By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – Languishing around the .500 mark for the first half of the 2025 season was not something that Berkeley High baseball was accustomed to. Competing, and winning, has been Berkeley’s method for the last decade so to be just average midway through the season was unusual. Right around spring break, coach Landy Cox had a “come to Jesus” meeting with his team. He admitted he had relaxed the atmosphere and expectations of the players a bit but that was going to change. “Around spring break, I decided that we had become complacent. I told the kids that we were going back to what this program has been built on. We were going to change the way we doing things, from practice, to how we talked to each other, to how we prepared the field. Just everything that we needed to take pride in the program.” The message was well-received by his team and things turned around. The Stags won their last 11 games, which included a two-game sweep of Catawba Ridge in the AAAAA Division II state championship series. For the second time since 2022, the Stags were state champions. Berkeley won game one, 2-1, in 10 innings and swept the series with a 9-4 win, on the road to cap a 22-10 season. “This is absolutely unbelievable,” Cox said. “We were loaded in 2022. This is just a bunch of scrappy, hard-nosed kids, a bunch of dogs, a bunch of grinders. These are just a bunch of blue-collar kids. That’s all it is. It’s about the team.” Though junior Hudson Clark , a third-year starter, is the team’s most legitimate college prospect, many of Berkeley’s key players are simply good high school players. Good players who play with confidence can win. “I’ve never seen a group just totally flip in terms of their confidence. It just grows every day,” Cox said. “We’ve had so many different guys step up in the playoffs. We’ve had guys hitting less than .200 hit homeruns. We’ve made great plays defensively, and we have battled on the mound. It’s not our most talented group but they are scrappy.” Clark finished as the team’s leading hitter this season, posting a .361 batting average with 20 RBIs and 32 runs scored. Senior outfielder Devon Hogue , who transferred in from nearby Cane Bay for his final season, finished at .320 with 24 RBIs. He was hit by pitch 17 times. Clark and Hogue were the only full-timers to hit over .300, a testament to other players and their ability to contribute in a variety of ways. Gavin Gaskins was the ace of the pitching staff, going 9-2 with two saves and a 1.14 earned run average. “Incredibly consistent the last two years. He was such a battler and refused to lose,” Cox said. Junior Keller Wofford , the winning pitcher in game two, won six games with a 3.87 earned run average. Hunter Morris went 5-1 with a 2.97 earned run average while pitching both as a starter and reliever. Softball wins region; advances to Lower State finals The Berkeley softball team continued its dominance in region play and nearly made the state finals this season. Berkeley lost in the Lower State finals to St. James, finishing with a 26-5 record. Among the key players this season was senior Reese Watson , who batted .381 with eight doubles, 19 stolen bases and 27 runs scored. As the No.1 pitcher, Watson had a 0.45 earned run average with 151 strikeouts in 78 innings. Senior shortstop Rileigh Ballentine hit .395 with 25 RBI, 31 runs, three homers and 15 stolen bases. Payton Gamble hit .392 with 28 RBI and nine doubles while sophomore Mackenzie Herzog hit .384 with 23 RBIs, nine doubles and two homers. Herzog also hurled 59 innings inside the circle, posting a 1.06 earned run average with 84 strikeouts.

