Orangeburg Prep Girls Track Wins Sixth Straight State Title

By Dennis Brunson Hssr.com Associate Editor Manning – The Dorchester Academy baseball team came into the SCISA AA state playoffs with a 7-13 overall record. The Raiders’ run in the playoffs came to an end on Thursday with them sporting a 13-15 record – oh, yeah – and the state championship trophy. DA beat defending state champion Lee Academy 9-5 in the third and deciding game of the best-of-3 championship series at Laurence Manning Academy’s Tucker Belangia Diamond . “These guys here we struggled all season long, but we never lost our composure,” said Dorchester head coach Brent Jackson . “We just came out here in the playoffs and started playing baseball like we should have.” The Raiders won their second title in three years, claiming the 2024 crown. Jackson pointed out an important distinction. “We just had one guy back from that (’24) team,” he said. “This was a new bunch of guys who did it.” The Cavaliers, who finished the season with an 18-6 record, jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first. However, DA broke through for four runs in the third. LA got within 4-2 in the fourth only to see Dorchester match the run in the top of the fifth. Lee put up two in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to 5-4. That set the stage for Raiders senior third baseman Wyatt Byrd . DA’s Reed Almers reached on an infield single to start the top of the sixth. He was forced out on a fielder’s choice, and it appeared Cavaliers relief pitcher Myles Frye had the second out when he got Landon Holly to pop up in foul territory down the first base line. The ball wasn’t caught though, thus extending the at-bat. That would be fatal for LA. Holly came through with a single before Warren Judy struck out for what would have been the third out. Instead, it was just the second and that brought the right-handed swinging Byrd, the No. 5 hitter, to the plate. He lofted a fly ball right down the right field line. The outfield on Tucker Belangia Diamond is pretty spacious with the exception of down the two lines, with right reaching 295 feet. Byrd’s poke ended up clearing the fence for a 3-run home run that made it 8-4. “When I hit it I thought I had a double,” said Byrd, who not only hit his first homer of the season but also hit a homer in his final high school at-bat. “I just got very excited when I saw it was a homer.” Lee head coach Danny Price couldn’t undersell the significance of that scenario. “If we make that play we’re getting out of the inning without them scoring,” Price said. “If we do that, then we really have the momentum going for us. But baseball can be a funny game.” Dorchester would add another run as John Quattlebaum drew a walk, went to third on an Abe Shuler single and stole home to make it 9-4. Lee got a run back in the bottom of the inning, but Judy retired the side in order in the seventh to get the complete game. “I was just out there competing,” said Judy, who finished the game with 90 pitches. “I wasn’t getting a lot of strikeouts. I was just relying on my defense, and they did a great job.” Judy allowed seven hits, but didn’t walk a batter while striking out four. “Warren pitched a heck of a game,” Jackson said. “He just went out there and battled.” The Raiders finished with 12 hits, all of them coming over the last five innings. Shuler led the way in terms of hits, going 3-for-4 with one run batted in. Byrd was 2-for-4 with four RBI and one run scored. Holly was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Judy was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run. Austin Varn had a hit, two runs and an RBI, Carter Beeks had a hit and two runs, and Almers had a hit, a run and an RBI. “We got the clutch hits when we needed them,” said Jackson, whose team didn’t hit a home run in the regular season but hit four over the course of the eight playoff games. Olson had two of LA’s seven hits to go with a run and an RBI. Chance Entzminger had a hit, two runs and an RBI, Andrew Bowers had a hit and an RBI, and Cash Holloway had a hit and a run. Tucker Rogers and Aiden Fitzgerald each had a hit, while Frye scored a run and picked up an RBI. “We had a great season,” Price said. “We hit and pitched well most of the season, but we just didn’t seem to play our best in this series. You have to tip your cap to them (Dorchester). They played well.” Lee got out to the 1-0 lead in the first when Entzminger reached on a 1-out error, stole second and scored on an Olson single. Tyler Gilbert started on the mound for the Cavaliers. He walked Almers to open the game before retiring six batters in a row. However, he walked Beeks to begin the third and wasn’t as lucky this time around. Gilbert struck out Bryce Marchant before getting Almers to hit a ground ball. All hands were safe on an error, and Varn and Holly followed with RBI singles to make it 2-1. Judy had a ground-rule double to drive in a run, and Byrd followed with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-1. LA cut the lead to 4-2 in the fourth. Olson singled with one out, reached third on an Aiden Fitzgerald single and scord on a sacrivifce fly by Frye. Dorchester got the run back in the fifth when Judy and Byrd started the inning with singles. Shuler followed with a 1-out single to score courtesy runner Graham Varnadoe . Holloway led off the Lee fifth with a single and was sacrificed to second by Cary Privette . Entzminger delivered Holloway with a 2-out single, and Bowers followed with an RBI single to cut the deficit to 5-4.

