Panthers are on a roll

SCHSL AAAA Baseball Top 10 (As of 4-12-2026) 1. Fountian Inn 2. Gray Collegiate 3. Airport 4. Wren 5. AC Flora 6. Hartsville 7. Gilbert 8. York 9. Hilton Head 10. South Florence When We Say Everybody Chasing Fountain Inn In The AAAA baseball Race We Mean It By Billy G. Baker Publisher Moncks Corner-Fountain Inn (20-2) head baseball coach Blake Roland is surely smiling every time he fills out his line-up card, before his team plays a game, knowing that he has a quality group of players all committed to the game of baseball. In baseball we all know the pitcher on the mound can control the game. Well, Fountain Inn has three quality pitchers led by senior RHP Paul Passmore . Passmore has worked 39.1 innings on the hill with 50 strikeouts and he has a sterling ERA of 0.18. The next two pitchers are senior Parker Davis who has worked 27.1 innings with an unreal 56 strikeouts and he has an ERA of 0.26. Then for good measure throw in senior RHP Collin Wilson who has pitched 28/1 innings with 36 strikeouts and an ERA of 0.74. Is there a better all-around pitching staff on any other team in South Carolina?  Then you have seven players batting .280 or better led by Davis at .396 with an eye turning 24 RBI’s. Senior catcher Mason Guion is hitting .365 with 12 RBI’s and sophomore outfielder/pitcher Colby Keller is swinging it at .353 and 17 RBI’s. Other top Fountain Inn hitters include senior LHP’first baseman Anderson Hayes at .327 and sophomore third baseman/pitcher Cole Dawkins is at .294 while senior utility performer Daniel Rentz is at .286. Who have to believe that Fountain Inn is going to gas-up on high octane once the playoffs start in a few weeks. Gray Collegiate0(14-3-1, 9-0) is a strong number two in our HSSR ranking head under the co-coach’s set-up of assistants James Adams and Terry Oldaker , who are acting as co-coaches this spring. With the change at the top came a challenge for the seniors as well as the assistant coaches, in that they had to bear a larger responsibility to keep the team going in the right direction. “The team was challenged. It’s their season, not ours,” Adams said. “We put some captains in place; that’s never been done before. We’ve leaned on our seniors. We have given them some direction. They have done a phenomenal job with it.” After a 3-3 start, Gray won 11 straight games, including a 5-4 win over region rival and defending 4A champion Airport April 3. The War Eagles got off to a 4-0 lead by the fourth inning, but Airport scored one run in the bottom of the fourth and, after Gray got a run in the sixth, scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Relief pitcher Brogan Sox , who came on to start the sixth, retired three of four Eagles batters to earn the save to starter Zak Perry’s win. “This is No.1 and No. 2 in the region,” Adams said. “It came down to the wire. We had our guys on the bump tonight. We dealt with adversity; we got it done. I’m proud of them, they grinded it out slowly but surely.” Perry is 5-0 on the season with a 0.24 earned-run average in his five appearances and 38 strikeouts. Sox is 2-0 with a 2.48 ERA in six appearances. At the plate Kaleb Holmes leads War Eagle batters with 40 or more at-bats with a .356 average. Chase Starkey is batting .354 with 17 hits and a team-high 19 RBI, and Garrett Blankenship isn’t far behind with a .346 batting average, 18 hits. Noah Styron (.346), M.J. Hornsby (.245), and Perry (.319) all have a home run. After a strong stint in the Gilbert Invitational over Spring Break, the War Eagles’ season goes into its final stretch. Gray faced Brookland - Cayce twice this week and takes on second-place Gilbert next week. How those two series play out will determine how good a seeding the War Eagles get in the postseason. Beyond the push for the playoffs, Adams said he and Oldaker want to make sure the team stays loose and ready for anything that comes along. “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it. We’re going to keep doing what we are doing,” Adams said. “We’re going to let the boys have fun. We’re going to practice hard and be wise with our time. We want to take the same approach to every game no matter who the opponent is that we are playing.” Look for AC Flora and Hartsville to make strong runs in the AAAA baseball playoffs as well.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Abbeville – Entering spring break, the spring sports teams at Abbeville High have set their sights on a strong finish. Abbeville will have a good presence in the Class A state playoffs when the postseason begins at the end of April. One team hoping for a good run in the baseball team, coached by Daniel Little . Though Little has a relatively young team after losing nine seniors off a 24-win team of 2025. The Panthers carried an 8-3 record into spring break.  “Much younger group with a lot of new faces, but it’s a fun team to coach,” Little said. “They are a scrappy bunch. They play hard and they practice well. We have a lot who have been in the program for a few years waiting on their chance. They know the exprctations of the program and they understand what it takes to compete. “This is my fifth year here so these kids have been with me since I took over and we have grown together. We have good team chemistry and it is a tight group.” The two most experienced players on the roster are shortstop Easton Townsend and pitcher Trey Deason . Deason is hitting .391 through 11 games while Townsend is hitting .333. Sophomore second baseman Thomas Nickles is hitting.381 and sophomore Logan Overholt is hitting .333. Sophomore Brayden Randall l eads the team with 15 innings pitched through March. “We don’t have the big power guys so we have to work hard to get guys on base, play small ball and use our speed to create scoring opportunities,” says Little. The softball team hit the break ar 8-6 overall and 5-2 in region 1-A. Senior Carli Smith has been the leader offensively with a .436 batting average and 12 RBI. Senior Jocelyn Foster is hitting .342 with 11 RBI and senior Miranda Smith is hitting .333. Freshman Rylee Tiller is hittimg .316 with 10 RBI. Freshman Maddie Beiler also has driven in 10 runs. The boys soccer team sits at 7-5 overall and 4-2 in region play. Senior Parker Henderson is among the top players with 16 goals and eight assists. Sophomore Carter Oberholzer has scored 15 goals with eight assists while freshman Juren Dominguez has `10 goals and eight assists. Sophomore Juan Velazquez has scored four goals and juior Brice Williams has scored three goals.

