Hanahan Hawks
By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to HSSR Hanahan – Nothing in baseball causes a coach more stress than when his pitching staff can’t find the strike zone as was the case for Fox Creek in the second and third innings Monday night as home standing Hanahan took full advantage by scoring 9 runs and then they had to withstand a Fox Creek rally to advance into the lower state final with a 9-8 win. “I’m proud of our guys. We got down five in the second inning but they didn’t hang their heads. We are a young team but these guys never give up, they never stop fighting and they always compete,” said Head coach Skylar Hunter. The Hawks will take on region rival and the HSSR’s second ranked team Oceanside Collegiate (26-5). The teams have played three times this season with the Landsharks winning all three. The Hawks will have to win twice to advance to their eight state championships series and third in a row. Fox Creek ends the season at 23-7. The Predators will also say good bye to nine seniors that were the backbone of back-to-back region and district champions. “I’m proud of this team. They battled to the end and showed a lot of grit all game,” said Head Coach Roby Gillespie. “This senior class has set the precedent for future teams. We tell the guys ‘Good isn’t good enough, strive to be great’ and this team did that every day.” After an uneventful first inning, the Predators came alive in the second. Bradley Anderson led off the inning with a single. After a strikeout, Will Frischmann stepped to the plate and launched a bomb to right center for a two-run tater and a 2-0 lead. Hanahan starter Chris Polm then walked the next three Fox Creek batters. The first batter that walked Jackson Wright was thrown out by the Hawks Hudson Sprovero for the second out of the inning. Caleb Waters had an infield single for Fox Creek to load the bases with two out. Will Fountain would score on an error and then Anderson plated two runs with a single pushing the lead to 5-0. The Hawks would respond in their half of the second with help from Fox Creek starting pitcher Devin Hillary. With one out Hillary walked Wyatt Muirheid. Zac Jimenez singled to put runners on first and second. Hillary then struck out the next batter before he couldn’t find the strike and walked the next three Hanahan which resulted in two runs cutting the Predators lead to 5-2. In the bottom of the third the Hawks would take the lead with a seven-run inning. It started with a lazy fly out to right. Hillary then walked the next two Hawks. Two wild pitches and a passed ball moved both runners up to second and third. Jimenez singled to scored Polm from third and still leaving the bases loaded. Gunnar Haulbrooks came up next and singled scoring Muirheid and Jimenez and the game was tied at 5. The inning continued as Tripp Gallus had infield single and Joe Furse walked to load the bases. Sprovero came up next and promptly deposited the ball over the left field fence for a grand slam giving the Hawks a 9-5 lead. Fox Creek’s would bring in their fourth pitcher of the game Audyn Randall, who would get Jimenez to ground out to second base to end the inning. Randall pitched the finals 3 1/3 innings for Fox Creek and shutdown the Hawks offense. He struck out the side in the fourth and gave up only one hit to keep the Predators in the game. “Audyn maybe pitched four or five innings for us all. He came up to me and said coach give me the ball, I know I can throw strikes. He got up there and did his job to keep us in the game,” said Fox Creek coach Gillespie. Meanwhile, Hanahan brought in Haulbrooks in the second inning and he pitched well until the fifth inning. “Gunnar did a good job of settling us down in the middles innings and he also a big hit to bring two runs,” coach Hunter said. The Predators would draw closer to the Hawks as they scored twice to cut the lead to 9-7. Chance Weathersbee singled with one out and moved to second when Wright drew two out walk. Will Fountain would score both runners when he hit a triple into the right field corner. Hillary would cut the lead to one in the top of the sixth when he hit a solo shot over the right centerfield fence and suddenly the Predators were down only one at 9-8. The Hawks made a pitching change after the home run going to lefty Nolyn Nickels. Nickels would walk the first batter he faced but then got the final four outs of the game including striking out the last two batters and the Hawks were headed to the Lower State finals.
Hananhan's Hudson Sprovero who blasted a three run homer rounds the bases.
Hanahan's sophomore guard Bri Johnsen.
Loris RB Deuce Stephens
By Rob Gantt Special to the HSSR HANAHAN – Hanahan High School’s football team improved to 3-3 on the season with a 29-28 victory over Andrews High School Sept. 25 in a non-region clash played two days before impacts from Hurricane Helene. The Hawks were set to begin the Region 6-3A slate Oct. 4 against Lowcountry power Oceanside Collegiate , which captured a 2A state title in 2023 before moving up in the 2024-26 realignment. After Oceanside, the Hawks go to Orangeburg-Wilkinson Oct. 11 in their final road game of the regular season. They host North Charleston and Battery Creek and Oct. 25 and Nov. 1. The win over Andrews was the Hawks’ second in a row. Running back Travis Neal continued to make his mark in the ground game, carrying 16 times for 84 yards and two scores (5 and 15 yards). A week earlier, Neal ripped off 120 yards rushing and scored on a 25-yard run in a 23-6 victory at Timberland . Also against the Yellow Jackets, freshman quarterback Tripp Gallus made his second successful start. He connected on 7 of 11 passes for 97 yards and hooked up with talented receiver Dru Goldsmith on a 33-yard touchdown. Goldsmith finished with six grabs and 96 yards versus Andrews. Tre Shepard chipped in a rushing score for the Hawks. In his first varsity start, Gallus hit on 11 of 17 passes for 95 yards and connected with Shepard on a 26-yard touchdown catch. Gallus also got loose down the sideline for a 36-yard touchdown versus the Wolves. Goldsmith hauled in six passes for 55 yards against the Wolves. The Hanahan defensive unit also had a stellar outing against its rival from St. Stephen, producing five takeaways. Antwain Mitchell recovered two fumbles, while Landen Ritchie and Aiden Greenwalt added fumble recoveries. Defensive back Tijae Hartwell snagged an interception for the Hawks.
