of the SCISA AA state finals on May, 13 th . The two teams will meet again at 7:30 p.m. today at Lee Academy (Bishopville) and if the Cavs win it will be their first state baseball title since 2019 when they were head coached by David Rankin who is now at Carolina Academy . Lee Academy is now head coached by Danny Price , who was an HSSR All-State selection in 1991 when he graduated from Lee Academy and he also played in the HSSR- SCISA Challenge all-star game after graduation. Lee Academy is expected to throw left-handed pitcher Braydon Davis today. He is 6-0 with 57 K’s in 40-1 innings of work. AJA is expected to throw Channing Terry who is 2-0 with 45 K’s in 42.2 innings of work. After the game on Tuesday, Coach Price told the HSSR, “Other than the 6 th inning I felt like we played fairly well on both sides of the ball,” said Coach Price. “All season long we have pitched Fyre earlier in the week and then our lefty (Braydon Davis) pitches the next game and that is what we plan to do at home on Wednesday. “I was an assistant with David Rankin when we last won a state title back in 2019 when my sone was on the team,” said Coach Price. “We hope to play well at home tomorrow and win a state championship.” AJA head coach Jason Mathys told the HSSR after the game, “Other than that one bad inning I felt like Landon (Johnson) pitched well enough for us to have won the game,” he said. “The errors hurt for sure. We have scored a lot of runs on our aggressive base running this season and our speed on the base paths have been one of our strengths on the season. However, it caught up with us in the 6 th inning. Those two outs in the bottom of the 6 th hurt our chances for sure. “We will pitch Channing Terry at Lee on Wednesday and we hope he pounds the strike zone,” said Coach Mathy’s. “We must also cut out these errors also.” Against AJA, Lee Academy scored one run in the first inning after Noah Brazell reached on an error, stole second and moved to third base on a ground-out by Brayden Davis . Brazell scored on a single by Andrew Bowers . In the top of the 4 th inning the Cavaliers plated four runs to go ahead 5-0 as they sent 10 batters to the plate against starting pitcher Landon Johnson . After Landon Olson and Tyler Gilbert began the inning with back-to-back walks. A two-base throwing error scored Olson and Gilbert on a mis-handled bunt put down by Tucker Rodgers to make it 3-0. The next two batters struck-out. Then Carson Davis singled in Rogers to make it 4-0. After two back-to back walks to Brazell and Braydon Davis a single by Bowers made it 5-0. In the bottom of the 4 th , AJA pushed across a run. Johnson reached on a hit-by-pitch and scored two batters later on an RBI single by Eli Mathys to make it 5-1. In the top of the 5 th Lee Academy added a very important insurance run that ended up being the difference in the game. Rodgers reached on a hit-by-pitch, stole second, and scored on a throwing error to make it 6-1. In the bottom of the 5 th AJA plated two runs to trail 6-3. Kaiden Kinard struck-out, but the catcher dropped the ball and he was able to reach first safely ahead of the throw. Kinard then stole second and scored on Jack Walling’s single. Walling stole second and third and scored on a fielder’s choice RBI by Channing Terry to cut the deficit to 6-3. In the bottom of the 6 th inning, it was a picture of good and bad for the Warriors. Brad Hightower and Mathys led off with back-to-back singles, and then Hall Sease drew a walk to load the bases with no-outs. Hayden McClung singled in Hightower to make it 6-4 and then Kinard then drew a bases loaded Rbi walk to bring in Mathy’s and a heads up play by Sease made it 6-5 when he ran in right behind Mathy’s on a throwing error. Then two AJA runners got hung-up between second and third and first and second (on the same play) and both were tagged out by an alert Cavalier defense resulting in two- outs when the situation could have been a score of 6-5 with runners on second and third with no-out. The next AJA batter grounded into the third out and the 6-5 score help up for a Lee Academy victory.
Game 1 of the SCISA Class A Baseball Championship series, Andrew Jackson Academy at home facing Lee Academy . Enjoy this sample of images, click the link here for the full gallery.
The SCISA Baseball playoffs are in the final semi finals and here are the updated brackets.
