Berkeley Advances To Lower State Div. II AAAAA Baseball Series Against West Florence After Beating North Myrtle Beach 6-2

Billy Baker • May 18, 2025

Berkeley head coach Landy Cox.



By Billy G. Baker

Publisher

Moncks Corner—The goal of every coach is to have their respective teams playing their absolute best, once the second season of the play-offs begin, and one would have to agree that the Berkeley Stags (18-10) baseball team is that example, winning their 8th game in a row with a 6-2 win over North Myrtle Beach (20-8) on May, 16 to win a district championship.


The Stags, under the direction of coaching veteran Landy Cox,  will now advance to a best two-out-of-three Div. II AAAAA Lower state series with West Florence on Tuesday (May,20th). West Florence advanced with a 5-0 win over Lucy Beckham.


In the upstate Div. II AAAAA the two teams advancing to play each other in the best of three series starting on May, 20th is number one seed Indian Land against Catawba Ridge. Indian Land advanced with an 8-0 win over Eastside while Catawba Ridge defeated TL Hanna 6-2 to advance.


After the Stags big win over NMB, head coach Landy Cox told the HSSR, “We got blown-out by Stratford 9-0 at home (April,21st) and I sat down with my staff and we talked about how we needed to get back to the basics that had helped our program win a lot of games in the past,” said Coach Cox. “We had a meeting with the team and we talked about how we needed to get back to old fashion, hard- nosed, Find A Way To Win Berkeley baseball and everyone bought into that pep talk. 


“We beat Stratford in the third game of our series back at home by one run in 8 innings and that win would help us get a first round bye in the play-offs,” said Coach Cox. “We have won seven straight games over the past few weeks. I am proud of the way this team has bounced back from a slow start to the start of the season.


“Tonight, Hunter Morris came in and gave us four-plus innings of great relief effort, and he got the win,” said Coach Cox. “I am also very proud of Brady Proctor who got two hits and three RBI’s for us tonight. He has had to live in the shadows of his brother who went on to Clemson so it is great to see him do well.


“Hudson Clark’s home run was big for us also,” said Coach Cox. “He is the very face of Berkeley baseball and comes to practice and to games and gives 100 per cent all the time. He doesn’t talk much but he leads with his great work ethic and hustle.”  (Clark is a junior second baseman).   


“Winning tonight was great because had we lost we would be getting on the bus at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning headed to North Myrtle Beach to face a really good left-handed pitcher with a 2 p.m. start,” said Coach Cox. “We get to rest a little and get ready to play the winner between West Florence and Lucy Beckham on Tuesday.


“We will be throwing Gavin Gaskins and he has won 16 games over the past two seasons for us, and I like our chances with his on the mound,” said Coach Cox. Gaskins is 8-2 with a 1.29 ERA.


North Myrtle Beach head coach Brian Alderson was a college teammate of Coach Cox at Gardner-Webb in college. He told the HSSR after the game, “I am very proud of the fact that we have won three straight region titles but our goal will always be to win the District and advance deeper in the play-offs,” said Coach Alderson. “They out-played us and we did not swing the bats well. We had opportunities early with runners in scoring position but we could not come up with a timely hit.


“As far as the play-offs go this is the way it has been for us the last few games,” said Coach Alderson. “It was a bad time for our bats to go ice cold. We struggled in every game we played in the play-offs. We have pretty much won with pitching and defense.


“We had a heck of a regular season and I am proud of the effort of all of our players but we picked a bad time for the bats to go cold,” said Coach Alderson. “I have been a friend of Landy (Cox) since our college days and I wish him and his team the very best going forward.”


Berkeley scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first when Hudson Clark drew a walk, moved to second on a ground-out and then he stole third base with one-out. Henry Rivers laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt that scored Clark for a 1-0 Stag lead.


After leaving the bases loaded In the second inning, the Chiefs sent 9 batters to the plate in the third inning, and while they produced two runs to take an early lead in the game, it could have been much better. Asa Board starting off with a single and a sacrifice bunt by junior North Carolina pitching commitment Sawyer Smith advanced him to second. Then Virginia Tech signee CJ Oxendine, an outstanding catcher,  was intentionally walked to put two on with one-out.


Designated hitter and Coastal Carolina football signee, Brown Reaves, then walked to load the bases. Gabe Priest then hit a sharp single to left field scoring Board to tie the game 1-1. Peyton Gallup then reached on a fielder’s choice while Oxendine was tagged out at home plate. Kaden Lank then drew a bases load walk that scored Reaves and the Chiefs a 2-1 lead.


At this point the Stags starting pitcher, Keller Wofford, was relieved on the mound by Morris. He got the next batter Gabe Kuznik to flyout to center for the third out.


