First Baptist athletes competing well this spring
By David Shelton
Senior Writer
James Island – With the SCISA state playoffs just around the corner, now is the time for athletes and teams to hit their peak level of performance.
That’s the goal for the spring sports athletes at First Baptist School as several teams look forward to a postseason opportunity.
Both of the First Baptist varsity soccer teams have posted winning seasons to date. The regular season will conclude in less than two weeks.
The boys team is in position to claim a region championship if they can finish strong. As of April 13, the Hurricanes were 8-2 overall with a 3-1 record in region play. That lone defeat came to rival Porter-Gaud, 2-1, and the Hurricanes get a rematch on April 22. First Baptist also has two key region contests remaining with Pinewood Prep on April 15 and April 24.
Most of the 2025 roster is comprised of underclassmen. In fact, 10 of the rostered players are either sophomores or freshmen. The team has solid senior leadership, however, and those seniors are key factors.
The seniors include goalkeeper Thomas Sanders, defenders Parker Thomas and Joshua McClain, and midfielders MacLain Luke and Camp Oliver.
The girls soccer team won seven of their first 12 matches and appear headed for a third-place finish in the very competitive region that is controlled by Porter-Gaud and three-time defending state champion Pinewood Prep.
Senior Fynn Domrese is the team’s leading goal scorer with 12 tallies, including a hat trick in a win over Northwood Academy. Sophomore Reese Tipton has seven goals and six assists while sophomore Britton Lempesis has a pair of goals.
Like the boys team, the girls roster is very young with Domrese the only senior. She and junior midfielder Wells Griffin are the team captains.
First Baptist recently restarted the softball program. The program was a dominant winner in the 1990’s but faded as the game changed to fast pitch. The program has a rebirth under coach Katelyn Powell, a former all-state player at Northwood Academy. There were teams dating to 2000-01 but not every season. Interest appears high as the school is fielding a b-team and a junior varsity team this spring.
First Baptist has experienced some success with four victories early on. Some of the key players this season include Trissa Medlin, Addison Townsend, Bailey Millemad, Lulu Mayo and Izzie Tracy.
The boys golf team is preparing for the SCISA state tournament in late April. Members of that team include sophomore Graham Edwards, junior Bates Walpole, freshmen Jack Finucan, Slate Shope, William Askins, Elijah Crawford and Banks Cordray; eighth-grader Tucker Mappus and sixth-grader Will Mappus.
The baseball team sits in second-place in the region standings, posting a 12-6-1 overall record as of April 14. The Hurricanes have three region losses, all to Pinewood Prep, with a key three-game series with Porter-Gaud at the end of the regular season.
