Doodles Doodles at 78% Accuracy for 2024

Head coach Shaun Wright, Cross High f ootball, built one of the top Class A programs in the state.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Charleston - Porter-Gaud’s girls team went wire-to-wire as the top team in Class AAAA this season, completing a 24-2 season with a 6-0 win over Hammond School of Columbia. Zoe Molten scored three goals and Gracie McCabe added two goals to lead the Cyclones to their first title since 2019. “We’ve been shooting for this for several years but came up short. This team came into the season very determined and focused,” coach Hope Walters said. “They worked extremely hard. We knew we had a chance for a special season and today was just the final statement.” Molten’s goal in the sixth minute of play gave the Cyclones a 1-0 halftime lead. A red card on the Hammond goalkeeper left the Skyhawks short-handed and the Cyclones took advantage. McCabe’s tally in the 47 th minute made it 2-0. Less than a minute later, Spencer Hostetter made it 3-0 with a score, and Molten’s second goal pushed the advantage to 4-0 in the 53 rd minute. McCabe scored in the 57 th minute and Molten completed her hat trick with a goal in the in final minute of regulation. Molten, a junior, scored 55 goals this season, which was seventh most in the state overall. She has 107 career goals and was named the SCISA player of the year. McCabe, a freshman, finished with 22 goals and six assists. Senior Claire Trowbridge and freshman Ava Adams also were key midfielders. The Cyclones allowed only eight goals all season and out-scored their playoff opponents, 21-0. Senior captain and center back Anna Davis was the leader defensively. Davis started and played in 106 games during her career.  The Porter-Gaud boys were trying to unseat powerhouse Cardinal Newman in the AAAA boys championship but the Cardinals won their sixth consecutive championship with a 6-2 win. After falling behind on a Cardinal Newman goal in the first minute of play, the Cyclones evened the score on a penalty kick from Mateo Tozzi in the 19 th minute. But, the Cardinas answered with two goals over the next 10 minutes and led 3-1 at the half. A score early in the second half pushed the lead to 4-1. Trailing, 6-1, Porter-Gaud got a goal from Graham Winterfield in the 78 th minute of play. The Cyclones finished with a 16-7 record. Porter-Gaud sweeps SCISA lacrosse titles There have been eight state championship games in SCISA girls lacrosse and Porter-Gaud has won all eight titles. The private school powerhouse completed a perfect 19-0 season with an 18-2 win over Heathwood Hall. Porter-Gaud led early and held a commanding 13-1 lead at halftime. The Cyclones defeated Heathwood Hall three times this season. Scarlett Mayer finished with five goals and three assists and went over 100 goals this season. Ragan Stryker added four goals and Ravi Hawkins and Hila Tiller each scored three times. “The eight straight is a great accomplishment but the undefeated season is what really stands out to me,” said coach Brent Hilpert . “Getting to work with this amazing group of girls who came together and pushed each other every day was the highlight of my coaching career..” The Porter-Gaud boys team also won the state championship on Friday, taking care of Heathwood Hall, 16-5. It was their sixth title in the last seven years after seeing a five-year winning streak snapped in last year’s finals.

