East Clarendon softball team gives school first ever AA state championship
Wolverines sweep Saluda for state title
Turbeville – East Clarendon High School has won state titles in softball before, bringing home the championship trophy in both 2013 and 2017. However, in winning the AA state championship over Saluda recently, the Wolverines made history.
With the first two championships coming in Class A, this was EC softball’s first AA championship. In fact, it was the school’s first AA state championship ever in any sport.
“It’s a big deal,” East Clarendon head coach Jason Newsome said. “It’s a big deal in any class. But there was something special about being the first AA state champion ever at East Clarendon.”
This year marked EC’s second time in the AA ranks following reclassification. It was previously a AA school for four years beginning with the 2018-19 school year.
The Wolverines swept upper state champion Saluda 2-0 in the best-of-3 championship series. They won the opening game 2-1 in Turbeville before traveling to Saluda and securing a 5-3 triumph.
Newsome knew there was potential for a special season at the start of the year. However, he also knew things had to fall right for that to take place.
“At the beginning of the season I knew we had a talented team and potentially could make a deep run,” said Newsome, who just completed his second season as head coach in leading EC to a 28-8 record. “A lot of things had to happen for that to happen. We had to gel as a team, win close games.
“This team started playing its best softball after spring break. The momentum built up and we rode the wave.”
Newsome said what made the difference for the Wolverines came when they started to pick up their offensive production.
“All year we pitched well and we played defense well enough,” he said. “Offensively, our hitting was spotty earlier in the year. We improved at the plate over the course of the year. We had a better understanding of what our roles needed to be in order to be successful.”
East Clarendon was led by senior pitcher Laiklyn Gaskins and freshman shortstop Bailey Hicks. Both were selected to the South Carolina Association for Women’s Sports AA All-State team. Gaskins was selected as the Region 7-AA Pitcher of the Year and Hicks was the choice for the Region Player of the Year.
Hicks had a .400 batting average and an on-base percentage of .496. She scored 50 runs, had 28 runs batted in and stole 41 bases.
Gaskins batted .361 with an OBP of .438. She had 30 RBI, 36 runs and 27 steals. In the circle, she had a 17-4 win-loss record and a 2.45 earned run average. She had 138 strikeouts in 125 innings pitched.
I’ve had her for two years,” Newsome said of Gaskins, who was selected to play in the North-South All-Star Game. “Every time she has given us a chance to win the ball game. To have that confidence in her is just vital to this team.
“Her maturation from this year to last year has been huge. Her desire to win and her competitiveness are her strongest assets. There was never a moment too big for her, not a moment she can’t handle. She was a rock for the team for sure, and I’m glad to send her out with a state championship.”
EC GIRLS SCORE 11, BOYS 4 IN AA TRACK STATE MEET
The East Clarendon girls track and field team scored 11 points while the boys finished with four in the AA state meet on May 16 at Spring Valley’s Harry Parone Stadium in Columbia.
The Wolverine girls placed in three events led by Rihanna Loomis in the 400-meter dash. She finished fifth in a time of 1minute, 01.80 seconds. Teammate Courtney McFadden was seventh in the event in 1:02.39.
The 4x800-meter relay team finished sixth in a time of 10:49.36.
Takoda Cornelius was responsible for all of the boys points. He finished sixth in the 200 dash in 22.18 seconds and was eighth in the 100 dash in 10.98.