By Rob Gantt Special to The HSSR HANAHAN - Making solid contact at the plate and, with it, winning games has become contagious for Hanahan High School's softball team. The Hawkettes completed a dominant run through the district tournament Wednesday, May 13, with a 10-0 victory over visiting Georgetown High School . Hanahan took control from the outset, plating eight runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Hawkettes, who won for the 11th time in 12 games, finished off the victory by mercy rule with single runs in the fourth and fifth innings. "We've been talking about it since Friday, that we need to get right on it from the start," Hanahan coach Katrina Bezdek said. "I think it took us a little bit more time in our other games because we hadn't played for a while. Now that we're playing more consistently, they were really fired up. They jumped on it first thing." The Hawkettes, who have tallied 60 runs in their past five games, recorded six hits in their initial set of hacks. Infielder Camryn Fowler sparked the scoring with a RBI single. After going up 3-0 on a wild pitch and fielder's choice groundout, Hanahan pitcher Maggie Priddy dropped a RBI single into shallow right field to make it 4-0. Outfielder Briar Mros and infielder Dria Tolbert then connected on two-run triple to make the home team's advantage a very comfortable 8-0. "That first inning, it felt like it was everyone pretty much," Bezdek said. The uprising was plenty of run support for Priddy, who hurled a one-hitter for the Hawkettes with five strikeouts. "We decided to go with Maggie because they hadn't seen her yet, and I thought she threw really, really well," Bezdek said. "She was hitting her spots. She was moving the ball, and then our defense backed her up." First baseman Aubrey Cribb singled in Hanahan's ninth run in the bottom of the fourth inning and Tolbert ended the game with a RBI double in the fifth inning. Mros, Tolbert and Riley each collected two hits for Hanahan. Mros scored three times from the leadoff spot. The Hawkettes also blanked Marlboro County (14-0) and cruised by Georgetown (12-5) in their first two district games. The postseason district title was the eighth for Bezdek. Hanahan (19-6) hosts Dillon High School in the first game of the Lower State tournament Friday, May 15. "It feels like every year we play Dillon," Bezdek said. "They're always good competition. The way we're playing right now, I feel like our confidence is growing. That's going to be the key going into the next round." Dillon secured its district crown with a 3-0 win over Waccamaw Wednesday. The Wildcats (14-12) also knocked off Battery Creek (8-0) and Silver Bluff (9-6) in their district.

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Swampcats complete a three-peat in SCISA AAAA softball.

Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Walterboro – It’s official. The Pee Dee Academy softball program can now say it has been able to bear the title of state champion for the past half decade. The Golden Eagles won their fifth consecutive state crown on Tuesday, beating Colleton Prep Academy 8-1at the CPA field to sweep the best-of-3 SCISA AAA championship series. PDA, which beat the War Hawks 10-0 in five innings on Monday in Mullins , finished the season with a 28-2 record. This is the ninth straight season Pee Dee played in a state title series. It also claimed a championship in 2017. In Monday’s win, senior Maddie Coward tossed a 1-hit shutout. Coward, who has started in the circle for each of those five title teams, struck out nine, walked one and hit a batter. She threw 52 pitcheas, 43 for strikes. Pee Dee scored two runs in the first inning, one in the second, three in both the third and fourth and closed it out with a run with one out in the fifth. Dinah Johnson had a 2-run single in the first inning, while Lilly Grace Rowell had a sacrifice fly that scored Carly Carroll in the second. e The Eagles scored three runs in the third before Addison Hasty had a 2-run double in the fourth followed by an RBI double by Azeleigh Arnette to make it 9-0. The game-ending run came on a triple by Careoll Hasty and Arnette both had two hits to lead PDA’s 8-hit attack. Coward added a double, and Rowell had a single to go with her sac fly. Carroll and Johnson had the other hits. Carolina Academy beats The King's Academy 8-7 to force deciding game in AA Carolina 8 The King’s Academy 7 Florence – Carolina Academy kept alive its hopes of defending the SCISA AA title with an 8-7 victory over The King’s Academy on Tuesday at the TKA field. The deciding game in the best-of-3 series will be played at Florence Christian School on Thursday beginning at 7 p.m. Raeley Frye and Ella Ham did the work in the circle for the Bobcats, who improved to 15-10. Ham smacked a home run, while Paisley Coker had two multiple-run hits. Addison Bescher had 12 strikeouts in the circle for the Lions. Bescher also had 12 strikeouts and allowed just two hits in The King’s Academy’s 5-2 Game 1 win on Monday in Lake City . TKA head coach Jennifer John said Emma Atkinson had a great game catching Bescher, and that Emma Taflinger , Scarlet Rose Rivers and Chloe Ritter backed her in the field with great catches.