Midlands Top 10 Baseball 1. Airport (27-6) 2. Batesburg-Leesville (24-6-1) 3. Lexington (22-11-1) 4. Blythewood (24-7) 5. Ben Lippen (23-6) 6. Gilbert (26-6) 7. Dutch Fork (19-7) 8. Chapin (18-7) 9. A.C. Flora (19-9-1) 10. River Bluff (19-10) Softball 1. Gray Collegiate (32-3) 2. Gilbert (25-5) 3. Lexington (23-6) 4. A.C. Flora (23-7) 5. Blythewood (20-9) 6. Pelion (16-8) 7. Airport (15-11) 8. White Knoll (14-9-1) 9. Chapin (13-11) 10. Hammond (11-10) By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - The spring sports season in the Midlands featured dozens of teams going for state championships in baseball, softball, boys and girls soccer, boys tennis, lacrosse, and track and field. Several Midlands teams played through the competition and claimed state championships. To note, Batesburg - Leesville baseball collected its first state title since 1949. Airport baseball went on a late-season hot streak and won its first state crown in the team’s history. Gray Collegiate softball got its first 4A state championship and third state title in four years.  In boys tennis, A.C. Flora won its first state title since 2021 and third in team history. In girls soccer, A.C. Flora earned their first state title. The Cardinal Newman boys soccer team picked up their sixth straight SCISA state championship, and the Lexington girls Lacrosse team won its first state crown. The South Carolina High School League’s state track and field championships showcased the Blythewood girls team , which won their second straight 5A championship; the Gray Collegiate Academy girls team , which won the 4A state title; and the Fairfield Central boys team , which won their second straight 2A state title. Batesburg-Leesville’s first state title since 1949 With an 8-5 victory over Philip Simmons at the University of South Carolina’s Founders Park May 31, the Batesburg-Leesville baseball team won their first state championship since 1949, winning the best-of-3 2A championship series two games to one. The Panthers (24-6-1) scored three runs in the first inning and three more in the second, and took a 6-2 lead into the fifth inning, where they picked up two more runs. The Iron Horses rallied for two runs in the sixth inning, but relief pitcher Landon Soper pitched an uneventful seventh inning to seal the win. “I can’t describe how it feels,” head coach Rob Bouknight said. “These kids have battled all year. (The six seniors) have been here since they were eighth graders. … We’re so happy and so blessed. It was amazing. It was supposed to be a neutral site. … Our whole town showed up and made it feel like a home game.” Philip Simmons won the first game of the series 5-3 May 24, but the Panthers won 3-2 May 28 to force the deciding game at Founders Park. Besides pitching four innings and getting the win for the Panthers, Braydon Hallman hit a 3-run double in the second inning that put the game out of reach. On the mound, Hallman gave up seven hits, walked two and gave up three earned runs, but struck out nine. Gavin Parish also doubled. Airport wins 4A championship, first state title Airport’s baseball team blew through the competition in the regular season and postseason to capture the team’s first state championship. The Eagles (27-6) won the Region 4-4A title. Then the already hot team turned it up a notch, winning nine straight games, most of them convincingly, en route to a 4A championship series 2-game sweep of Seneca . Airport won 3-2 at Seneca May 25, but closed out the series quickly with a 10-0, 6-inning victory over the Bobcats at home. “This was for a lot of people. We lost some good ones this year… We were playing for our community and friends and it was good,” head coach Casey Bradwell said. “We put pressure on people, that’s what we do all the time, make them make plays, and we did that. We put enough balls in play to make them make some mistakes and we capitalized on them.” Hunter Epps worked the entire six innings on the mound, giving up four hits and striking out six while walking just one. “That dude’s never in trouble, man,” Bradwell said. “He throws the ball over the plate, he’s the best competitor I’ve ever coached. I’m proud of him, he did great.” Epps also went 2-for-3 with a double, while Braden Gross went 3-for-3 with three runs batted in. Brice Gillette also had two hits. GCA softball wins third title in four years Gray Collegiate softball, competing in the 4A classification after years at the 2A level, didn’t miss a step. The War Eagles (32-3) stumbled in a lopsided loss to eventual 5A Division 1 champion Byrnes March 15, and lost a Region 4-4A game to rival Gilbert April 21. The rest of the regular season and postseason leading up to the 4A championship series against York was all victories. York’s