SCISA AAA runner-up Orangeburg Prep baseball team has a special season
Indians' Tadd Jameson selected as Region 1 Player of the Year
Orangeburg – The Orangeburg Preparatory School baseball team had the best season the program had seen in over two decades. The Indians went 27-5 and reached the SCISA AAA state championship series, losing the best-of-3 series against Hilton Head Prep 2-1.
Despite coming up just short of the ultimate goal, head coach Tate Jameson has nothing but the utmost praise for what his team accomplished.
“Orangeburg Prep had 12 players that came to the field every day with a mood to get better at baseball, but mostly with life,” said Jameson, who led the Indians to their first runner-up finish since 2003. “These guys took an old baseball coach to the dance with them. They were a team that was like family. They believed in each other like no other team I coached.
“They brought a community back together to watch baseball games like I hadn’t seen since the mid ‘90s (Orangeburg Prep’s last state title came in 1991) The way they included the younger generations in ways that made their little bodies confident was remarkable.”
The Indians had a senior-heavy roster with eight, seven of whom were selected to the All-Region 1 team. Leading the way was the coach’s son, Tadd Jameson, who was selected as the Region Player of the Year. Tadd finished with a .356 batting average to go with six doubles, two triples, six home runs, 36 runs batted in and 36 runs scored. He also stole 15 bases. He also had a 0.00 earned run average in 14 1/3 innings pitched.
The other seniors selected All-Region were Mason Tyler, Hunter Judy, Bryson Williams, Charlie McCutchen, Eli Pantaleon and Morrison Burroughs. The lone junior was Tilden “T” Riley.
Tyler batted .280, scored 28 runs and shared the team lead in steals with 27. Judy batted .256 with five doubles, 17 runs and 20 RBI. As a pitcher, Judy worked the most innings with an even 50, finishing with a 2.24 ERA. He had 56 strikeouts while allowing 44 hits and 19 walks.
Williams worked 46 1/3 innings with a 0.91 ERA, striking out 66 while allowing just 20 hits and 20 walks. At the plate, Williams hit .337 with six doubles, two triples, 34 RBI and 26 runs.
McCutchen had a 1.47 ERA in 43 innings, striking out 56 while allowing 36 hits and 19 walks. He batted .293 with four doubles, two homers 33 runs, 19 RBI and 19 stolen bases.
Pantaleon batted .291 with two doubles, a homer, 16 runs and 12 RBI. Pantaleon had a 2.03 ERA in 20 1/3 innings. Burroughs batted an even .200 and finished with eight RBI, including driving in the game-winning run with a walk-off single in the Indians’ 6-5 win over Hilton Head Prep in Game 2 of the championship series.
Riley led the Indians in batting with a .454 average and tied for the lead in stolen bases with 27. He had two doubles, a triple, a homer, 23 RBI and 35 runs.
The other senior on the roster was Kyle Cooper. The rest of the roster included freshman Landon Kuck and juniors Jonathan Marcellana and Saylor Kittrell.
“Starter or not, everyone played a role,” Coach Jameson said. “Something in these guys’ minds this year was bigger than baseball and everyone contributed. Did we win it all? By no means, but for years to come these 12 young men will be remembered around the Orangeburg area. Twenty-seven and five isn’t too shabby in my opinion.”
SCHURLKNIGHT, BALLEW, LAMBRECHT, YONCE, HARTZOG SOFTBALL ALL-REGION
Prestan Schurlknight, Lauren Ballew, Hannah Lambrecht, Jane Walker Yonce and Calee Hartzog were the Orangeburg Prep softball players selected to the All-Region 1-AAA team.
Schurlknight had a monster season at the plate, finishing with a .640 batting average. She finished with 55 hits, with 30 of those going for extra bases. She had 13 home runs, 12 doubles and five triples.
Schurlknight also scored 50 runs, had 40 runs batted in and stole 16 bases. She led the Lady Indians in all of those categories.
Ballew finished with a .360 average, five doubles, six homers, 28 runs and 30 RBI. As a pitcher, Ballew had an 8-1 record for 15-10 Orangeburg Prep and a 4.37 ERA in 57 2/3 innings pitched. She had 40 strikeouts and only walked 12.
Lambrecht batted .481 with six doubles, two triples, two home runs, 28 RBI and 40 runs. Yonce batted .284 with three doubles, two homers, 22 RBI and 21 runs, while Hartzog batted .254 with two doubles, two triples, one homer and 22 runs.
OP BOYS 8TH IN DII TRACK MEET; WILES 2ND IN DISCUS
The Orangeburg Prep boys track and field team finished eighth in the SCISA Division II state meet held on May 2 at the Orangeburg Prep track.
The Indians finished with 24 points. They were led by Hart Wiles, who finished second in the discus. His best throw was 37.19 meters.
Brayden Gramling finished sixth in the discus with a toss of 34.24. Gramling had a fourth-place finish in the javelin with a distance of 40.69.
Connor Funchess also scored in two events, the 200-meter dash and the long jump. Funchess ran the 200 in a time of 23.67 seconds, finishing fourth. He was fifth in the long jump with a distance of 5.8.
The other point for Orangeburg Prep came from the 4x100-meter relay team. It finished sixth in a time of 48.43. The team included Wiles, Jason Cheng, Ger’Maury Robinson and James Williams.
OP BOYS GOLF TEAM SIXTH IN STATE TOURNAMENT
The Orangeburg Prep boys golf team finished sixth in the SCISA AAA state tournament held at the Hackler Course in Conway.
The Indians had a 36-hole score of 670. They shot 342 on the first day and followed it up with a 328 on the final day.
Walt Mims led the way for Orangeburg Prep with a score of 159. He shot 83 in the first round before rebounding with a 76 oni the final 18 holes.
Dakota Boan shot 168, Will Smith 197 and Thomas Hay 199.
