Emerald Baseball Focused On Strong Finish In Pursuit Of play-off Berth
By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Greenwood—Emerald head baseball coach Mack Hite knew if he could ever get talented freshman Beau Hite back on the mound that his confidence would be restored and positive things would emerge.
Hite has been able to bat all season, but an injury prevented him from pitching until recently. “Beau has been able to throw an inning here and there recently, and he had a big strike out against a highly regarded prospect at Laurens who is going to Georgia. Big moments like that have helped him get his confidence back,” said Coach Hite. “It has also helped him increase his hitting average at the plate also.”
Hite is now batting .438 with 9 RBI’s, including five doubles and a triple. Hite also has 8 stolen bases. He is a three-sport athlete at Emerald where excels in football and basketball also.
One bit of recent bad news for the team was losing the pitching services of LHP and PC commitment Tucker Meredith. “He is still able to play a position and bat, so not all is loss,” said Coach Hite.
Other top hitters to date for the Vikings include freshman Ethan Metts at .375 along with sophomore Eli Swancey who is at .400 with five TBI’s including an excellent .978 fielding percentage. Finn Howard is at ,367 with four RBI’s while junior Aaron Polly is hitting .351 with 9 RBI’s. Freshman Coleman Marino is at .360 with six RBI’s.
With Meredith off the rubber, Hite, Howard, Marino, and Swancey have all stepped up to share pitching duties. Howard has become the work horse and he is 2-1 with 32 K’s in 28.2 innings of work.
As of April, 11 the Vikings were in 5th place in the region. “I think as competitive as our region has been this season, with so many good teams, that we should have a good case to possibly qualify for an at-large play-off berth,” said Coach Hite. “In the mean time we just need to keep playing with grit and toughness and win as many games as we can.
“We have been hitting well is spurts, but we can’t seem to get a timely hit with runners in scoring position,” said Coach Hite. “Hopefully our luck will change as we enter a crucial part of our schedule.”
The team had seven games left as of April, 14 when they played at Ware Shoals. Hey have region games against Westside on April 15 and 17. They next play region games against Laurens on April 22 and 24 before hosting Abbeville on the 30th. They close out the season at home against Ware Shoals on May, 1.
Emerald Softball Very Young This Season
Tiaria Agnew is in her fourth season as the Emerald High girls’ softball coach and her team is very young and rebuilding this season.
The Lady Vikings are made up of one 7th grader, three 8th graders, two freshmen, one sophomore, three juniors and just two seniors so a youth movement has certainly hit the program.
The team was 5-3, 2-6 entering the final two weeks of the season. They recently had two confidence wins over Southside (16-1, 20-0).
The young team is being led by senior LHP Bria Jones, sophomore Paydyn Stafford and freshman utility athlete Caitlyn Hackett.