ace, senior and Erskine signee Layla Clayton , got the best of Gray in game 1 May 27 as the War Eagles fell 2-1 in a game interrupted by rain and completed in York before the start of game 2 May 28. Clayton stayed in the circle for game two, but the War Eagles got a 4-0 victory to force a game three set for May 31. The Cougars took a 2-1 lead by the third inning of game three, but Maddox Long’s 2-run home run in the fourth inning and Kayley Anderson’s 2-run shot in the fifth inning sealed a 5-2 win and 2-1 series victory for the War Eagles. “They work so hard. People wouldn’t believe how hard these kids work,” Gray Collegiate head coach Doug Frye said. “There ain’t that many teams that can outwork us. They may beat us, but they don’t outwork us. We lose, we come back and get better. We’re done today, and I’ll bet half these kids will be practicing tomorrow, trying to get better. They’re hungry for it.” Long also was the starting pitcher and worked three innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits. She made way for Makenzie Sease , who pitched a complete game in game one and returned to pitch four innings of 1-hit ball to get the win. Besides Long’s and Anderson’s home runs, sophomore Aspen Boulware hit her team-leading 22 nd home run in the first inning. AC Flora girls soccer The Falcons took only two shots on goal in their 4A state championship final May 10, but Samantha Lowther’s shot 22 minutes into the game hit the back of the net, and the Falcons defense ensured a 1-0 win for the team’s first state championship. A.C. Flora head coach Eric Navarro , in his first year as varsity coach after serving as the junior varsity coach last year, said he knew the team’s potential. “I knew there was something special about this group,” Navarro said. “As we progressed through the season we had some bumps, some hiccups. Every single time we faced a challenge, they stepped up. They got closer and stronger This was the best defensive performance we’ve had all season.” Flora keeper Kennedy Bagley held up her end with a clean sheet despite Bishop England getting 13 shots on goal. Bagley is in her second year as a soccer player. “With every save I got more and more confident. I just didn’t want to lose because this team worked so hard for this,” Bagley said. Cardinal Newman boys soccer Playing on their home field, St. Sebastian Stadium, the Cardinal Newman boys (13-8) beat Porter Gaud 6-2 to claim their sixth straight SCISA state championship. “That was by far our most complete game,” head coach Will Eudy said. “With the weather and the field and the way things were going, we knew we had to change the way we played a little bit, plus we knew they were going to press and try to counter, so we went with a lot of long balls, diagonals into space, and we were really, really lethal with those today.” Junior Tanner Battafarano led the way with three goals, the third straight state championship match where a Cardinal Newman player achieved a hat trick. Sophomore Chase Nelson , Senior Dakota Venugopal , and junior Brayden Roth scored one goal apiece. Junior Quade Wilson two assists, sophomore Frankie Marion two assists. Boys tennis The seasoned A.C. Flora boys team (21-1) weathered a stoppage of play due to rain at the Cayce Tennis Center and a change of venue to the USC indoor tennis facility and battled to a 5-1 victory over Bishop England May 10. The Falcons’ third state championship is the first since 2021. “I don’t know how it works but each one gets sweeter and sweeter,” head coach Amy Martin , who won four state championships, three with the boys and one with the girls, said. “This was the middle school team from 2022, we grew them up from 2021 and they have come out and gotten exactly what they needed to get done this year.” Bishop England No.1 player Dante Naud defeated James Smyth 6-1, 6-4, but the Falcons notched a victory in every other match. No.2 Jude Smyth defeated Roland Wier 2-6, 6-1 (10-3), No.4 Vijay Sinha defeated Colin Murphy 6-1,6-2; No. 4 Will Hewitt defeated Parker Murphy 6-2, 6-4; and No.5 Wiliam Beasley defeated Lucas Kizzetto 6-2, 6-4. In doubles, the No.2 team of Will Trumpeter and Tripp Van Vlake defeated Andrew Hamilton and Caleb Watson 6-1, 6-0. The doubles match was the first win on the board for the Falcons, and once that victory was notched, the hassle of weather and moving from venue to venue disappeared. Girls Lacrosse Lexington beat Spartanburg 12-7 at Irmo’s W.C. Hawkins Stadium May 3 and won the first state title in program history. Goalkeeper Emersin Clamp held off most of the Spartans’ assaults and racked up 15 saves. Lenoir-Rhyne signee Izzy Saville scored five goals, finishing the season with 68 goals. Track and field Several Midlands teams took the top spot in the