Head coach Jason Mathys with senior captains Jack Walling an Hayden McClung
Andrew Jackson Academy Clinches Region Baseball Title With Win Over Beaufort Academy By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —With their 10-0 win over Beaufort Academy at home on April, 10 the Andrew Jackson Academy Warriors baseball team earned a region championship while improving their record to 11-5, 4-0 on the season. Head coach Jason Mathys has seen vast improvement in the AJA baseball team that had not won a region game in the past two seasons, coming into the 2025 season. AJA did win a SCISA Class A baseball state title in 2022, with a win over Richard Winn in the finals when Mathys was an assistant coach. The play of a pair of 8 th graders, Channing Terry and Kaiden Kinard has helped the team have a successful 2025 season, along with the consistent play of senior leader Jack Walling. Channing Terry has worked 30 innings on the mound and he has 33 K’s with an ERA of 2.10 At the plate he has batted .321 with four RBI’s. Kinard, a first baseman, bats in the two-hole and he is currently hitting .467 with 19 RBI’s including five doubles and two triples. Walling, a shortstop batting third, has been a very consistent hitter over the past three seasons and he leads the Warriors in hitting at .468 including 23 RBI’s, 9 doubles and a home run. “Walling can get hits when no one else can,” said Coach Mathys. “He is a very dedicated baseball player.” Walling has also seen 24 innings of mound duty with 27 K’s to his credit. Another key player has been senior lead-off batter Hayden McClung who started out the season as a catcher, but has recently moved to center field. McClung is batting.442 with 13 RBI’s. “Hayden is not afraid to play anywhere we need him,” said Coach Mathys. “He can play about anywhere on a baseball field. “He even came in the last inning to pitch against Beaufort Academy earlier in the season with our team up by one run when we had made three straight errors to help them load the bases. He had not pitched in three years and he got the batter to pop up for the third out, and get us out of a jam.” Junior Walker Terry is the DH who is hitting .292 with 13 RBI’s in the clean-up slot. Terry has also contributed on the mound with 15 K’s in 17 innings of work. Hall Sease is a solid glove at second base. Sophomore outfielder Eli Mathys bats in the 6 th hole, and he has 8 RBI’s along with one double. Hunter Tucker is a freshman who starts at catcher when Channing Terry pitches. Freshman Jaxson Brandt is having a very good season as an infielder and he is currently batting 333. Landon Johnson bats in the 5 th spot and in 11 innings on the mound he has 24 K’s. Other key reserves include senior pitcher/outfielder Hunter Zorn, senior spot starter Tim Willimas who has seen action in both left and right field, along with base running specialist Grayson Hays. Junior third baseman Conner Mount Brad Hightower round out the 16- member team. “One of my concerns is that we only have two non-region games left against Patrick Henry and Dorchester Academy in the regular season, and then we also have a very late Spring break that starts on April, 21,” said Coach Mathys. “I am concerned about how much quality practice time we can get in with our school on Spring break and many of our players, and their families, already having made Spring break plans before the season started. “We will have some voluntary practices but getting ready for the play-offs is a concern of mine,” said Coach Mathys. Coach Mathis is assisted by Kevin Kinard and Kip Terry .
AJA Lady Warriors Softball Team Hoping To Earn Spot In SCISA Play-offs By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt— As of April, 10 the Andrew Jackson Academy softball team (2-7, 1-2) was focused on a strong finish to the 2025 season, and a possible berth in the upcoming SCISA softball play-offs scheduled for Sumter in mid-May. “Our defense does decent, but our hitting has been very inconsistent this season,” said head Warriors coach Denise Duncan . “We have hit better in some games. We are hoping to work together better as a team and focus on correcting mistakes in the field.” To date, the Warriors have been led at the plate by senior left-fielder Sam Stevens who is hitting .600 with three RBI’s and a very impressive .714 on base percentage. Talented sophomore McKinnley Beard is the team’s ace pitcher and she is not in the circle she plays center field. Beard is currently hitting .583 with 8 RBI’s. Beard has also pitched 28 innings to date with 32 K’s. “McKinley’s pitching has improved throughout the season,” said Coach Duncan. Sophomore center fielder/catcher Carrigan Moore continues to play well and she is batting .423 with six RBI’s and four stolen bases. Next on the hit index is senior second baseman Sydney Crosby and sophomore third baseman Mary Gray Hiers at .400 each. Crosby has six RBI’s and Hiers five to date. Senior right fielder Riley Roe is batting .389 while senior catcher Ryleigh Trivette is currently batting .333 with four RBI’s. Freshman Harlo Sease is batting .286 with six RBI’s starting at either shortstop or first. Sophomore first baseman/shortstop Braelyn Hall has a double and triple to her credit and she is batting .250. Key reserves include freshman back-up pitcher Mariya Hiott , junior out-fielder CJ Ulmer , and junior out-fielder Alexandra Johnson . The team has a .386 team batting average with a .470 on base percentage. “Our last win was over Thomas Heyward Academy (22-4) on March, 12 so we have been struggling some,” said Coach Duncan. “We have been trying to pick up some games late in the season.” The team’s five remaining regular season games are with Holly Hill Academy , Branchville , Jefferson Davis Academy , Dorchester Academy and a region game against the Cross Schools at the end of the regular season on May, 5. Coach Duncan is assisted by Chad Johnson and Carmen Mixon .