Lake View — Kaleigh Blackmon is a senior and softball player at Lake View High School . As a student athlete, and dual enrolled with NETC, Blackmon has completed 11 college level classes already and many of these courses will help reduce her college work load. She’s already completed American History, Macroeconomics, Probability and Statistics, English 101 and 102, plus Biological Science, to name a few. Blackmon who has been a starter on her softball teams since the 7 th grade readily admits softball is her favorite sport. She enjoys the challenges of playing in the infield at third base. She is also interested in continuing to pursue athletics at the next level. In the classroom she carries a 4.2 GPA, and she says that after high school she plans to attend Horry Georgetown Technical College to earn an Associate’s Degree in Sonography.  For all her athletic and academic accomplishments, Blackmon has been chosen the “NETC” Female Student Athlete of the Month.” This honor is bestowed through a partnership between the Northeastern Technical College and “The High School Sports Report” with the publication communicating with athletic directors at high schools in the counties of Dillon, Marlboro, and Chesterfield, where NETC serves the needs of high school students seeking to earn dual credits in various subjects that can be transferred to colleges after a student’s high school graduation. The NETC currently offers over 44 online dual credit courses for the 2025-26 school year to students in the three counties they serve. Currently, Blackmon is enrolled in dual credit online courses offered by NETC. “Being an athlete has helped me improve my time management because I’ve learned to balance practices, games, schoolwork, and all my other responsibilities,” she said. “It’s taught me to stay organized, don’t procrastinate, and make the most of my time.” When asked about what NETC did to help her, Blackmon said, “It helped prepare me for college by teaching me how to manage online classes along with my high school workload and athletics. It has improved my time management, organization, and ability to stay disciplined without someone constantly reminding me.” When asked about the online class experience, Blackmon said her online experience “It helped me become more independent and responsible with my schoolwork,” she said. “I’ve really enjoyed taking online classes and that was a confidence booster for her time management and planning skills. I try my best to stay organized by getting my NETC work done at the first of the week. I often get my schoolwork done at school so after practice I have time to spend time with my family.” Blackmon recalled her favorite thing about playing softball “is the camaraderie of the dugout; we chant and cheer to uplift our teammates, and it’s just having fun.”