state track and field meets. The Blythewood girls team blew away the 5A Division 1 competition early with its sprinting depth May 17. The Bengals finished with 107 points on the day to claim their third straight state championship and first in the 5A Division 1 classification. “From Blythewood, the high school, the parents, the younger brothers and sisters come out, it’s just wonderful,” head coach Aleshia Hawkins said about the team’s atmosphere. “Everyone takes everything seriously. They want to get to the next level, and I tell them, you work. You don’t work, you can’t make it to the next level.” Peyton Hightower won gold in the 400 dash and won gold as a leg in the 4x400 relay team. Her sister, Hayley Hightower also ran a leg for that state championship team to go along with her basketball state championship the Bengals won in March. Brooke Bramlett won gold in the 100 hurdles, Amina Rhone won gold in the 400 hurdles in addition to running a leg on the 4x400 team. The Gray Collegiate girls track team won the 4A championship at Richland Northeast High School May 16 with 61 points, edging second-place Daniel’s 58 points and third-place Seneca’s 55 points. “I’m really proud of these girls, they worked hard all year. The coaches did a great of preparing our kids to come out here and preform at a high level,” Head Coach Jackie Robinson said. “First time getting a AAAA state championship at Gray Collegiate, we did it with only seven girls making it so for them to come out here and maximize all the individual and relay events I just can’t say enough good things. We had several personal records; they picked themselves up and delivered in a big way.” Senior Tamara Steward took home the gold in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.83 seconds. She also took first in the long jump with a mark of 5.48 meters. She finished second in the 400 hurdles with a time of 1:03.23. The Fairfield Central boys track and field team faced competition May 16 from Philip Simmons , the 2024 3A state champions who came down to 2A this year. While the Iron Horses got close, the Griffins sprinted past them and claimed their second straight state 2A championship at Spring Valley High School’s Harry Parone Stadium . “We broke through last year with a lot of young kids,” Fairfield Central head coach Raymond Harrison said. “We returned a lot of kids who scored points last year, so I knew we had a pretty strong chance to win it again this year. All season long, I knew Philip Simmons was going to be tough to deal with.” With wins and top placings in the 100-, 200-, 400- and 800-meter dashes and runs, Fairfield Central collected 65 of its 101 points on the night. Philip Simmons finished second with 82 points. Senior Tydarion Grier won the 100 and 200 dashes, and won gold as a leg on the team’s 4x100 relay team with junior Jamie Brown , who also won gold in the 400 dash. Brown also won gold as a leg on the team’s 4x400 team. Hank White won gold in the 800 run.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Lake View – It did not come as a big surprise when Lake View’s head baseball coach Kip Herlong retired after 32 seasons at the helm. Herlong certainly still has the energy and passion for the game but there comes a perfect time to step away. Expressing a desire to follow his son Kason’s college career at North Greenville, Herlong is ready to hand over the reins of the program. Kason Herlong capped a solid prep career by hitting .417 with 40 hits and 31 runs scored. He also was 7-1 with two saves and a 0.56 earned run average on the mound. He was selected as the Class A player of the year and played in the North-South all-star game where he was named the most valuable player for the 1A/2A/5A South all-stars. Herlong also played football and was the starting quarterback for three seasons. “It was a real blessing to coach my son for six seasons, and he worked hard and is all about this community and his teammates,” the coach said. “Because I was coaching I missed out on a lot of my daughter (Morgan) playing in college. My wife (Liz) and I are looking forward to following his college career.” Herlong, already a member of the state’s baseball coaches hall of fame, leaves behind a legacy that will not likely ever be matched at Lake View. He won 633 games and eight state championships since taking over in 1993. His teams also were state runner-up five times, including this season when the Wild Gators lost to McBee in the Class A state championship series. One of the traits that made Herlong such a success was his humility and even keel attitude. While sometimes feeling disappointment, the coach always used the game as a teaching tool to his players. After the game three loss to McBee, Herlong took the time to thank