Dorchester softball team having a great season
Raiders off to an 11-4 start as SCISA AA state playoffs draw near
St. George – After winning just two games during the 2023 season, the Dorchester Academy softball team took a step forward last year. The Raiders went 10-14 and made the state tournament after missing out the year before.
Well, Dorchester is taking another big step forward this year under first-year head coach Justin McClure. The Raiders have won 11 of their first 13 games, and it has not come as a surprise to McClure.
“We are still very young again this year, but we have a ton of potential and I am expecting a big year from this team,” McClure said just as the season was beginning.
Dorchester has eighth-grader Lily Canady starting at shortstop and batting leadoff. Freshman first baseman Brinley Pope is in the 2 hole with eighth-grade pitcher Emery McClure batting third. The cleanup spot is occupied by junior leftfielder Rylee Matthews, while sophomore second baseman Palmer Kizer is fifth in the order followed by sophomore catcher Alyssa Grooms.
Rounding out the order are senior rightfielder Ava Higbe, junior third baseman Lyla Owens and freshman centerfielder Ryann Martin.
McClure is the Raiders’ leading hitter, owing a .535 batting average. She had three doubles, three triples ad three home runs to go with 20 runs batted in and 25 runs scored.
Canady was batting ..452 followed by Grooms at .439. Grooms also was leading in RBI with 21. Owens was batting .432, and Pope was batting .343. Martin was batting .261, Higbe .222 and Kizer .194.
Other members of the eam are senior Lucy Varnadoe, senior Morgan Martin and sophomore Cassidy Burgage. Varnadoe was hitting .276 with 10 RBI in 29 at-bats.
Kinsey Bates, a sophomore who was the offensive Most Valuable Player last season, is out with a knee injury. Dorchester hopes to get her back soon.
McClure is back as the pitcher and having a nice season in the circle as well. She had worked 50 1/3 innings and had a 2.36 earned run average. Higbe had worked 21 1/3 innings with a 3.61 ERA.
There are no other schools that play softball in Dorchester’s region, so that means the Raiders have something of an independent schedule.
Their losses were to AAA schools Williamsburg Academy and Colleton Prep Academy. They own a victory over 2-time defending AAA state runner-up Orangeburg Prep along with a pair of wins over Class A runner-up Cross Schools and two wins over AAA St. John’s Christian Academy.