Lake View — Bryce King is a senior, three-sport athlete at Lake View, where his senior year has been one sports season after another. This fall, he played football at the wide receiver and safety positions, which is a sport he’s played every season since middle school. After football, he returned to basketball for his senior season as a guard. Then, with spring time, his favorite sport baseball has started. King started playing t-ball early in life and he has played baseball, in some organized fashion, from summer travel ball to varsity athletics. He readily admits baseball is his favorite sport and hopes his final season will get him noticed by more college scouts. In 18 games this season he’s is batting .530 with 29 hits and a home run. He plays short stop and pitches. He has pitched in 9 games with 53 strikeouts. He is interested in playing in college. King says he has visited USC - Salkehatchie . With his planned college major in nursing, he is also considering USC - Sumter and Florence Darlington Tech . In the classroom, he carries a 4.3 GPA, and he plans to pursue degree in nursing with the goal of becoming a Registered Nurse and possibly a career as a flight nurse in medical transportation.  For all his athletic and academic accomplishments, King has been chosen the “NETC” Male Student Athlete of the Month.” This honor is bestowed through a partnership between the Northeastern Technical College and “The High School Sports Report” with the publication communicating with athletic directors at high schools in the counties of Dillon, Marlboro, and Chesterfield, where NETC serves the needs of high school students seeking to earn dual credits in various subjects that can be transferred to colleges after a student’s high school graduation. The ”NETC” is currently offering over 44 online dual credit courses for the 2025-26 school year to students in the three counties they serve. King has completed his English 101 and 102 requirements for college plus Algebra 101 and Statistics via the online courses offered by NETC. When asked about managing his time to balance academics and sports, King said “Time management is about priorities, and you just have to give up some lesser priority stuff, to make sure you complete your priority items. As a student athlete, and Christian, I prioritize what is important and that means my academics come first, so I can use my athletic talent plus I prioritize making time for church activities.” King had this comment about the NETC experience. “It showed me a college level work load and gave me valuable experience that will prepare me for success at the next level,” he said. “One thing about the online experience, with some courses we were required to talk in groups about the assignments which meant meeting and interacting with our classmates in the online setting which was nice.” When asked about a favorite memory in any sport, King noted that happened in baseball during his junior year, “We had to beat Latta twice in the playoffs to win and earn a spot in the State Championship series,” he said. “We ended up doing just that and earned the lower state title.”

HSSR Div I AAAAA Baseball Top 10 (As of 4-12-2026) 1. James Island 2. Dorman 3. Blythewood 4. Boiling Springs 5. Carolina Forest 6. Spartanburg 7. River Bluff 8. Summerville 9. Stratford 10. Byrnes  HSSR Div II AAAAA Baseball Top 10 (As of 4-12-2026) 1. North Myrtle Beach 2. Nation Ford 3. Hillcrest 4. West Florence 5. Riverside 6. St. James 7. Indian Land 8. Berkeley 9. Conway 10. Nation Ford James Island Favored To Win Second Straight Div I AAAAA Baseball Title; North Myrtle Beach The Team To Beat In The Div. II AAAAA Ranks From Staff Reports Moncks Corner —Ride by the baseball field on the campus of James Island High School in the fall and you are likely seeing on most afternoons a bunch of kids playing baseball and working on their baseball skills. No wonder the Trojans, under the coaching direction of Matt Spivey on the SCHSL Class AAAA baseball title two years ago and then with realignment followed that up with winning the Div. I AAAAA baseball title when they beat Lexington for the gold medal. James Island finished 30-4 and last year and this year’s team is on track to repeat that accomplishment. Several key starters returned from last year’s team so this year’s squad has big game experience on their side. Junior second baseman Trip Ostergard and senior shortstop Taj Marchand have a combined seven years or varsity experience between them. Both are among the top hitters in the lineup and each contribute on the mound on a regular basis. Junior Cooper Jones and senior Colt Hernandez are returning arms from last season while junior Charlie Becker is a transfer from Oceanside Collegiate where he helped win a state AAA title. Senior Finn Pratt returns as the starter at first base and senior Connor Dantzler returns as a starting outfielder and is a key hitter in the lineup. Brady Dantzler has moved into the role of catcher and Ethan Stein has moved into a full-time starting role at third. Another key returning arm is junior Dawson Beldner , who saw key innings during the playoff run last season. James Island is in control of the region with three weeks to play. They close out the league slate with three-game series against Stall, Fort Dorchester and Summerville. In Div. II AAAAA the top ranked team right now by the HSSR are the North Myrtle Beach Chiefs head coached by Brian Alderson . Entering action on April 13, after spring break, the Chiefs had an overall record of 13-3 and a 6-2 record in region six. Both region losses came in close games against Carolina Forest. The Chiefs return from spring break with a huge three-game region series against another contender, St. James with games on April 13, April 15 and April 16. They also have a third region game against Carolina Forest on April 27. The Chiefs are showing a good balance between pitching and hitting with pitching being the overall strength of the team. North Myrtle Beach pitchers have a combined 2.71 staff earned run average with solid depth. Senior Sawyer Smith has three early wins and a 0.83 earned run average in 25 innings of work. Junior Gabe Priest has a 2.07 earned run average and two wins while Fisher Nichols has three wins and a 2.63 ERA. Smith is among the top hitters as well with a .327 batting average and 13 RBI while Priest is hitting .316 with nine RBI. Evan Steuhl is hitting .279 with eight RBI and Trevor Mitchetti is hitting .306 with 14 RBI. Andrew Moody (.286), Kaden Lank (270), and Porter Anglin (286) also contribute offensively. Moody and Lank also see action on the mound. Dorman , Blythewood , and Boiling Spring are strong contenders in Div. I AAAA also. In fact, Blythewood just earned a 7-6 win over Hanahan in the Steadman Division of the HIT finals. Blythewood coach Travis Poole told his team it could have had a cleaner finish. "A win is a win and we're happy when we win," Poole said. "You always use the 12-hour rule whether you win or lose. You reflect and then, after that, you wash it." The Bengals (17-2) extended their win streak to 15 games by going 4-0 in the HIT, also beating Georgetown (9-3), Wando (6-4) and Greenbrier Christian (6-0) in the 56th annual event. Tournament most valuable player Johnny Collins , a senior first baseman/pitcher for the Bengals, highlighted a five-run top of the third inning with a three-run blast over the left field fence. Class 5A Div. I Blythewood added single runs in the fourth and sixth innings to take a seemingly comfortable 7-0 lead over the Class AAA Hawks. "Any time you get into a tournament, the first game or two you're just on spring break," Poole said. "Then, all of a sudden you're playing for something and the atmosphere gets better. I think they get a little jacked up and a little excited in the game. It was fun. I tell them go have fun because you only get to do this once. When you're here, enjoy it." Second baseman Chance Johnson and outfielder Navy Strickland tallied two hits apiece for the Bengals and leadoff hitter Sergio Melendez, the shortstop, doubled in a run. Outfielder Amare Counts and catcher Brandon Bolton chipped in RBIs. Johnson also made an impact on the mound, closing the door on Hanahan's comeback in the seventh. After being greeted with a double that put the potential winning run at second base, Johnson fielded a bunt back to the mound and flipped it home to cut down a runner for the first out. He finished it off with back-to-back strikeouts. "When you've got a team down, you've got to be able to bury them," Poole said. "We didn't do that, but that shows the character of their kids for continuing to fight. They came back and stayed in it." In Div. II AAAAA, never count out Berkeley, the defending state champions who defeated Catawba Ridge last season in the finals. Landy Cox is one of the hardest working head baseball coaches in South Carolina. Do not be surprised if the Stags, led by Florence Darlington signee second baseman Hudson Clark make a deep run in the upcoming playoffs.