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —The Andrew Jackson Academy girls’ softball team is headed up by first-year mentor Denise Duncan this season, and after four games of the 2025 season, the Lady Warriors are 2-2 with a focus on daily improvement. “After four games we have two games where we hit the ball well, and two games where we didn’t hit well,” said Coach Duncan. “We are still moving players around, and many positions are still being contested. “Our number one goal is to win,” said Coach Duncan. “Then we want our players to have good attitudes, with good team spirit, and show support for each other. We also want to have good sportsmanship at all times.” The team finished 4-14 a year ago but with the top three hitters all back this season the team should exceed the success of last year’s team. Their other win came over Orangeburg Christian . Their two losses were against Holly Hill Academy and Jefferson Davis Academy . In a recent 22-4 win over Thomas Heyward these three players paced the hitting attack. Sophomore all-region center fielder Carrigan Moore (played catcher as a freshman) had an inside the park home run and a double against the Rebels. Sophomore returning all-region performer McKinnley Beard had two triples against the Rebel’s and she also pitched well with three K’s. Senior right fielder Riley Roe , the team’s clean-up batter, also had several key hits against Thomas Heyward.” Carrigan, McKinnley and Riley are definitely our top three hitters thus far in the season,” said Coach Duncan. “McKinnley is our main pitcher and she can play in center when she is not in the circle,” Coach Duncan. “Carrigan is very fast in the outfield and she is our lead-off batter,” said Coach Duncan. “Last year she was all-region and she was also chosen to play in the all-star game after the season, but I think the bad weather cancelled the event,” said Coach Duncan. “Riley is a solid contact hitter who hits the ball very well.” Senior Sydney Crosby is a returner who starts at second base. Freshman shortstop Harlo Sease is back from last season and she rotates between shortstop and first base with sophomore Braelyn Hall . Senior catcher Ryleigh Trivette has been moved from first base to catching duties for her senior season. Sophomore Mary Grace Hiers is currently starting at third base. Senior Sam Stephens is a first-year starter in left field. Junior Alexandra Johnson is starting in left field. Sophomore Mariya Hiott can play numerous positions in the infield and outfields and junior reserve CJ Ulmer is mainly a right fielder. “It is hard to say what the strength of the team is right now,” said Coach Duncan. “Hopefully, our hitting that we experienced against Thomas Heyward will continue.” Coach Duncan is assisted by Monica Beard , Carmen Mixson and Bill Johnson .
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —The Andrew Jackson Academy girls’ softball team is headed up by first-year mentor Denise Duncan this season, and after four games of the 2025 season, the Lady Warriors are 2-2 with a focus on daily improvement. “After four games we have two games where we hit the ball well, and two games where we didn’t hit well,” said Coach Duncan. “We are still moving players around, and many positions are still being contested. “Our number one goal is to win,” said Coach Duncan. “Then we want our players to have good attitudes, with good team spirit, and show support for each other. We also want to have good sportsmanship at all times.” The team finished 4-14 a year ago but with the top three hitters all back this season the team should exceed the success of last year’s team. Their other win came over Orangeburg Christian . Their two losses were against Holly Hill Academy and Jefferson Davis Academy . In a recent 22-4 win over Thomas Heyward these three players paced the hitting attack. Sophomore all-region center fielder Carrigan Moore (played catcher as a freshman) had an inside the park home run and a double against the Rebels. Sophomore returning all-region performer McKinnley Beard had two triples against the Rebel’s and she also pitched well with three K’s. Senior right fielder Riley Roe , the team’s clean-up batter, also had several key hits against Thomas Heyward.” Carrigan, McKinnley and Riley are definitely our top three hitters thus far in the season,” said Coach Duncan. “McKinnley is our main pitcher and she can play in center when she is not in the circle,” Coach Duncan. “Carrigan is very fast in the outfield and she is our lead-off batter,” said Coach Duncan. “Last year she was all-region and she was also chosen to play in the all-star game after the season, but I think the bad weather cancelled the event,” said Coach Duncan. “Riley is a solid contact hitter who hits the ball very well.” Senior Sydney Crosby is a returner who starts at second base. Freshman shortstop Harlo Sease is back from last season and she rotates between shortstop and first base with sophomore Braelyn Hall . Senior catcher Ryleigh Trivette has been moved from first base to catching duties for her senior season. Sophomore Mary Grace Hiers is currently starting at third base. Senior Sam Stephens is a first-year starter in left field. Junior Alexandra Johnson is starting in left field. Sophomore Mariya Hiott can play numerous positions in the infield and outfields and junior reserve CJ Ulmer is mainly a right fielder. “It is hard to say what the strength of the team is right now,” said Coach Duncan. “Hopefully, our hitting that we experienced against Thomas Heyward will continue.” Coach Duncan is assisted by Monica Beard , Carmen Mixson and Bill Johnson .
