Lee Academy Looking For Sweep Against Andrew Jackson Academy In SCISA AA State Baseball Finals After 6-5 Win On Tuesday
Billy Baker • May 14, 2025
By Billy G. Baker
Publisher
Ehrhardt—Despite being out-hit 6 to 2, the visiting Lee Academy Cavaliers took advantage of several errors to defeat Andrew Jackson Academy 6-5 in game one of the SCISA AA state finals on May, 13th.
The two teams will meet again at 7:30 p.m. today at Lee Academy (Bishopville) and if the Cavs win it will be their first state baseball title since 2019 when they were head coached byDavid Rankin who is now at Carolina Academy.
Lee Academy is now head coached byDanny Price, who was an HSSR All-State selection in 1991 when he graduated from Lee Academy and he also played in the HSSR- SCISA Challenge all-star game after graduation.
Lee Academy is expected to throw left-handed pitcherBraydon Davis today. He is 6-0 with 57 K’s in 40-1 innings of work. AJA is expected to throw Channing Terry who is 2-0 with 45 K’s in 42.2 innings of work.
After the game on Tuesday, Coach Price told the HSSR, “Other than the 6th inning I felt like we played fairly well on both sides of the ball,” said Coach Price. “All season long we have pitched Fyre earlier in the week and then our lefty (Braydon Davis) pitches the next game and that is what we plan to do at home on Wednesday.
“I was an assistant with David Rankin when we last won a state title back in 2019 when my sone was on the team,” said Coach Price. “We hope to play well at home tomorrow and win a state championship.”
AJA head coachJason Mathys told the HSSR after the game, “Other than that one bad inning I felt like Landon (Johnson) pitched well enough for us to have won the game,” he said. “The errors hurt for sure. We have scored a lot of runs on our aggressive base running this season and our speed on the base paths have been one of our strengths on the season. However, it caught up with us in the 6th inning. Those two outs in the bottom of the 6th hurt our chances for sure.
“We will pitch Channing Terry at Lee on Wednesday and we hope he pounds the strike zone,” said Coach Mathy’s. “We must also cut out these errors also.”
Against AJA, Lee Academy scored one run in the first inning afterNoah Brazell reached on an error, stole second and moved to third base on a ground-out by Brayden Davis. Brazell scored on a single byAndrew Bowers.
In the top of the 4th inning the Cavaliers plated four runs to go ahead 5-0 as they sent 10 batters to the plate against starting pitcher Landon Johnson. AfterLandon Olson and Tyler Gilbert began the inning with back-to-back walks. A two-base throwing error scored Olson and Gilbert on a mis-handled bunt put down by Tucker Rodgers to make it 3-0.
The next two batters struck-out. Then Carson Davis singled in Rogers to make it 4-0. After two back-to back walks to Brazell and Braydon Davis a single by Bowers made it 5-0.
In the bottom of the 4th, AJA pushed across a run. Johnson reached on a hit-by-pitch and scored two batters later on an RBI single byEli Mathys to make it 5-1.
In the top of the 5th Lee Academy added a very important insurance run that ended up being the difference in the game. Rodgers reached on a hit-by-pitch, stole second, and scored on a throwing error to make it 6-1.
In the bottom of the 5th AJA plated two runs to trail 6-3. Kaiden Kinard struck-out, but the catcher dropped the ball and he was able to reach first safely ahead of the throw. Kinard then stole second and scored on Jack Walling’s single. Walling stole second and third and scored on a fielder’s choice RBI by Channing Terry to cut the deficit to 6-3.
In the bottom of the 6th inning, it was a picture of good and bad for the Warriors. Brad Hightower and Mathys led off with back-to-back singles, and then Hall Sease drew a walk to load the bases with no-outs. Hayden McClung singled in Hightower to make it 6-4 and then Kinard then drew a bases loaded Rbi walk to bring in Mathy’s and a heads up play by Sease made it 6-5 when he ran in right behind Mathy’s on a throwing error.
Then two AJA runners got hung-up between second and third and first and second (on the same play) and both were tagged out by an alert Cavalier defense resulting in two- outs when the situation could have been a score of 6-5 with runners on second and third with no-out. The next AJA batter grounded into the third out and the 6-5 score help up for a Lee Academy victory.
Lady 'Cats can win second straight title with victory at home on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Game 1 of the SCISA Class A Baseball Championship series, Andrew Jackson Academy at home facing Lee Academy . Enjoy this sample of images, click the link here for the full gallery.