Berkeley responded with three runs in the bottom of the 4thg to go up for good 5-2. After the Stags first two batters struck-out, the next two batters walked (Devon Hogue & Easton Little). Then Bryson Heath singled to score Hogue to tie the score at 2. Then Proctor became the man of the hour for the Stags with a line drive double to left-field that scores Little and Heath to make it a 4-2 Stag lead.


In the bottom of the 5th Clark crushed a solo home run, right over the right center field power alley, to give Berkeley a 5-2 advantage. In the bottom of the 6th Berkeley added an insurance run after right fielder Hogue singled, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Little. Then Procter collected his third RBI of the game with a single that scored Hogue making the final score 6-2.


The stat leaders for Berkeley in the game were Procter with two hits and three RBI’s while Clark scored two runs and had a home run and one RBI. Center fielder Ryan Richardson had a hit and one RBI. Hogue had a hit. Heath had one hit and one RBI.


Wofford was the starting pitcher for Berkeley working 2.2 innings, allowing two hits, with three K’s. Morris, picked up the win, working 4.1 innings, allowing three hits with three K’s.


NMB was led at the plate by five different players who each had one hit. They were Board, Reaves, Priest, Lank, and Kuznik.


Smith pitched all six innings for the Chiefs. He allowed five hits, six earned runs and he had five K’s.

 

Andrews beats East Clarendon to reach Lower State finals

By Billy Baker • May 21, 2026
Andrews—East Clarendon out-hit Andrews 6-5 on May, 20, on the road in the AA Lower State softball semi-finals, but the Yellow Jackets took advantage of two errors and six walks to come out on top 5-1, as they advance to play Chesterfield on Friday in the Lower state finals. Joy Weisner is the Andrews head coach, and she told the HSSR after the game: “What we have tried to do all season is take advantage of any opportunities a team gives us,” said Coach Weisner. “We hit the ball better today and that is very important.” Andrews last won a state title in 20218. Andrew had five players earning all-region honors. They were center fielder Sarah Jennings, pitcher Addyson Davis, who will also play in the North-South game. Other all-region selections were junior catcher Chloe Skipper who was the Region MVP, senior Addison McCants, Region MVP outfielder Skipper, and talented sophomore shortstop Tori Smith. Andrews lost to Chesterfield 7-3 this past Monday (May 18). “We have to hit the ball better when we go to them this Friday,” said Coach Weisner. “We didn’t hit the ball well at all this past Monday when we played Chesterfield. We hit the ball well today, so we just have to keep that momentum going into Friday. “We have to go to Chesterfield and beat them twice,” said Coach Wesiner. “We have to play some of our best softball this season in order to that, so I hope we are focused. We need to start the game with momentum and end the game with momentum when we play at Chesterfield. East Clarendon (25-8) head coach Jason Newsome closed out his third season in the loss. “I thought our pitcher hung tough (Addyson Davis) today and she is just a freshman and she has been learning by fire all year long,” said Coach Newsome. “She is extremely talented and she is a good pitcher now, but she is going to an even better pitcher in the future.” Coach Newsome. “In the playoffs the margin of error is very thin and the mistakes we made, they took advantage of,” said Coach Newsome. “On the other hand, the mistakes they made, and the opportunities they gave us we didn’t take advantage of them and that was a key in the game. They did a good job of keeping us off-balance.” All region players from EC included: Region POY Peyton Hanniford, Bailey Hicks, Riley Atkinson, Layke Jeffords, and Zoey Culick. The score was tied 0-0 until the bottom of the third when Andrews scored four runs. Karaline Gainey singled to start the inning and was advanced on a sac bunt by Lauren Stump to second. Sarah Jennings next singled to left field advancing Gainey to third. Torian Smith drew a walk. Then Jenna Cook hit a ball deep into the corner down the first base line that resulted in an inside the park grand slam. Andrew added an insurance run in the bottom of the 4thwhen B. Walker singled and advanced on a single by Gainey. Stump was then Hit by pitcher to load the bases. Sarah Jennings then hit an RBI ground out that brought in Walker to account for the Yellow Jackets’ five runs.