those who helped the program be a success. “It has been a great ride in such a great community,” he said. “We have met with failure and we have met with success, and we treat them the same and move forward. Our motto this season was ‘keep moving forward’ to keep one foot in front of the other and keep going. “It would have been great for our players and for our fans had we won but things don’t always turn out like you would like.” Lake View finished 2025 with a 23-7 record. Several other players had solid seasons for the Wild Gators. Chase Price contributed five wins on the mound with a 1.76 earned run average. Senior Chris McGill batted .342 with two homeruns and 23 RBIs while senior Braden Borders batted .341 with 17 RBIs. Senior Bryce King hit .311 and senior Ian Capps hit .287 with 22 RBIs. McGill, Borders and Capps were three-year starters. “We have great kids here at Lake View and they work really hard. We always have a chance with these kids. Baseball is really important to them,” Herlong said earlier this spring. Lake View has moved quickly to replace Herlong, hiring former Lancaster coach Will Celmer to the position. Celmer is a 2008 graduate of Dillon High and was coach at Lancaster from 2019-2024. Softball posts another successful season The Lake View softball program continued its winning ways in 2025, posting 17 victories and making the district finals of the Class A Lower State playoffs. Chloe Cox finished the season with a .423 batting average on 30 hits and 14 RBIs. Sarah Price hit ,435 with 12 RBIs and Hollie Scott hit .373 with 19 RBIs. Scott also handled pitching duties and had a 2.15 earned run average with 187 strikeouts. Hanna Coburn finished with a .356 batting average, adding 16 RBIs, while Kaylynn Turner hit .356.

 By David Shelton Senior Writer Hilton Head – At the rate things are going, Hilton Head Prep may need a new, bigger trophy case to memorialize their continued run of athletic success. Athletic Director Shon Hardy was quite pleased with the efforts of the school’s athletes as Hilton Head Prep contended for multiple state championships during the 2024-25 school year. In several sports, not only did Prep contend but they also won state championships. Among those championship teams were girls tennis, boys basketball, boys golf, baseball and girls soccer. The girls soccer program won its third consecutive state title, as did the boys basketball team. The boys golf team won the Class AAA title earlier this spring. Cade Kriscunas was the state medalist, shooting 139 over the 36-hole event. Max Diamond shot 150 and Jeff Adams and Tag Graziano each shot 155. Nick Kupper shot 168 over two days. At the year-end athletic banquet for winter and spring sports, Diamond received the Most Improved award and Graziano received the Coach’s Award. Kriscunas was tabbed the Most Valuable Player. In girls soccer, the most outstanding player was Courtney Campbell and sharing the Coach’s award were Callah Dando and Sophia Schlieman . “From the first day we get on the field, winning a state championship is the focus,” coach Risa McMillan said . “This is what it all comes down to.” Calvin Middleton was named most improved on the baseball team. Jackson Stanyard was the most outstanding player and Brody Hausher earned the Coach’s award. This year’s state title was the first in school history after several near misses. “We don’t have elite D1 talent from top to bottom. We’re just a gritty bunch of guys from Hilton Head and the Lowcountry who fought tooth and nail and earned it,” coach Chris Wells said. For sailing, Ella Jones received the coach’s award. The boys soccer team advanced to the state finals before suffering a heart-breaking defeat. Brandon Moore was the most improved player and Aden Parsick was most outstanding player. Tony Fernandez received the coach’s award. Sharing most improved honors in boys tennis were Cole Mustard and Gabe Arnold . Wyatt Harmer was most outstanding player and Clayton Emmert received the coach’s award. Softball is the newest varsity program at Prep. The team honored three players with the coach’s award. The honorees were Jenna Oremus, Gabrielle McFadden and Bella Johnson . In track and field, Matthew Moe was most improved on the boys team and Levi Wright was most outstanding . Casey Signorello received the coach’s award. Sarah Elizabeth Phillips was most outstanding in girls track. In basketball, Courtney Campbell was the most outstanding player on the girls team. Sophie Moe was the most improved player, and Erin Cleary received the coach’s award. The boys basketball team handed out only coach’s awards. Recipients included Alston Adams, Billy Barron, Tyler Britschge, Connor Campbell, Luke Eanes, Finn Gregory, Ty Harpring, Brendan Moore and Jake Sheahan .