Seven of the eight series sheduled to start on Tuesday; AAA baseball series between OP and Hilton Head Prep to begin Wednesday
Sumter - Softball action from Sumter, SC as softball teams from around the state converge on Patriot Park and Palmetto Park to battle their way through the brackets. All teams came to Sumter looking for that path to the state championship. Many great plays from so many talented young athletes. This was two great days of softball action. SCISA SOFTBALL 2025 - Championship Series Class 1A Softball W.W. King vs. Holly Hill Academy Holly Hill host Game #1 / W.W. King to host Game #2 Class 2A Softball Carolina Academy vs. Dorchester Academy Carolina Academy host Game #1 / Dorchester Academy to host Game #2 Class 3A Softball Clarendon Hall vs. Pee Dee Academy Pee Dee host Game #1 / Clarendon Hall to host Game #2 Class 4A Softball Wilson Hall vs. Laurence Manning Wilson Hall host Game #1 / LMA to host Game #2 Enjoy this sample of images, follow this link for the full gallery.
AAAA, AAA best-of-3 series to start on Tuesday; AA, Class A still scheduled to begin on Monday
By Billy G. Baker Publisher West Columbia — Gray Collegiate Academy boys’ soccer coach an athletic director Kevin Heise, celebrated his 600 th career win late in the 2025 season, and his current War Eagle’s team improved their record to 22-3 with a first round AAAA play-off win over Gilbert , 5-0, on May, 7. The War Eagles will now host Brookland - Cayce on Saturday May, 10. The Bearcats advanced with an 8-0 win over Wilson High . In the win over Gilbert, the Gray boys’ team took 26 shots on goal, making five of them. The goals were scored by five different players. Those War Eagles scoring goals included Ethan Mohundro , Noah Mitchell , Jason Gonzalez , Gavin Greer , and Tanner Leggette, Andres Camp has one assist while Mohundro led the team with two assists and Jay Ethridge added one assist. Earlier in the week, prior to his game with Bluffton, the HSSR interviewed Coach Heise as he was keeping stats on his lap top, watching the Gray Collegiate girls’ soccer team defeat Bluffton 6-1 on May, 6. “We finished 21-3 in the regular season with a 13-1 region record,” said Coach Heise. “The one region game we lost was to North Augusta in penalty kicks at their place earlier in the season. We were fortunate enough to come back home later in the season and best them 4-0. “Winning the region was a big goal because it sets us up well for the play-offs and here, we are getting ready to play Bluffton,” said Coach Heise. “We always hope to be playing our very best once the paly-offs begin.” Coach Heise talked about the seven seniors on this year’s team who have been a vital part of the programs the past several years. He began with senior goalie Joey Sullivan being a four-year starter for Gray. ”Sullivan has already competed in three state championship games, so he has a lot of experience and he has a huge number of minutes played, that will never be surpassed here,” said Coach Heise. “It is very rare to play start four seasons and play in all 30 games each season. He is a good leader for us.” Sullivan has 58 saves in goal this season and he has only allowed 12 goals in well over 1,000 minutes of play. Sullivan is headed to the Honors College at USC. In the mid-field the War Eagles are led by senior Noah Mitchell who has 11 goals and a team leading 26 assists to date. Mitchell is an all-state performer and he will be on the Carolina’s Classic team. Mitchell will be attending Emory University in Virginia. Senior Ethan Mohundro id also in the mid-field. “He’s our glue guy,” said Coach Heise. “He does all the dirty work and leads by example.” Another key forward/mid-fielder is junior Andres Campo who transferred into the program from Cardinal Newman last season. Camp has 14 goals and 12 assists so far this season. Freshman Jason Gonzalez also works hard in the mid-field and he has 11 goals and six assists coming into the post-season. Coach Heise is especially pleased with the play of three marking backs who have led the defense for several years as starters. “Really, a key aspect of our team is three seniors who play in the back,” said Coach Heise. “ JJ Evans is going to be playing in the North-South game (also has 7 goals & 7 assists) and he is joined in the back by senior Junior Gonzalez who is just a great soccer player,” said Coach Heise. “He turned down several colleges offers to move back to Mexico this summer. Then we have in the back senior Jay Ethridge who will also play in the Carolina’s Classic all-star game after the