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Winnsboro – It wasn’t an easy path, but Holly Hill Academy is the 2-time defending SCISA Class A softball state champion. The Raiders tied the game in the top of the sixth inning and then scored four runs in the seventh to defeat Richard Winn Academy 12-8 on Tuesday at the RWA field to sweep the best-of-3 series. “I’m worn out,” said a happy HHA head coach Kally Knigh t. “We had two crazy games (winning the opener on Monday 11-8), and it was wild on Saturday (in the state tournament. I’m just proud of this team and the way it battled and fought back, really all season long.” Holly Hill tied the game at 8-8 in the sixth. Senior Shelby Hinson came on in relief of starting pitcher Taylor Wright in the bottom of the inning and held the Eagles scoreless the rest of the way. Senior Kinlee Steigler had the go-ahead double in the 4-run seventh. Wright was 2-for-3 with three rusn batted in. In the circle, she worked into the sixth before being relieved by Hinson, who got the victory. Senior Kayley Bell was 2-for-3 with a triple. On Monday, Hinson got the victory as well. She started and worked the first four innings, allowing two hits and one earned run. Wright worked the final three innings, giving up three hits and three runs while earning the save. Milly Kate Prescott led the offense, going 4-for-4 with three RBI. Senior Abbigail Burleson had a hit and three RBI. Freshman Kaila McLean and sophomore Megan Guzzi led Richard Winn, both going 2-for-4 with an RBI. Freshman Hayley Ann Prevatt was intentionally walked five times.

Pee Dee, Laurence Manning, Holly Hill softball, Calhoun baseball win titles on Tuesday.

Calhoun Academy wins first baseball title since 2016 Lee, Marlboro force deciding games; Hilton Head Christian, Cardinal Newman rained out Kingstree – Calhoun Academy won its first SCISA baseball state championship since 2016 by beating Williamsburg Academy 6-4 in eight innings on Tuesday at the WA field to sweep the best-of-3 AAA title series. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 26-1 record. The Stallions closed out with a 20-4 record. Lee Academy 5 Dorchester 3 Bishopville – Lee Academy kept alive its hopes of defending its AA state title with a 5-3 victory over Dorchester Academy on Tuesday at the LA field to even the best-of-3 series at one game apiece. The third and deciding game is scheduled to be played on Thursday at Laurence Manning Academy’s Tucker Belangia Diamond beginning at 7 p.m. Andrew Bowers picked up the victory for the Cavaliers, who improved to 18-5. Landon Olson led the offense, going 3-for-4 with two doubles. The Raiders won the opening game on Monday in St. George by a 6-2 count. DA is 11-15. Marlboro Academy 13 W.W. King 7 Bennettsville – Marlboro Academy evened the best-of-3 Class A title series with a 13-7 win over W.W. King on Tuesday at the MA field. The deciding game will be played on Thursday at Wilson Hall’s Tommy Jones Field in Sumter at a time to be determined. Landon Edge was the winning pitcher for the Dragons, who evened their record at 11-11. Nolan Caulder was 2-for-4 with two runs batted in to lead the offense. Elizabeth Sheppard had five stolen bases. Tucker McGinty and Casen Buzhardt both had a hit and two RBI for King, which finished with eight errors. Greyson Rikard was 2-for-4. The Knights won Monday’s opener in Batesburg by a 9-3 count. WKA scored five runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to break the game open. Elijah Hutto picked up the win, striking out eight in six innings. Hutto was also 2-for-2 with a double, and Rikard also had a double. Edge and Matthew Taylor both had two hits for Marlboro. Colson Smith pitched five innings, allowing two earned runs. Hilton Head Christian vs Cardinal Newman rained out Bluffton – The second game of the AAAA state championship series between Hilton Head Christian Academy and Cardinal Newman scheduled for Tuesday at the HHCA field was postponed due to rain. The game has been rescheduled for Wednesday with a 7 p.m. start. The Eagles are after a third consecutive state title. They opened the best-of-3 title series with an 11-5 win in Columbia on Monday. Slaide Burd hit the first pitch of the game for a home run and Hilton Head Christian rolled from there. It finished with 11 hits led by by Chip Hetzel , who was 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Jackson Richardson had two hits with three RBI and two runs, Roman Colella had two hits, one a double, with two RBI and a run, and Will Mahl had two hits and two runs. Burd finished with the homer, two runs and an RBI, and Dylan Gehm had a home run and three RBI. Eli Morgan scored twice. Tucker Nelson got the win, scattering six hits over six innings. He allowed four runs while striking out eight and walking two. The 16-11 Cardinals finished with seven hits. Will Spotts and Dylan Williams both homered for their lone hits. Williams had three RBI. Chaplin Cox had a hit, a run and an RBI, while Sam Realman and Connor Catteneo both had a hit and a run. Connor Hooks had a hit.

A.C. Flora captures the Class AAAA boys state championship title at the Cayce Tennis Center.