Fort Dorchester falls to Providence in HIT finals
Banks Wickersham led the way for Fort Dorchester during the 2026 Hanahan Invitational Tournament.
By Roger Lee
HSSR Contributing Writer
Hanahan – Providence out of North Carolina broke open a tight game against Fort Dorchester in the later innings to capture the Hatfield Division Championship of the 2026 Hanahan Invitational Tournament.
“Four games in four days is a challenge for anybody, but we have a really good team,” said Providence coach Danny Hignight. “We saw some good teams down here with some good arms and our guys did a really good job of competing in the box and staying on their plan. Defensively we were clean pretty much the whole tournament and good on the mound.”
The Panthers claimed an 11-6 victory over the Patriots April 9 in the tournament finals to improve to 19-1 on the season.
“We were disciplined today,” Hignight said. “We faced a really good arm and did a good job against him. Once we got into their bullpen we were able to build momentum.”
Fort Dorchester dropped to 8-8.
“We made some mental errors, especially early on, that cost us runs,” said Fort Dorchester coach Jay Christmas. “In two of our games here we didn’t throw enough strikes and that makes it hard to win. The runs multiplied on us quick today and the next thing we knew it was 11-4. However, we saw good competition here and only gave up five runs in the first two games so we were able to get into the finals. Overall we played good and never gave up so I’m proud of them.”
There was a 3-3 tie going into the fifth inning of the title game. The Panthers then scored three runs to capture momentum. They added five runs in the sixth.
Providence outhit the Fort 10 to 7. Combined the teams walked 17 batters with the Patriots walking 10.
Graddy Ennis and Jackson Debe both threw two-plus innings for Providence. Whitt McCammon and Jaxon Haynes also pitched for the Panthers during the final two innings.
College of Charleston commit Banks Wickersham had the start on the hill for Fort Dorchester. He only surrendered one hit and struck out three batters in three innings, but walked five. Alex Zapata, Lucas Grecco, Cannon Corder and Sam Romero also pitched for the Patriots.
Providence catcher Eli Webb was 2 for 4 at bat with a homerun, a double, 3 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Haynes and Julio Gonzalez both had two hits, including a double, and combined for 3 RBIs and 4 runs scored. Jack Pejot also had a home run for the Panthers.
Wickersham was 4 for 4 at the plate to lead Fort Dorchester. He had 2 home runs, 3 RBIs and 3 runs scored. Daniel Schenk, Nathan Clark and Myles Dewese had the other hits for the Patriots. Corder had 2 RBIs.
Providence’s JT Reed was named the Hatfield Division MVP, but the Panthers’ skipper attributes the tournament championship to a team effort.
“We are a pretty selfless club and you could probably give an MVP award to about 10 of these guys,” Hignight said. “Jaxon Haynes and Jack Pejot both had a monster tournament. Both our catchers were great behind the plate.”
Providence defeated Stratford, Oceanside Collegiate and Cane Bay to advance to the finals. Fort Dorchester defeated Porter Ridge of North Carolina 16-3 on the first day, then lost to Hanahan 2-0 and defeated Starr’s Mill of Georgia 6-4.
Hanahan fell 7-6 to Blythewood in the 2026 Steadman Division Championship game.