season. Jay has signed to play at USC Lancaster next year. “All seven of our seniors are a very special group of players that we will miss,” said Coach Heise. ”I can’t put it any other way. They are very special players in our program.” Nathan Hernandez is a senior versatile player, on offense and defense, who has missed most of the 2025 season with a knee injury. “Nathan has been a three-year starter but he has only played in about a quarter of our games this season,” said Coach Heise. “The game he has played in, he has made an impact and knock on wood that he can play and give us a shot in the arm in the play-offs.” Some non-senior starters include sophomore mid-fielder Will Webber who has scored 14 goals with 11 assists to date. “He is on the outside and he is tied for the most goals on the season and he just a sophomore,” said Coach Heise. “We have a junior up-front Tanner Leggette and he is a beast, a very big boy at around 200 pounds and he has scored 10 goals with seven assists. We also have a junior right marking back who has started all but one game this season in David Andrade . Freshman Jason Gonzalez has started 8 games for the team this season and he has 11 goals and six assists tohis credit so far. “We have 26 total players on the team and we rotate them in-an-out-out all the time,” said Coach Heise. “All of our players are hard-working and dedicated to the sport of soccer.” Over the past three seasons, Gray Collegiate boys’ soccer has been in the state finals three years in a row. They lost to Christ Church three years ago and to sister charter school Oceanside Collegiate the past two seasons. Can this senior dominated team take that next step and win a state title this season? “The thing I am most proud of is that this team wants to really prove that they can compete at the AAAA level,” said Coach Heise. “Before realignment this year we competed at the AA level. We know that people are waiting to see what we can do at the AAAA level. “In the three championship games we have lost we were beat, 2=0, 1-0, and 3-0,” said Coach Heise. “In two of these games we had a chance to score to score in the first minute of play and one hit the post and the other we just missed a wide-open shot. “You have to score in order to win and we have to take advantage every scoring opportunity we get,” said Coach Heise. “The play-offs are single elimination so we have to play our best from here on out.” Coach Heise is now in his 8 th season at Gray Collegiate. His top assistant is brother Kyle. Other assistant coaches include: Bryan Fallaw, JT Gardner, and Todd Wilkerson. Alisa Dancer is the team statistician. The Gray Collegiate Girls Soccer team Finishes 22-3 On The Season To describe the boy’s and girls’ soccer teams at Gray Collegiate as a family affair would be right on the mark. Emily Heise , wife of Kevin Heise, is the head coach of the War Eagle’s girls’ soccer team. After an opening play-off win over Bluffton (6-1) to start the the play-offs on May, 6 the team lost an over-time hard-fought game to traditional power Hilton Head, 2-1, three-days later to conclude a very successful 2025 season at 22-3. Against Bluffton goals were scored by five different players. Leading the way with two goals was sophomore forward Caroline Cantrell . Cantrell finished the season with 21 goals and four assists for 46 total points. Junior Vanessa Coleman , junior Victoria Coleman , junior Bailey Lancaster , and freshman Maggie Ingram each scored one goal against Bluffton. The top scorer on the team was Victoria Coleman with 32 goals and 22 assists for a total of 86 points. Lancaster finished the season with 47 points, with 11 goals and a team leading 26 assists. Senior goalie Sophie Hoffman allowed only 12 goals all season in 1,460 minutes played. She had 14 shut-outs on the season. Coach Emily Heise, who is expecting the couple’ third child in the near future, is assisted by Kevin Heise , Katie Clampitt , and Kenneth Smith . Kyle Heise is the team’s statistician.
Tournaments resume on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Patriot Park, Palmetto Park in Sumter