By David Shelton Senior Writer James Island – Great players thrive on the big moment and love to produce on the biggest stage. James Island senior Jake Amman took full advantage of his moment in the sun. With the 2025 baseball season hanging in the balance, Amman’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning scored Collin Anderson to lift James Island to a 6-5 win over Lexington in game three of the Class AAAAA Division I state championship series. The Trojans, 30-4, win a state title for the second straight season, capturing the AAAA crown in 2024. “We just needed to get to Jake with a chance to do some damage. Ethan Stein had a great at bat and drew a walk. I felt really good about chances with Jake up there,” James Island coach Matt Spivey said. “I can’t say enough about this team, their heart and determination. We faced some major adversity today and we handled it. Really proud of them.” Anderson also played hero in the win. He started the game on the mound before moving to centerfield in the sixth inning. Anderson was recalled to the mound in the eighth inning, snuffing out a potential big rally by Lexington after the Wildcats scored one run to take a 5-4 lead. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would bring Collin back but we were getting a little desperate,” Spivey said. “We had trouble throwing strikes and we just went with our gut. Collin’s been that guy all year.” Anderson then doubled in the tying run in the bottom of the eighth, finishing with two hits and two RBI in the game. Amman also tallied a pair of hits, giving him five hits in the series. Trip Ostergard and Connor Dantzler also had two hits in game three. In addition to Anderson, the Trojans used five more pitchers and ended up walking eight hitters while hitting three. Lexington, down 4-2 in the seventh, used a double, three walks and a hit batter to tie game. “I definitely think our experience helped us,” Spivey said. “We returned a lot of guys from last year and this team had a target on their back from day one. It was a lot of pressure but these guys thrive on pressure. We were tough on them but they worked their tails off. We won 30 games but it wasn’t easy.” A three-peat is possible but the Trojans lose Anderson, Amman and catcher Stow Rogers . Amman and Rogers each hit over .370 this season and combined for 40 RBIs. Junior Taj Marchand , an Ole Miss commit and one of the top prospects in the state, hit .530 with 12 doubles, eight homers and 42 RBIs. Sophomore Trip Ostergard hit .470 with 33 runs scored and junior Connor Dantzler hit .370 with 33 RBIs. Anderson finished with seven wins on the mound. Marchand added six wins while sophomores Cooper Jones and Dawson Beldner saw a lot of work and will be counted on in 2026. But 2026 can wait. Spivey plans to enjoy this season for a little time before getting back to the grind.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Hemingway – Class A sports are always tricky when it comes to team numbers no matter what sport is in season especially at schools like Hemingway where it is a challenge sometime to field a team and in track and field the issues usually how many events will your team be able to compete in at each meet. The Tigers track and field team is small in numbers but they have some very competitive athletes that work hard every day to get better. They are also young and hungry for success with all them being underclassmen. Two juniors lead the boys team in Akiem Holman and Alexander Timmons. Holman runs the 400 meters and long jumps for the Tigers while Timmons is the top 100-meter man. Holman has a personal best of 1:01.53 and Timmons has a personal best 12.59 in the 100. Freshmen Deandre Cooper and Daveon Gamble an eighth grader that are making an impact in the 100 and 200. Cooper just posted another personal best at the Hannah Pamlico meet with a time 12.94. Cayden Hannah is a sixth grader who has shown he can compete at the varsity level already. He has posted personal best in the 100 of 13.25, 200 of 27.12 and 400 of 1:06.07. On the girls side junior Elisha Singletary. In her career she has thrown the Javelin, long jumped, ran the 100, 100 hurdles and the 200 for the Tigers. Her personal best in the Javelin is 15.47. She is also an all-region volleyball and basketball player. Junior Shakiya Cooper is the Tigers top sprinter. She recently placed second at Carvers Bay meet in the 100 meter in a personal best of 12.91. She also runs the 200 (PR 27.15) and the 400. Kennedi Hayward and Leanna Washington are freshmen and Jaela Lewis is a seventh grader who run the 100, 200 and 400 meters The hurdles (100 and 400) are in good hands with eighth grader Honesty Anderson who also runs the open 400. She ran a personal best of 21.17 at the lower state meet.  Junior Zaniya Woods, junior Terriana Turne r and eighth graders Shaesha Turner and Jasmir Taylor handle the throwing events and continue to improve each meet. Shaesha set new personal best in the discus (17.9m) and the shot (7.63m) and Terriana set a new personal best in the discus of 18.71.

