Marlboro County baseball, softball end season with playoffs
By David Shelton
Senior Writer
Bennettsville – The goal of every high school athletic team when their respective season begins is for their season to end with an opportunity to compete in the postseason.
Making the state playoffs is a reward for the hard work that athletes put in on a year-round basis. While making the postseason is no guarantee of extended success, every team goes into the playoffs with hopes of making a deep run. Regardless of the results during the regular season, if a team is fortunate to make the postseason, they have an equal chance to win a state championship.
The regular season for the Marlboro County baseball and softball teams was not overly impressive, but both teams finished high enough in region play to earn a berth in the Class AAA Lower State playoffs.
Once in the playoffs, both teams were able to have some success.
The softball team won just three games during the regular season but recorded two wins in the state playoffs, beating Swansea and Battery Creek. The season ended with losses to eventual Lower State champion Aynor.
Sophomore shortstop Addison Skipper Class AAA all-state honors by the South Carolina Coaches Association for Women’s Sports. Skipper finished the season with a .569 batting average, belting seven homeruns and 12 doubles and 25 RBIs.
Sophomore catcher Ruthie Grooms finished with a .288 batting average and 12 RBIs. Eighth-grader Kaylee Sweatt posted a ,288 batting average and 11 RBIs. Senior Abby Quick batted .267. Quick was one of four seniors on this year’s team.
In baseball, the Bulldogs won six games, including two playoff wins over Battery Creek and Loris. In that 2-0 win over Loris, pitcher Jameson Bradshaw went six innings, allowing five hits, to earn the win on the mound.
In other sports, the girls soccer team also made the playoffs and finished with a 5-6 record.
Members of the track and field program qualified for the AAA state track and field championships. Ledarius Brown was the top performer with a sixth-place finish in the 800 meter run. Cameron Smith finished 12th in the 110 meter hurdles.
For the girls team, Keasia Brown finished ninth in the shot put and Aarin Smith finished 11th in the shot put. Lytavia Hakel was 14th in the 100 hurdles and Kiersten Graham finished 15th in the discus.