Larry Gamble HSSR, Photo Editor Fort Mill - The Berkeley Stags came into Game 2 of the Class AAAAA Division 2 State Title game with a mission. The only thing to stop them was an equally determined Catawba Ridge Copperheads team. The first inning reflected that completely. Berkeley, sporting a 10-0 winning streak that got them through the region play and to this game, went to their tried and true small ball game. Head coach for Berkeley, Landy Cox told the HSSR the team took a while to come together but “we had to play small ball, like we always do, that’s what we do. We pitch, we play defense, and we play small ball.” In the second inning, they got the bats working with a Devon Hogue single to reach first followed by Easton Little sacrifice bunt putting Hogue on second. Bryson Heath singles to move Hogue to third as he gets to first. Brady Proctor bunts and reaches first on an error that scores Hogue and moves Heath to second base. Trading an out for a run, Braylend Booker grounds out but gets Heath across the plate giving the Stags a 2-0 lead. They would get Ryan Richardson around the bases for one more run in the third which Catawba would match with J ack Shelnut scoring on a wild pitch before a double play ending the inning. The Stags bat got to work in the fourth producing 5 runs the Copperheads could not match. Easton Little singled with an RBI plus scored another run on an error. Bryce Olheiser placed a single over the head of the first baseman resulting in two RBI’s. In the fifth, Catawba managed 2 runs but Berkeley also got a run to go up 9-3. The only scoring in the sixth and seventh innings came from Catawba’s Tyler Causey putting a home run ball over the left field fence for the final score 9-4. After the game, this HSSR reporter interview Catawba head coach Stas Swerdzewski has this to say, “I could not be more prouder of this group… anytime you have to replaced seven (seniors) of their caliber, there are going to be growing pains and some people wrote us off. I’m proud of the guys for staying with it and working hard. We were within two games of accomplishing the mission that every high school program sets out to do.” When asked about getting to championship series this season when team was just staying above .500 going into the playoffs, coach Cox said, “the key to is getting hot at the right time, and we got hot at the right time.” Winning game two for the Title marked an 11-0 playoff run for the fabulous Stags this season. Game 1 R H E Berkeley 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 9 3 Catawba 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 4 4 Game 2 R H E Berkeley 0 2 1 5 1 0 0 9 12 0 Catawba 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 4 7 3

Berkeley courtesy runner Gavin Barb just gets back to third base bag before Catawba Ridge's Alex Downes tag.

SCHSL Championship Series got started on Saturday with 12 teams in each category striving to earn a state title. It's looking to be a wet week for most of the state, we'll see how the forecast holds up for these games to be completed. Softball 5/26 - Class 5A Div 1. - Byrnes @ Summerville 5/26 - Class 5A Div. 2 - Catawba Ridge @ St. James 6p 5/27 - Class AAAA - York @ Gray Collegiate 6:30p 5/27 - Class AAA - BHP @ Aynor 6p5/27 - 5/27 - Class AA - Saluda @ East Clarendon 7p 5/27 - Class A - Latta @ Lewisville 6p 5/28 - Class 5A Div 1. - Summerville @ Byrnes 5/28 - Class 5A Div. 2 - St. James @ Catawba Ridge 6p 5/28 - Class AAAA - Gray Collegiate @ York 5/29 - Class AAA - Aynor @ BHP 6p 5/29 - Class AA - Lewisville @ Latta 5/29 - Class A - East Clarendon @ Saluda 7p Game 3s (if needed) on 5/30 Baseball - Games Started Saturday, May 24 th with games 5/27, 5/29, and 5/31 5/24 - Class AAA - Southside Christian 14 , Oceanside 1 5/24 - Class AA - Philip Simons 5 , Batesburg-Leesville 3 5/24 - Class A - McBee 5 , LakeView 3 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 1 - Lexington @ James Island 6:30p 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Catawba Ridge @ Berkeley 5/27 - Class AAAA - Airport @ Seneca 5/27 - Class AAA - Oceanside @ Southside Christian 5/27 - Class AA - Philip Simons @ Batesburg-Leesville 5/27 - Class A - McBee @ Lake View 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 1 -Lexington@ James Island 6:30p 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Berkeley @ Catawba Ridge 5/29 - Class AAAA - Seneca @ Airport Game 3s (if needed) on 5/31

Berkeley players storming the field after their hard fought win!