Hanahan wins lower state in softball

By David Shelton • May 21, 2026
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Wilson Hall Softball Finishes With 21-7 Record

By Dennis Brunson • May 20, 2026
By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Sumter – The Wilson Hall softball team came up short of reaching the SCISA AAAA state championship series, which is a goal for everyone at the start of the season. Only two can get there though, so while not fun to come up short, it is bearable. However, the way things went down for the Barons this season didn’t help at all. Wilson Hall just needed one victory on Day 2 of the state tournament at Patriot Park SportPlex in Sumter to punch its ticket to the title series. Instead, the Barons lost to archrival Laurence Manning Academy twice by the scores of 12-0 and 6-4. LMA advanced to the best-of-3 series instead and swept Pinewood Prep to win a third straight championship. In retrospect though, Barons head coach Teresa Alexander finds it hard not to be proud of the season her team had. “The season’s ending didn’t turn out how we had hped, but I’m really proud of the tough schedule we played and the success we had all year.,” said Alexander, who guided Wilson Hall to a 21-7 record. “I’m excited to see this young bunch return with the experience they now have under their belts. But we will truly miss our seniors, Addie Griffin and Marymae Lampron .” The Barons had four players selected to the All-Region 3-AAAA team in Griffin, freshman pitcher Marsha Kate Skey , sophomore shortstop Mary Paisley Geddings and junior catcher Caroline Moorman . Griffin, who played left field, had a .279 batting average to go with an on-base percentage of .423. She had one double, one triple, one home run, 13 runs batted in and 18 runs scored. Skey was a standout in the circle as Wilson Hall’s primary pitcher. Shd had a `1.69 earned run average to go with 115 strikeouts. At the plate, Skey batted .400 with an OBP of .489. She had three doubles, two triples, 17 RBI and 33 runs. Geddings batted .317 with a .406 OBP to go with seven doubles, one triple, four homers, 26 RBI and 28 runs. Moorman had 14 RBI, 17 runs and four doubles to go with a .354 batting average and an OBP of .429. Other returning starters are freshman second baseman Tatiana Erichsen , freshman outfielder Anna Meldrim , sophomore third baseman Lilly Grace Przybyla , freshman outfielder Emmie Williamson and eighth-grade centerfielder Caroline Andrews . Meldrim hit .412 with three homers, 31 RBI and 24 runs, Przybyla hit .373 with 21 runs and 15 RBI, Williamson batted .263 with an OBP of .500, and Erichsen batted .324 with 19 RBI and 23 runs.

Stallions Reach SCISA Class AAA Baseball Title Series In Morris’ First Year

By Dennis Brunson • May 20, 2026
Williamsburg runners makes diving slide for the plate in the playoffs. (Photo by Mara Feagin)

Warlaw’s Lady Patriots Fall 5 Runs Short Of Winning State Title

By Gerald Doolittle • May 20, 2026
Lady Patriots Katherine Trotter, Bailey Sturkie, Ellie Yonce, Taylor Hilll and Brianna McNeill (not pictured) were selected to the North-South All-Star Team!

Wolves Boys’ Track Team Finishes Fourth At AA State Meet

By Rob Gantt • May 20, 2026
By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR ST. STEPHEN - Timberland High School’s boys track and field team finished fourth in the state Saturday, May 15, at Richland Northeast High School. The Wolves, who finished with 45 points, produced state champions in multiple events. They placed three points out of a tie for second place. Hurdler Malyk Goodman won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.63 seconds and jumper Carter Hawkins soared to victory in the triple jump with a mark of 14.24 meters. Goodman also placed third in the 110-meter hurdles in 14.82 and Hawkins finished second in the long jump with an effort of 6.65 meters.  Timberland’s boys sent three more to the awards podium. Hurdler Day’vian Bennett placed third in the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 57.89 seconds. Jumper Antaun Faison finished sixth in the long jump with a mark of 6.51 meters. The boys’ 4x100-meter relay team posted a time of 43.17 seconds to place seventh. For Timberland’s boys, jumper Robert Roberts finished 11th in the triple jump with an effort of 12.11 meters, while the 4x800-meter relay placed 11th and 4x400-meter relay team 13th. The Timberland girls finished 10th in the state and sent quite a few to the awards podium (top 8). Kennahdi Murrell placed third in the 400-meter hurdles, sixth in the 100-meter hurdles and seventh in the high jump. Kemani Lampkin finished fifth in the 800-meter run and Jermanee Washington placed fifth in the 400-meter hurdles. China Greene recorded a sixth-place finish in the 400 hurdles and teammate Kiana Glenn was two spots back in eighth. Tiana Jefferson finished 12th in the long jump and 13th in the 400-meter dash. Zoe Cooper was 13th in the discus. Timberland’s girls placed eighth in the 4x400-meter relay and 10th in the 4x100 relay.

Thomas Heyward Has Good Season In Golf

By David Shelton • May 20, 2026
The THA golf program is relatively new but interest seems to be gaining each year.

Summerville Softball Wins District 3 Title

By Roger Lee • May 20, 2026
Senior Jayden Bennett has had some key turns at bat for Summerville during the playoffs.

