Clarendon Hall softball wins region title in first season in SCISA AAA
Lady Saints going after fourth straight state title
Summerton – As is the case with any coach in any sport, his or her team is never going to reach a point where he or she is totally satisfied. However, Clarendon Hall softball head coach Jeffrey Bays can’t complain too much about his squad so far this season.
The Lady Saints are in their first year in SCISA AAA after winning the two previous AA crowns and the Class A crown the season before that. They owned a 9-3 overall record and won Region 1 with a 7-2 mark.
Prior to that, they went 2-1 against both 2-time defending AAA state runner-up Orangeburg Prep and Calhoun Academy.
“We are not playing to our full potential for sure, but they are getting done what they need to get done,” Bays said. “We won both series with OP and Calhoun, but I believe we missed on opportunities in both of those series. We will continue to work hard and clean up the areas we need improvement on.
“I feel like as a team they have exceeded our expectations. We have an opportunity to win our region, and that is a very tough task moving up from AA to AAA and in probably the toughest AAA conference.”
Bays thinks CH has the opportunity to be a much better team. He believes his veteran group of four experienced seniors is still learning to mesh with underclassmen and newcomers to the lineup.
“I do feel like they are playing slightly below our expectations overall, but a lot of that is still the younger players adapting to playing with the older, more experienced, players as well as adapting to the varsity level of play,” Bays said.
The four longtime senior starters are shortstop Mandy Wells, centerfielder Maggie Harrington, catcher Skylar Dymond and pitcher Calli Yount.
Wells was leading Clarendon Hall in hitting with a .417 batting average, home runs with three, triples with two, runs batted in with 16, runs scored with 17 and stolen bases with three through 12 games. She also had four doubles, giving her nine extra-base hits among her 15 hits.
Harrington had a team high on-base percentage of .529 and led in doubles with five. She also had a triple, 10 runs batted in and 11 runs scored. Dymond was batting .333 with an OBP of .429 to go with a double, a triple and four RBI, while Yount had a .321 average, three doubles, a homer and nine RBI.
Brynli Brewer is just a freshman but is a returning starter at third base. She was batting .344 with an OBP of 417 to go with four doubles and 14 runs.
The newcomers to the lineup are seventh-grader Sunshiine Brown in right field, eighth-grader AC Martens at second, freshman Aubree Richardson at first, senior Ashlee Berry in left and senior Ava Cribb in the outfield.
Martens was batting .360 with an OBP of .500 to go with two doubles and seven runs. Brown was batting just .188 but had an OBP of .417 and seven runs. Berry was batting .333, Cribb .214 and Richardson was at .200 with two homers and eight RBI.
Yount is still the main pitcher. She started with a 4-2 win-loss record and a 3.34 earned run average in 35 2/3 innings pitched. She had 58 strikeouts while walking just 10. Brewer was seeing some time in the circle, having worked 19 innings. She had a 2-1 record and a 1.47 ERA.
Other members of the team sophomore Chloe Scott, freshman AJ Clark, junior Kelsie Martin and Ella Stukes.
“I have no doubt these girls will be ready when that time comes and will be ready to play their best ball going into the tournament,” Bays said. “We really have a great group of girls who put in a lot of hard work, and I am well pleased with where they are right now going into season’s end.”