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —It is always great when you see progress made by teams in athletics, and such is the case with the Andrew Jackson Academy baseball team, who finished 0-18 last season, but after six games of the 2025 season the Warriors are 4-2 and favored to win a region title. “When we beat Thomas Heyward 10-9 this season, it was our first region win in three years,” said head coach Jason Mathys, who played college baseball at Iowa State before playing a few seasons in the minor leagues with the New York Yankees. “We didn’t have any seniors last year so our players are all one year older and one year better. “We also have two really talented 8 th graders ( Kaiden Kinard & Channing Terry ) who have blended in well with our older players,” said Coach Mathys. “Kaiden is starting at first base and batting around .380 and Channing pitched a complete game against Thomas Heyward with two strike-outs and only a couple walks, and that win was huge for the program.” The Warriors participated in a pre-season tournament hosted at Orangeburg - Wilkinson . “We went 2-1 in the tournament with wins over Edisto and Calhoun County ,” said Coach Mathys. “Our two losses this season came against Williston - Elko and Holly Hill Academy .” The top all-around player on the team is senior Jack Walling who played legion baseball this past summer in Walterboro. Walling is the starting shortstop and also a right- handed pitcher. He is currently leading the team in hitting with a superb .614 average. “Jack hit our first home run in three years in a recent win over Beaufort Academy,” said Coach Mathys. “Jack is the guy who makes things happen when others can’t. His hitting and pitching have improved every year since I took over the team four years ago. I feel like he can contribute to a college baseball program somewhere.” Senior Hayden McClung had not played baseball in three years but he decided to come out for his senior season, after being a key player on the Warrior football and basketball teams the past two seasons. “Hayden is primarily our starting catcher but we had a rash of sickness on the team and he played in center field and did a great job,” said Coach Mathys. “He almost threw out a runner on first base from center field. He has a strong arm and he is super- fast. He leads the team in stolen bases with around 10 right now.” Walker Terry is starting at third base and he has pitched 12 innings with a 1-1 record to date. Landon Stanfield starts at second base and he has scored seven runs so far this season. Senior Tim Williams starts in center field but he has missed a couple game with sickness. Sophomore Eli Mathys starts in left field and he is batting .270 and he is also a right-handed pitcher. Junior Hall Sease is a returning starter on the team and he is also a right- handed pitcher. Due to sickness on the team, Coach Mathys brought up freshman Jaxson Brandt from the junior varsity to add depth to the team. “Jaxson got two hits in two games and played very well,” said Coach Mathys. “He filled in at shortstop also. We plan to play him up-and-down the rest of the season.” Some key reserves on the team include senior RHP Hunter Zorn along with junior outfielder Grayson Hays. Brad Hightower will see action “up and down” this season. Connor Mount is a junior RHP and 9 th grader Hunter Tucker is a back-up catcher. “We are a three- team region with Thomas Heyward and Beaufort Academy,” said Coach Mathys. “We beat both of them on the road this season, so we feel good about having a shot at winning the region this year. After that a deep run in the play-offs would be great.” The Warriors will play at Colleton Prep on March, 15 before playing at Coastal Home School on the 17 th . AJA will host Thomas Heyward on the 18 th and Horse Creek Academy on the 24 th . They close out the month of March with a home game against Dorchester Academy on the 26 th . Coach Mathys is assisted by Kevin Kinard and Kip Terry .