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Batesburg —The Batesburg - Leesville Panthers (18-6-1) won their first two games of the 2025 AA baseball playoffs at homes with dominating 11-1 wins over Fairfield Central and Liberty on May, 6 and May, 8 and the Panthers can now enjoy the “sit back” as they await the winner between Liberty and Buford. Liberty will host the game with Buford at 2 pm on Saturday. The winner will advance to travel to Batesburg-Leesville on Monday May, 10 needing to beat the Panthers twice in order to advance. The HSSR was on hand for the Panthers 11-1 win over Liberty, and head B-L coach Chad Bouknight shared some thoughts after the win. “We swung the bats well tonight and after we got a head they had to take their starter out, and then they had to throw some guys who had not thrown a lot, and we were able to take advantage of that,” said Coach Bouknight who played high school baseball at Batesburg-Leesville. “We are taking the rest of the season game-by-game,” said Coach Bouknight. “I still do not know how good we are. In my opinion, we have not played up to our full potential yet, and that is a good thing. We started off the season with home and home games and we spilt with them and we are proud to have won 18 games. “There are a lot of good teams in the upper state AA like Mid-Carolina, Chesnee, Clinton, Andrew Jackson, and Strom Thurmond just to name a few so we have a lot of good teams in front of us,” said Coach Bouknight. “We just need to stay focused and keep improving. “Our lead-off is right fielder Reese Boehnke (19 RBI’s/4 doubles/2 triples & 9 SB) and average wise he might be hitting what he would like, but he is a good lead-off and if gets on base he can do a lot,” said Coach Bouknight. “Then our two-hole hitter Tanner Watkins is having a great senior season (.403/ 23 RBI’s/4 doubles/2 triples/1 HR) and I wish he was a junior, because if he were, he would have a really great chance at going somewhere, and we are still hoping that he does get an opportunity, but he is a kind of late bloomer.” Watkins also plays excellent defense in center field. Coach Bouknight calls three- hole batter, shortstop Braydon Hallman , (.319/19 RBI’s/2 triples/2 HR’s) a key leader of the team, who has been on the varsity since his freshman year. “He is probably our best arm also but he has had arm issues all season,” said Coach Bouknight. Coach Bouknight said the third base position has been platooned among several players this season. Carter Bouknight and Tyler Kneece hold down the position most of the time, depending on which one is pitching. Carter is batting .298 with 8 RBI’s. Kneece has six RBI’s, six doubles and one homer. Junior Preston Smith (.333) in the Panther catcher. “Preston has done a really good job for us behind the plate this year,” said Coach Bouknight. The team’s top hitter to date is left fielder Jack Bouknight who is the team’s clean-up batter and he hitting .443 with 12 RBI’s including six doubles and three triples. “Jack is having an outstanding season for us also,” said Coach Bouknight. Gavin Parrish is the team’s designated hitter batting .344 with 8 RBI’s including four doubles. The second baseman is Landon Soper and he is batting .353 with 12 RBI’s from the 9 th hitting slot. John Sawyer is holding down first base and he bats 5 th in the line-up with a .262 average including 14 RBI’s, four doubles, and one triple. The Panthers certainly have a solid pitching staff that could give them a deep run in the AA baseball play-offs. “We will likely start Kneece or Carter Bouknight on Monday but I still need to consult with my coaches on that,” said Coach Bouknight. The top four pitchers for B-L this season, innings pitched wise, are Kneece who is 7-0 with a 0.93 ERA with 37.2 innings of work and 45 K’s. C. Bouknight who is 4-1 with 37.1 innings of mound work resulting in 47 K’s and a 2.06 ERA. Landon Soper is 1-1 in 21.2 innings of work and he has 16K’s with an ERA of 1.64. Hallman is 1-0 with 14 K’s in 15.2 innings of work and he has a 0.89 ERA. In the win over Liberty, Hallman was 2-of-2 with 2 RBI’s including a two- run homer in the first inning that put the Panthers up 3-0 after the first inning. Boehnke also had two hits and one RBI while Jack Bouknight had two hits and one RBI also. Other Panthers with one hit each against Liberty were Watkins, Soper, Kneece, Parrish and Smith. Michael Lorick scored two runs and had one RBI. Against Liberty Kneece worked 2.1 innings on the mound allowing one earned run. C. Bouknight went 3.2 innings allowing one hit and striking out three. Trey Ulmer is the head coach of Liberty. They had three hits against B-L. Junior Cade Collins had a double, senior Ed Bledsoe had a single and one RBI, and junior Carson Garrick also had a hit. Garrick came into the game leading the team in hitting at .461 while TJ Borow was at .397 and Bledsoe came in at .377. Liberty used four pitchers in the game. They were Cade Collins , Caron Garrick , Caleb Collins and Nolan Oglesby .