By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR HANAHAN – Hanahan High School’s baseball team waves goodbye to seniors Riley Ballard , Joe Furse and Garrett Brown after finishing the 2025 campaign in the Lower State championship game this spring. Ballard, a Citadel signee, missed a portion of the season but was the Hawks’ ace when healthy. Furse, who batted leadoff and patrolled the outfield, garnered all-region and all-state nods, and Brown contributed to the infield. “It was an awesome season,” second-year Hawks coach Skylar Hunter said . “I think the bottom line is that we competed very well and had great senior leadership. You don’t do what we did without guys like Riley, Joe and Garrett. You’ve got to give it to them.” Hunter’s team capped the year with a 21-11-2 record and finished second in the region. Hanahan won a postseason district title. As for the 2026 season, the Hawks can return a veteran group led by junior catcher Hudson Sprovero , junior second baseman Bo Brabham and eighth-grader pitcher/infielder Nolyn Nickels . All three earned all-region nods, with Sprovero also joining Furse on the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association’s all-state squad. Sprovero was one of the Lowcountry’s top power hitters this season and finished in double digits home runs. “We’ve seen how these kids can compete with all the chips on the table,” Hunter said. “There are six or seven more months before we get back on the field, and you look forward to seeing what kind of development they’re going to make. We’ll get into the weight room and see what happens.”  More returning starters are sophomore pitcher/infielder Chris Polm , sophomore shortstop Wyatt Muirheid , junior outfielder/pitcher Gunnar Haulbrooks and freshman outfielder Tripp Gallus . Sophomore infielder Zac Jimenez , freshman infielder Richard Atencio and freshman outfielder Charlie Wood were regulars in the lineup, too.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Holly Hill – It was a sour taste that lingered for a year in the mouths of every player on the Holly Hill Academy softball team. Winning is better than mouthwash. The 2025 Raiders completed a 16-4 season by winning the SCISA Class A state championship, defeating W.W. King in two games (6-4, 15-4) in a best-of-three championship series. Holly Hill won their last seven games of the season. The victory makes Holly Hill state champion for the second time in three years but it was not winning the championship in 2024 that fueled the fire this spring. Though heavily favored last season, the Raiders were upset in the state tournament, eliminated by Jefferson Davis Academy. “We didn’t get it done last year but we still felt we were the best team in the state,” coach Kally Knight said. “Losing last year was all the motivation this team needed. They had a great focus all through the offseason and it carried over into the season. We weren’t perfect by any means but the four losses came to good teams and it helped us stay focused.” In the game one win, Holly Hill banged out nine hits. Kaylee Brabham collected three hits and Kloie Mizell had three runs batted in to lead the offense. Pitcher Taylor Wright had two hits and threw a complete game while allowing four runs. The bats stayed hot in game two as the Raiders totaled 12 hits and took advantage of six King errors. King took a 3-1 lead after the first inning but Holly Hill posted eight runs in the second inning and had a five-run fourth inning to close the deal in five innings. Wright had five RBI on three hits, including two doubles. She again tossed a complete game inside the circle. Kaley Bell had two hits and three RBI while Peyton Strickland and Chloe Wren each added a pair of hits and each had an RBI. “We were a good hitting team really all season and a lot of girls contributed from game to game,” Knight said. “We knew if we cut down walks and played good defense, we were going to be tough to beat. “This team deserves this. They worked hard and they built a strong chemistry. It’s great to see them celebrate being champions again.” Rounding out the roster were Milly Kate Prescott, Ariel Stanley, Abby Burleson, Shelby Hanson, Bethany Martin and Kaylee Cuttino. Brabham and Wren are the only seniors on this year’s team so expect the Raiders to be a contender once again.