Stratford’s Kowlok Repeats As State Champion In Pole Vault

By Rob Gantt • May 20, 2026
Lukas Kowlok headlined by repeating as the state champion in the pole vault soaring over the bar at 4.85 meters.

Tough Loss to Stags in Playoffs Doesn’t Dilute an Otherwise Great White Knoll Softball Season

By Worthy Evans • May 19, 2026
By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - The pain of falling out of the 5A Division 2 District 4 tournament May 11 was still fresh when longtime White Knoll softball head coach talked about the season the next day.  The Timberwolves (14-13, 7-3) faced Berkeley for the second time in the tournament. The Stags held a 6-3 lead but White Knoll rallied for two runs in the seventh. After Melinda Veler drew a walk, Reginae Porterfield swatted a 1-out double to put runners at second and third. Lillian Priest lined out on the next at-bat, but Berkeley first baseman Emma Drawdy misplayed Adelynn Lewis’ ground ball, enabling Veler and Porterfield to score and cut the Stags’ lead to 6-5. With Lewis on base representing the tying run, Jaida Gray struck out swinging to end the hopes of an upset, and close out an otherwise great Timberwolves season. “It’s hard to shake it off. In the season you go to the next game but at the end of the season you can’t,” said Farr, who watched her team take a 3-0 lead only to be hit with Berkeley’s run in the third and a five-run fourth. “I could see my kids kind of feeling it, you could see it in my kids eyes,” she added. “We’ve got to fight to survive and they rallied around those seniors. They knew their time was coming and for two outs we were down 6-5. And that last pitch, it’s a hard way to go out. We’ve got to regroup and build off of what we did this year.” White Knoll beat Socastee 8-7 May 4 to get into the bracket, then upset Berkeley 3-2 May 6. West Florence , led by phenomenal pitcher Annie Eliason (19-0, 0.00 ERA, 309 strikeouts; who gave up two hits and struck out 20) beat White Knoll 7-0 May 8 to set up the rematch with the Stags. While the season ended on a sour note, there was much to praise about a team that Farr said few people would look to as contenders. After a young Timberwolves team battled through trials and tribulations, injuries and other issues, Farr said she watched her team come together in the second half of region play. “On senior night we really started playing for each other and giving it everything we had,” Farr said. “They worked their tails off to get better every single day and it showed. We have 12 players who fought their hearts out. We got to that fourth game, and our losses were close. We were right there, and it really was just one lucky pitch and that’s how the runs ended up.” White Knoll loses just two seniors in Priest and Gracie Fisher , but those seniors made a huge impact on the team. Priest had three home runs, 11 RBI, 34 hits and a .405 batting average. Fisher batted .311 with a double and 14 RBI. “Those two seniors have left their legacy, and we’ll continue with what they started on this swing upward,” Farr said. “We’re really excited that everyone else is returning.” Among the returners are freshmen Veler and Porterfield, and sophomores Charity West and E.G. Birchmore . Porterfield finished with a .393 batting average and a team-leading four home runs and six triples, six doubles and 20 RBI. Veler had 31 hits and 17 RBI to go with a .360 batting average an a .415 on-base percentage. West hit .323 with 11 hits and 10 runs batted in. “Mindy Veler started out in left field since seventh grade and she’s fantastic,” Farr said. “She’s got speed and runs down everything in the outfield but she’s really a good infielder, can play shortstop without missing a beat. An unbelievably great kid who won’t talk very loud but she’s a leader. “Reginae, that kid is small but she’s strong and compact. She can fly and you can’t get anything past her in centerfield,” Farr said. “Charity has been our DP and catcher. She puts the ball in play and has quality at-bats.” Birchmore caught fire in the circle late in the game and finished the season with a 2.23 earned-run average. She was 3-1 in five appearances. “E.G. is a pitcher and utility player, one of those kids in the past couple of years who was always there,” Farr said. “We didn’t expect her to be our starting pitcher but in the back half of the season she started to pour it on and keep us in games. She’s a battler along with our other pitchers.” The White Knoll baseball team finished 10-14 and 5-5 in Region 4-5A, but had a bounce-back season after going 7-22 and 0-10 the year before. The Timberwolves reached the play-in series of the 5A Division 2 District 3 tournament, but fell two games to zero in the best-of-three series with Lugoff - Elgin . White Knoll fell 4-1 in game one, but rallied for six runs in game two after falling behind 7-0. The Timberwolves had a 4-run rally going on in the bottom of the seventh with two outs and two men on, but a strikeout closed out the game and the season. Senior Dillon Woods led the team with a .465 batting average, five home runs and a .573 on-base percentage. Senior Jean Maldonado batted .364, and junior Tra Johnson batted .329. The team loses six seniors but has plenty of younger hitters, fielders, and pitchers to put together another successful season next year.
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