Bays steps down as Clarendon Hall softball coach after 13 years, 4 state championships
Saints played for state crown on four other occasions
Summerton – After 13 seasons, four state championships and four more state runner-up finishes, Jeffrey Bays has decided to step down as the head coach of the Clarendon Hall softball team.
Bays said he made the decision to do so for two particular reasons. The main one was because his grandchildren are getting older and he wants to afford himself the opportunity to see them play sports. The other reason is his work schedule was making it difficult for him to put in the necessary time with softball.
“I was just tired and worn out,” Bays said with a laugh.
Bays finished his time with the Saints with a 192-76 record. Clarendon Hall’s first state title under his guidance came in 2015. The other three came consecutively, a SCISA Class A title in 2022 and consecutive AA state crowns in ’23 and ’24.
The run of state championships ended in the 2025 campaign when the Saints lost to Pee Dee Academy in the AAA state championship series. Clarendon Hall’s run of consecutive title series appearances ended this year at five when it went 1-2 in the AAA state tournament.
Bays lamented the fact the Saints came up short.
“It was different sitting there watching those other teams play,” he said. “I still feel like we had a team could have gotten there. You never knew when the switch was going to be on or off. We had a lot of games that we had an opportunity to win. We had struggles but a lot of missed opportunities.”
Clarendon Hall finished 10-11 thi season, only the second losing one in his tenure. Bays is proud of the fact the Saints missed the postseason just one time over those 13 seasons.
Clarendon Hall had four All-Region picks this year in Brynli Brewer, AC Martens, Aubree Richardson and Sunshine Brown.
Brewer batted .588 with 17 doubles, two triples, two home runs, 31 runs batted in and 31 runs scored. Martens hit .395 with six doubles, a triple, five homers, 23 RBI and 36 runs. Brown had a .368 average with 31 runs and seven RBI, and Richardson hit .356 with 28 RBI and 17 runs.
Bays said there isn’t one thing he would change about how his time at Clarendon Hall played out.
“There are a lot of memories I’ll cherish forever,” he said. “There are a lot of relationships I built with the girls. I think of all of the great coaches who coached with me and how they pourded into the program.
“We had a great run with some amazing girls. If you would have told me we would win four championships and be the runner-up four other times, I don’t know that I would believe you.”
SAINTS BASEBALL FINISHES 9-12
The Clarendon Hall baseball team didn’t make the state playoffs, but it can’t be argued the tremendous improvement it made from last season.
The Saints finished with a 9-12 record under first-year head coach Jackie McIntosh after going winless last season.
Senior Thomas Shorter and sophomore Joey Hatchell were selected to the All-Region 1-AAA team.
Shorter had a .339 overall average but had a team best .367 in region contests, in which Clarendon Hall went 3-6. He finished the year with a .448 OBP, eight RBI and nine runs.
Hatchell was the top pitcher, posting a 3-1 win-loss record and holding the lead in six other starts when he left the contests. He had a 3.02 ERA and 77 strikeouts in 41 2/3 innings. Opponents batted just .191 against him.
At the plate, Hatchell batted .338 with a .422 OBP. He led in runs scored with 26 and had 22 stolen bases and eight RBI.
A pair of eighth-graders, Jack Wyatt Reynolds and Grayson Holliday, led in OBP with .487 averages. Holliday batted .391 while Reynolds had a .359 average.
Junior Cole Richburg had a strong season on the mound. He went 4-2 with one save, 43 strikeouts and a 3.26 ERA in 30 innings.
