Patrick Henry baseball exceeds Harriott's expectations in first year
Sims Brunson, Spencer Kelehear, Briar Long All-Region selections
Estill – Cary Harriott knew there was going to be some heavy lifting to do when he became the head coach of the Patrick Henry Academy baseball team. The Patriots, who won the SCISA AA state title in 2023 and were 16-4 last season, lost five seniors from last year, including the standout twin duo of Hugh Fairey and Forest Fairey.
To add to that, PHA moved up to AAA for baseball with SCISA realignment. So what did Harriott think of a final record of 9-11 in his first year in charge?
“I would say that we exceeded my expectations for the season considering the depth of the team and the players that we lost last season,” Harriott said. I couldn’t be any more proud of the way the boys played this year.”
Patrick Henry finished the regular season with a 9-9 record and earned a spot in one of the 5-team, double-elimination brackets in the AAA state playoffs. The Patriots beat Spartanburg Christian Academy 5-1 in the opening game before falling to eventual state runner-up Orangeburg Prep 11-3 in the second game. They were eliminated by St. John’s Christian Academy, dropping a tough 3-2 contest.
PHA had three players selected to the All-Region IV-AAA team. They were senior Sims Brunson, sophomore Briar Long and senior Spencer Kelehear.
Brunson, who was also chosen to play in the North-South All-Star Game, led in hitting with a .441 batting average. He had seven doubles, two triples and a home run among his 30 hits. He had 14 runs batted and scored 15 runs. Brunson had an on-base percentage of .487.
Brunson worked the most innings for the Patriots with 34 1/3. He won two games and had a 4.28 earned run average, striking out 32.
Long worked 33 2/3 innings and had 3.95 ERA. He had 39 strikeouts. He batted .217 with three doubles, two homers and 12 RBI.
Kelehear had a .418 average to go with five doubles, a triple and 15 RBI. He had an on-base percentage of .556.
Other key performers for Patrick Henry were sophomore Scoot Mizzell and senior Bryton Peeples.
Mizzell worked 22 2/3 innings and had a 3.40 earned run average and won three games.
Peeples finished with a .321 batting average. On the mound, he worked 18 innings over seven games, posting a 5.44 earned run average and winning one game.
