Cheraw Ranked Number wo In AA Baseball Ranking As Braves Host Diamond Classic Event
Cheraw Ranked Number two In AA Baseball Ranking As Braves Host Diamond Classic Event
By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Cheraw -With the return of three all-region players, the Cheraw High baseball team (13-3, 10-0), under the tutelage of 27- year baseball coaching veteran David Byrd, is ranked second in the latest HSSR Class AA ranking with two weeks left in the regular season.
Cheraw’s three losses have been to bigger schools North Myrtle Beach (9-5), Fort Dorchester (3-2) and Sumter (9-4). The Braves have wins over Palmetto (4-2), Waccamaw (7-4), Central (12-2 & 10-2), Andrew Jackson (11-1 & 8-3), Darlington (12-0), Buford (3-0), York Prep (6-4 & 7-5), and Chesterfield (10-0, 7-6).
It was the 7-6 Braves win over Chesterfield on April, 9 that raised concerns for Coach Byrd as his team gets ready to host the Foundation Diamond Classic on April 14-15 in Cheraw. Cheraw will be joined in this event by Sumter High, McBee High, Central of Pageland, and North Central.
“After we had defeated Chesterfield 10-0, the very best day we are in a dog fight with them, and we actually trailed in the game with two-out in the 7th inning, and we felt fortunate to have won the game 7-6,” said Coach Byrd. “We still need to clean up some things on defense, and hit a little better before we can start thinking about a deep playoff run.”
The three returning all-region players include senor second/baseman-outfielder Jackson Byrd who is batting .326 with 8 RBI’s coming into the Classic. Senior Brayden Michael is also back and he is leading the team at the plate with a .378 average including 12 RBI’s and 15 stolen bases. The third all-region returner is talented three sport athlete sophomore Anthony Strong who is batting .312 with 8 stolen bases.
Strong, who plays at short or second base, is also the Braves number one pitcher. “Anthony is a three-sport athlete at Cheraw and he is a good football prospect for sure,” said Coach Byrd. “He is just a natural athlete with a lot of talent.”
Strong is 4-1 on the mound and in 23.2 innings pitched he has 25 K’s with a 0.00 ERA. The team’s number two pitcher is Michael who is 3-1 with a 0.98 ERA. Michael has 31 K’s in 28.2 innings of mound duty. Senior Charlie Phillips, who is 6-6, provides pitching depth and he is 2-0 with 16 K’s in 16.2 innings of work. Senior Tyler Gordon adds pitching to the team and he is 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA.
Other starters include senior shortstop Kaden Johnson (.262) along with senior third baseman Will Quick, second on the team in hitting at .352 with 15 RBI’s and a homer. Junior Tyler Tolson starts at either first or the outfield and sophomore Brenden Pace is doing a good job catching and he hitting .294 with 13 RBI’s.
Sophomore Nick Gordon is also a top receiver on the football team and he starts in the outfield. He bats in the 6th hole and he now hitting .286. Senior Demaris Ellerbe starts at first and he also been a designated hitter.
“We are still not totally committed to one starting line-up and we have been playing around seven players up-and-down this season,” said Coach Byrd. “We hope to get everyone in the right positions once the playoffs start.
“I would say in my 27 years at Cheraw, talent wise this team is one of our top five teams but we still need to clean up things on both offense and defense,” said Coach Byrd. “We are capable of a deep playoff run but we are still working hard to get several things corrected.”
Three players having joined the varsity now that the junior varsity season is over. They are out-fielders Crawford Poole, Terrence Blackmon, and Kaden Thomas.
Coach Byrd is assisted by Tristian Campbell, Jordan Melton, Kevin Hardee, and Rodney Byrd.