Sumter – It is SCISA Softball Tournament Weekend 2025 in Sumter. Two ball parks, two days of action packed softball! Friday Games: Start at 1:30pm Patriot Park – Class A, Class AA, and Class AAA Lower bracket games 6 Games start at 1:30p, 6 games at 3:15p, 6 games at 5p, 1 game at 6:45p, 2 games at 7p Patriot Park – Class A, Class AA, and Class AAA Lower bracket games 4 Games start at 1:30p, followed by 4 games at 3:15p, 4 games at 5p, 2 games at 6:45p, and 2 games at 7p Saturday Games: Start at 9:00pm Patriot Park – Class A and Class AA, bracket games 4 games at 9a, and 2 games at 11a Patriot Park – Class A, Class AA, and Class AAA Lower bracket games 4 games at 9a, 4 games at 11a, 1 game at 1:15p
Sumter – The South Carolina Independent School Association will hold its softball state tournaments for all four classifications on Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10, at both Palmetto Park and Patriot Park SportPlex in Sumter . The 9-team AAAA tournament will be played completely at Patriot Park. Laurence Manning Academy will be trying to defend its state championship. The AAA tournament consists of 11 teams and has a couple of intriguing story lines. Defending champion Pee Dee Academy will be going after its fourth consecutive state title and its third in a row in AAA. The Golden Eagles won the AA crown in 2022. Clarendon Hall will be going after its fourth straight state title as well, having won the last two AA crowns and was the Class A champion in ‘22. The Lady Saints were moved up to AAA this year after realignment, meaning they have a chance to win titles in three classifications in their title run. The AA field will consist of eight teams, while the Class A tournament will have six teams. Jefferson Davis Academy will be trying defend the Class A title, while AA will be crowning a new champion. Each of the tournaments will two bracket winners. Those teams will face off for the state championship in a best-of-3 series. Games will be played May 12-14. The Monday games will be played at the upper bracket winner with the lower bracket winners hosting the Tuesday games. If a third game is needed, it is scheduled for Wednesday at a neutral site. AAAA At Patriot Park SportPlex Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Wilson Hall vs. Augusta Christian, 1:30 p.m. (Field 4) Game 2 – Ben Lippen vs. John Paul II, 3:15 p.m. (Field 3) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 3) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 4) Saturday, May 10 Game 5 – Lower Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 1) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 1) Game 7 – If Necessary Lower Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Northwood Academy vs. Cardinal Newman, 1:30 p.m. (Field 3) Game 2 – Hammond vs. Game 1 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 1) Game 3 – Laurence Manning vs. Heathwood Hall, 3:15 p.m. (Field 4) Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 2) Game 5 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 2 Loser, 7 pm. (Field 4) Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 7 p.m. (Field 4) Saturday, May 10 Game 7 – Upper Game 4 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 2) Game 8 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 2) Game 9 – If Necessary AAA At Patriot Park SportPlex Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Greenwood Christian vs. Dillon Christian, 1:30 p.m. (Field 1) Game 2 – Williamsburg vs. Thomas Sumter, 1:30 p.m.(Field 2) Game 3 – Clarendon Hall vs. Game 1 Winner, 3:15 p.m. (Field 1) Game 4 – Calhoun Academy vs. Game 2 Winner, 3:15 p.m. (Field 2 Game 5 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 6:45 p.m. (Field 1) Game 6 – Game 2 Loser Game 3 Loser 6:45 p.m. (Field 3) Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner (Field 2) Saturday, May 10 Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 3) Game 9 -- Lower Game 6 Loser vs. Game 8 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 3) Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, 1:15 p.m. (Field 1) Game 11 – If Necessary Lower Bracket Friday, May 9 At Palmetto Park Game 1 – Colleton Prep vs. Florence Christian, 3:15 p.m. (Field 1) Game 2 – Pee Dee vs. Game 1 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 1) Game 3 – Orangeburg Prep vs. Spartanburg Christian, 3:15 p.m. (Field 2) Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 2) Game 5 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 2 Loser, 7 pm. (Field 6) Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 7 p.m. (Field 2) Saturday, May 10 At Patriot Park SportPlex Game 7 – Upper Game 4 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 2) Game 8 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 2) Game 9 – If Necessary AA At Palmetto Park Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Carolina Academy vs. Thomas Heyward, 1:30 p.m. (Field 1) Game 2 – Cross Schools vs. Lee Academy, 1:30 p.m. (Field 2) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 3:15 p.m. (Field 5) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 6) Saturday, May 10 Game 5 – Lower Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 1) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 1) Game 7 – If Necessary Lower Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Dorchester Academy vs. Andrew Jackson, 1:30 p.m. (Field 3) Game 2 – The King’s Academy vs. Laurens Academy, 1:30 p.m. (Field 6) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 3:15 p.m. (Field 6) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 5) Saturday, May 10 Game 5 – Upper Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 2) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 4) Game 7 – If Necessary CLASS A At Palmetto Park Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Wardlaw Academy vs. Jefferson Davis, 1:30 p.m. (Field 3) Game 2 – Game 1 Winner vs. Holly Hill, 3:15 p.m. (Field 3) Game 3 – Lower Game 2 Loser vs. Game 1 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 4) Saturday, May 10 Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner 9 a.m. (Field 3) Game 5 – If Necessary Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Marlboro Academy vs. Richard Winn, 1:30 p.m. (Field 4) Game 2 – Game 1 Winner vs. Richard Winn, 3:15 p.m. (Field 4) Game 3 – Upper Game 2 Loser vs. Game 1 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 4) Saturday, May 10 Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner 9 a.m. (Field 6) Game 5 – If Necessary