Berkeley head coach Landy Cox.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner – Though there is still work to be done, the Berkeley High softball team is ins great position to win an eighth consecutive region championship this spring. Entering spring break, the Stags are 15-2 overall and 7-0 against region 7-AAAAA competition. They did not allow a run to a region opponent during that impressive stretch. Berkeley owns a win over Cane Bay, the second-place team in the region, and will hate a rematch after the break. Coach Kelley Dillon has had very good teams in the past, several that contended for Lower State championships. With the new reclassification of AAAAA schools, Berkeley is slotted for the Division II bracket and will be one of the favorites. But the coach says her team must maintain the proper focus if they hope to do great things. “If we don’t come ready to play and bring our best ball, and the other team does, we’re not walking out of that game with a win just because Berkeley is across our chest,” Dillon said. “I want us to focus on what we can control and that’s our energy, our effort, and our attitude.” Pitching is the strength of this year’s team. A threesome led by senior all-stater Reese Watson has yielded very little in the way of runs this spring. Watson serves as the leader for underclassmen Mackenzie Herzog , Macy Bany and Mariah Heath , who also excel inside the circle. Sarah Curtis and Rileigh Ballentine anchor the team defensively at second base and shortstop, respectively. Curtis hits leadoff in the batting order while Ballentine often its fourth. The catching position also is strong with returner Brooklyn Moon behind the dish. Heath works a third while Watson and Herzog share the time at first base. Watson also has played second base as well. Others who see time on the infield include Makenzie Berdan, Payton Gamble and catcher Racheal Tumblesto n. Lainey Amaker starts in centerfield with Riley Guerry in right field and Baney in left. Other outfielders include Brooklyn Hill, Camden Valicek and Natalie Floyd . The baseball Stags are not likely to win a region title this season as coach Landy Cox works through somewhat of a rebuild. Entering spring break, the Stags are 9-7 overall and 5-4 in region 7-AAAAA play. Stratford leads the region at 9-0 and Berkeley will finish the region slate with three games against Stratford and three games against Cane Bay. Junior Hudson Clark , a third-year starter, is leading the team in hitting with a .380 batting average and 10 runs batted in. Seniors Brady Proctor and Devon Hogue are hitting .324. Proctor has eight RBI while Hogue has 11 RBIs and has been hit by a pitch 11 times. Infielder Bryce Olheiser is hitting .292 with nine RBIs and third baseman Easton Little is hitting .282 with eight RBIs. Senior outfielder Ryan Richardson sits at .275 with 10 RBIs after 16 games. Anchoring the pitching staff are juniors Keller Wofford and Gavin Gaskins , who have combined for seven wins. Both also have earned run averages under 2.0 for the season. Richardson also has seen time on the mound, as have Gavin Barb, Hunter Morris and Thomas Montgomery.

Photos from March 8th, the SCHSL Class AAAAA Div. 2 Girls Championship Game between Greenwood and Berkeley . Enjoy this sample of images, follow this link for the full gallery

By David Shelton Senior Writer Moncks Corner - In 1940, Thomas Wolfe penned a book titled “You can’t go home again.” Wolfe obviously never met Berkeley High girls basketball coach Crystal Peace . More than two decades after completing her playing career at Berkeley, Peace, a two-time all-state selection, has delivered something that no other girls basketball coach has ever done. A state championship. Berkeley held off Greenwood, 60-54, to win the AAAAA Division II state title, completing the best season in school history with a 24-4 record. “It’s unbelievable to think that after all the tough times we’ve been through that we finally celebrating a state championship at Berkeley,” said Peace, who returned to Moncks Corner after her playing career at Liberty University. The first several seasons of Peace’s tenure at Berkeley was a struggle. Year two and three netted a combined seven wins. But the coach knew that if she stuck to her plan and could find enough players who could deal with her hard coaching style, she could win. And win big.  “It has been long time coming but I felt this team had an opportunity to make history,” Peace said. “I worked them hard and I coach hard. I’m so proud of them for putting up with me and pushing through. I am so happy for them, for the school, and the community. People stuck with me.” Berkeley used a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter to rally from a 52-50 deficit to a five-point lead. The Stags would never trail again in what was a close, competitive game from start to finish. Berkeley was led offensively by three double figure scorers, all underclassmen. Sophomore Amani McCray scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds. Junior Madison Thomas added 15 points while freshman Alaina Carter scored 13 points. Thomas and Carter hit three 3-pointers each. “This group has a chance to do some really special things over the next few years, if they stay focused and hungry,” Peace said. Berkeley trailed 32-31 at the half,, due in large part to 14 turnovers. The Stag cleaned up that part of the game in the second half, committing just three turnovers. “God put me here for a reason,” Peace said.