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By Billy G. Baker Publisher Hanahan — One year after being swept in the AAA state baseball championship series against Clinton , Hanahan (30-3) knew it would be important to win game one of the championship series against Powdersville at home on May, 20 and the Hawks defeated the visitors 9-5. Game two now shifts to “home fan” friendly Powdersville on Wednesday, where the Hawks hope to have a sweep of their own after a hard-fought 5-4 loss in game two last season against Clinton. “The first game is very important and we know this from our experience last year,” said Hanahan High head coach Skylar Hunter who played on two Hanahan teams who lost state championship games after losing game one games. “Winning game one is massive. We know first hand about having our backs against the wall with Clinton last year after losing game one. “Now their backs are against the wall,” said Coach Hunter. “With the amount of pressure, we put on teams on the base paths, and in the batter’s box, I like our chances of plating well again in game two. However, Powdersville is a very good team and they will respond. They will be ready for us at home on Wednesday and we expect an electric atmosphere.” Hanahan pounded out 10 hits, scored 9 runs, and only committed one error in the win on Monday. The Hawks were led at the plate by RF Landon Gomes , who went 3-for-4 at the plate along with second baseman Jacob Bunting who went 2-of-4 with two RBI’s. catcher Hudson Sprovero had a hit and three RBI’s and left-fielder Joe Furse was 2-of-4 with an RBI. “We had a lot of quality at-bats tonight starting with sophomore catcher Hudson Sprovero who had two Sac fly’s and drove in a couple runs with a double during the game,” said Coach Hunter. “ Landon Gomes had two doubles in the game, and Joe Furse hit a ball off the wall early in the game to score a run. It was just a bunch of guys putting the barrel on the ball today.” Highly regraded Hanahan sophomore center fielder Sterling Coaxum , a lead-off batter, had a hit and covered a lot of ground in the outfield with his 6.4 speed. Coaxum is a Clemson commitment who earned the Coaches Association AAA Player of the Year honors this season. He came into the first game batting .468 with 10 home runs and 30 stolen bases to his credit. He is considered by many to be the top sophomore player in South Carolina. “I will be honest with you, he might not ever play for Clemson because he could be a high draft choice if he keeps playing like he has for us the past two seasons,” said Coach Hunter. “He’s a special player for sure.” Coach Hunter said the message to his players stays the same. “We want our players to stay relaxed and stay composed with focus,” said Coach Hunter. “We know Powdersville will be ready to give us all they have on Wednesday.” Gabe Dotterweich was the starting pitcher for the Hawks working five innings, giving up six hits, and three earned runs. Porter Sprovero relieved Dotterweich in the top of the 6 th and he worked 1.2 innings allowing no hits and two runs. Riley Ballard came in with two outs in the top of the 7th and forced a pop up for the game ending out. Powdersville scored five runs on six hits and they made two errors. First baseman Braden Williams led the Patriots hit going 3-of-3 with two RBI’s including a third inning home run. Starting pitcher Landon Fowler smashed a home run in three at bats. Center fielder Cotes Reid had a hit and also scored a run. Designated hitter Eli Hudgins also had a hit for the Patriots. After the game Powdersville head coach Wade Padgett , told the HSSR, “We knew they hit the ball well, and you do not win 29 to 30 games if you do not hit well,” said Coach Padgett. “Give them credit they got the hits when they needed them and they came up with some good plays on defense so give them credit for playing well against us. “We didn’t get the result we were looking for in coming down here,” said Coach Padgett. “In that last inning I was proud of how our kids fought for every out and that has been our ammo all season. We are looking forward to getting our chances at home on Wednesday. We will get back to work tomorrow, fix a few things, and hopefully be ready to go on Wednesday. “We have a great community and we expect a huge home crowd behind us on Wednesday,” said Coach Padgett. “At this point we hope the series goes to a third game. If it does, we would play at a neutral site this Saturday but we have to win on Wednesday to have a third game opportunity. We have some work to do before Wednesday.” Powdersville is expected to start veteran Blane Jordan on Wednesday. Hanahan will start Riley Ballard who pitched to one batter on Monday. Photos Courtesy of Cyril Samonte