Senior Brady Coryell is one of Summerville’s top pitchers/infielders this season.

Southside Chrisitan LHP Carson Boleman (6-4, 210) who's fastball has been clocked at 95mph.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Varnville – The Hampton County Baseball team is fighting for one of the playoffs spots in region 5AA, they currently sit in third place but are battling Edisto and Lake Marion for the number three and four seed from the region. The Canes split with each team so if on of the teams sweep each other than the Canes are in the playoffs no matte how they fare in the region final series with Bridges Prep who is tied atop the region with Barnwell. The Canes opened the season with a win against area rival Colleton County before splitting their region series with Edisto and Lake Marion. They lost the opener in both series only to come back and win game two. Next they dropped two to Barnwell before sweeping Whale Branch. After the series with Bridges Prep they will three games before the AA playoffs begin. All three games are non-region contest. Head coach Nicholas Hain has a young squad with only two seniors and the rest of the team are sophomores or younger. The seniors are Malik Terry and Jaz'Mir Goines. Each player is hitting over .300 with Terry at .393 and Goines at .333. Terry leads the team in hits with 10 while Goines leads the team in doubles. Terry has yet to make an error in 77 fielding chances. He was also named to the class AA all state football team as a linebacker. Sophomores Owen Shaffer and Jakarre Badger are the teams top hitters. While Badger leads the team in batting average at .571 it is Shaffer who leads in almost every other category. Shaffer is hitting .476 and leads the team in runs scored, RBI’s with 10, extra base hits with four and steals with 20. He is also the teams ace on the bump. He has struck out 42 batters in 21 2/3 innings. The Canes have a 7 th and 8 th who are already making their mark on the team in Shane Elmquist and Chris Dupree, respectively . Elmquist is currently hitting .320 and is second on the team in RBI’s with six. He is also second in steals with 14 and has seen time on the mound. Dupree is hitting .400 with 10 steals. He leads the team in hit by pitch with six and is second in on base percentage at .654. Shaffer and sophomore Landon Malphrus led the pitching staff with rest of the staff being 8 th graders and 7 th graders. Malphrus struck out 10 batters in just 8 innings.

The Bengals held on for a wild, 7-6 victory to capture the Steadman Division title in the annual HIT tournament.