Panthers are on a roll

By Roger Lee

Contributing Writer

Summerville – Pinewood Prep has clinched its sixth consecutive region baseball championship and only has one loss this season.

The Panthers are 17-1 with a 9-0 mark in their region.

“We are swinging it well top to bottom and our pitching is still good,” said Pinewood Prep coach Jay Buddin. “There really aren’t any holes in our lineup. Sam Spickard and Max Poulakis have been the arms we are relying on. Brian Shelton is our No. 3 and he is doing a good job. A lot of our younger guys are also throwing well. We are doing a lot of little things and fundamental things right. There is great chemistry on this team and everyone is having a lot of fun.”

Pinewood went 2-1 during the 2026 Hanahan Invitational Tournament. The Panthers opened the tournament with a 6-2 loss to a very good Starr’s Mill team out of Georgia. The next day, the Panthers bounced back with a 5-4 win over Laurens. Spickard had the pitching win but the Panthers used several relief pitchers as well. Pinewood kept its momentum going on Day 3, earning a 6-4 win over fellow SCISA team Ben Lippen. Shelton had the start on the hill and Andrew Leister threw the final three innings.

“To come out of the HIT 2-1, I’m happy,” Buddin said. “We even played well against Starr’s Mill. They gave us our first loss of the season, but now that isn’t on our back.”

This week the Panthers will begin their final region series of the season against Palmetto Christian Academy, which has yet to beat a region opponent this season. Pinewood hosts PCA at 6 p.m. April 13, travels to the Eagles April 15 and hosts the third game of the series at 6 p.m. April 16. The Panthers also host Hilton Head Christian Academy (18-2, 8-0 in SCISA 4A Region 2) at 6 p.m. April 14.

“Our pitching has been good and our base running has been really good,” Buddin said. “Our bats are really starting to find their rhythm and grove. Some nights we start three freshmen and they are all doing extremely well. Our seniors are doing a good job leading the way.”

The last three seasons the Panthers made it to the state semifinals and were eliminated in Game 3 of a best of three series. Pinewood returned several varsity lettermen, including five seniors who are returning starters.

“Seniors Will Watson, Grady Fuller, Carson Good, Max Poulakis, and AJ Marte’ all have juice in their bats and lead our offensive attack,” Buddin said. “They set the table.”

All but Marte’, who transferred to Pinewood as a junior, have started for the Panthers since they were freshmen. Watson is committed to Wofford College. The other seniors are all college prospects, though they haven’t all decided whether or not they want to play collegiately.

Poulakis and Fuller man the middle of the infield. The corners are being held down by freshmen Nathan Good and Santiago Rodriquez and junior David Harper.

Marte’ catches most games. Junior Sam Chisolm, sophomore Mason Curti and freshman Brady Truncale also have catching experience.

Junior Camden Abernathy is the staring center fielder. Watson, Carson Good and Truncale are also seeing a lot of action in the grass.

Pinewood has a number of pitchers so it has some flexibility. Abernathy is dealing with some shoulder issues, but he may be able to work into the rotation eventually. Others available to throw are sophomore Reeves Downing, southpaw freshman Jhett Dungan and Curti. Dungan and Curti transferred from Northwood Academy.

Fuller is leading the way at the plate with a .520 on-base percentage and .419 batting average. Truncale, Marte, Harper, Watson, Poulakis, Abernathy, Rodriquez and both of the Good brothers all have an on-base percentage of .415 or higher.

Poulakis is 5-1 on the mound while Shelton is 4-0. Both Spickard and Curti are 3-0.