SCHSL Baseball and Softball Championship Series

Shortstop Katie Guilliam scored two of Summerville’s three runs May 26.

Catawba Ridge freshman Keira O’Brien gets the win in game one.

Oceanside Collegiate rising junior QB Aiden Manavian - Class of '27

McBee comes back and holds on to win Game 1 in the Class A title series 5-3

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Mt. Pleasant – Through the first three innings Saturday night’s first game of the AAA championship series was looking like it would a pitcher’s duel between Oceanside Collegiate’s Aiden Culler and Southside Christian’s CJ Aubuchon but that changed in the fourth and fifth innings as Southside Christian erupted for 13 runs to win game one 14-1 in five innings. Game two will be Tuesday at Southside Christian. The Sabres can claim their fourth consecutive state championship with a win. An Oceanside win would force a deciding game three for the AAA state championship. “We swung the bats well tonight. We struggled in the third a bit, made some adjustments in the fourth and were able to jump on them and put seven on the board. They made a few mistakes and we were able to take advantage. I’m just proud of our guys and their approach to the game,” said Southside Christian’s head coach Scott Freeman. Oceanside Collegiate’s head coach Britt Reames said, “I told our guys we have another game so forget this and move on. This was a poorly executed game all around; we didn’t play defense, we didn’t hit, we didn’t pitch. It is hard to win a game when you don’t execute.” The Sabres were able to manufacture a run in the first thanks to a Landshark error. Tyler Bolemon singled up the middle with one out. Bennett Candler came in as a pinch runner and then got caught by Culler on an attempted pick off move, however, first basemen Aiden Brusman threw the ball into left field and Tyler Bolemon ended up on second base. After Culler struck out the next better before Aubuchon singled to right driving Tyler to score the game’s first run. Culler then took over the next two innings as he struck out five of the six batters he faced. The Landsharks had a chance to get on the board in their half of the second as they loaded the bases on three walks with one out. Aubuchon struck out the next batter and then third basemen Cole Atkins made an outstanding play as he dove left and snagged the hard-hit ball and threw it to first for the third out of the inning. The score was 1-0 Sabres heading into the fourth inning as Culler and Aubuchon had settled down to strike out 12 batters between them. In the top of the fourth the state’s top ranked junior player Carson Bolemon led off with a single to left. Carson went to second on wild pitch before Aubuchon walked. Jacob Wiggs singled to drive in Carson. Mike Hotinski walked to load the bases. Atkins kept the inning going as he singled in Aubuchon. Matt Cauthen walked to reload the bases for the Sabres. An Oceanside error scored Atkins before Tyler and Carson Bolemon drove in two runs each with a single and double respectively to give the Sabres 8-0 lead. Oceanside attempted a comeback in the bottom of the fourth as Charlie Johnson led off the inning with a walk and then stole second base. Charlie Becker singled to move Johnson to third before he scored on a fielder’s choice. Aubuchon then got the next two batters with a fly out to center and he struck out his sixth batter. The top of fifth inning started well for the Landsharks, after Wiggs walked he was thrown out attempting to steal by Oceanside catcher Scott Henry. The next hitter struck out for the second out but then disaster struck for the Landsharks. Third basemen Cade Griffith lost a high fly ball in the lights and dropped the ball allowing Reeves Israel to reach base with two outs. Then Landsharks relief pitcher Tyler Mellison could not find the strike zone as he walked six of the next seven batters he faced. During that stretch Cauthen had the only hit for the Sabres. When the dust settled, Sabres had but six more runs on the board to break open the game at 14-1. Southside Christian brought in Chandler to finish the game SC - 1 0 0 7 6 14 OC- 0 0 1 0 0 1

By Billy Baker Publisher Berkeley County — Batesburg - Leesville head baseball coach Rob Bouknight got right to the root cause of his team’s 5-3 loss, against host Philip Simmons in game one of the SCHSL AA state baseball finals, played on May, 24 in Berkeley County. “When you have 8 walks, and your defense makes three costly errors, you usually don ‘t win a baseball game, and that is what happened to us today, against a quality opponent who took advantage of those two things,” said Coach Bouknight. “Our challenge on Tuesday, at our place, is to throw strikes, and don’t make errors. If we improve on those two things we will be a much better team for sure.” Philip Simmons, on the other hand, got six innings of stellar pitching from senior lefty Nolan Clifford. He scattered five hits, allowed one earned run, and had seven strike-outs. Clifford came into the game as the school’s all-time strike-out leader (around 172). Philip Simmons was founded 8 years ago. After the game, Philip Simmons head coach Josh Kubisz shared some thoughts on his team’s game one win. “The fact that they had that many walks, and a few errors, and we only won by two runs let’s you know that they are a real good baseball team,” said Coach Kubisz. “Clifford had a good game on the mound, but honestly I do not think he had his best stuff today, but he still managed to get a bunch of outs and get his curve ball over for strikes,” said Coach Kubisz. “I still think he has a little more in him.” One concern for the Iron Horses is a freak injury to number two pitcher Pierce Mullen who tripped and fell as he rounded first base, on his solo home run, as the lead-off batter in the bottom of the fourth inning. Mullen did not return to the game and he was replaced by junior Braden Ward. “We fully expect Mullen to be ready to start the game on the mound on Tuesday,” said Coach Kubisz. “His injury appears to be minor and he should be ready to go in game two.” Mullin is 6-2 on the year. In 57.1 innings on the bump he has 76 strike-outs with a 2.93 ERA. “This was also Charlie Helm’s second save of the year and I can not think of a bigger one,” said Coach Kubisz. “He’s been a step-up leader for us his entire career with us.” Coach Kubisz hopes his teams improves on not popping up the ball so much in game two. “I think we can improve on not popping up the ball so much for easy outs like we did early in the game today,” said Coach Kubisz. “We were underneath the baseball on a lot of swings earlier in the game and we hope to correct that on Tuesday.” The Panthers are expected to throw ace pitcher Carter Bouknight on Tuesday. He is 7-1 on the season with a 1.80 ERA with 75 strike-outs in 57.1 innings of work. “He’s been one of our best guys all year so we need for him to have a good outing on Tuesday,” said Coach Bouknight. “Hopefully, we can catch some breaks on Tuesday that we did not get today. We left too many runners on base today.” B-L led 1-0 after the first inning. Right fielder Reese Boehnke led of the game by hit by pitch and he advanced to second on a stolen base. Two batters later Boehnke scored on an RBI single by Braydon Hallman to give the Panthers an early lead. Philip Simmons tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third. Center fielder Alex Romanski drew a one-out walk and then Charlie Helms reached on a hit by pitch. Then a two-base error on an over-throw to first base on a ground ball hit by Kyle Bachmann brought Romanski in to tie the score. In the bottom of the 4 th inning the Iron Horses pulled away for a 4-1 lead. Mullin led off with a home run to make it 2-1. Second baseman Blake Johnson then drew a walk. Clifford reached safely on a bunt. Romanski reached safely on a fielder choice as Johnson was out trying to advance to third. Helm then drew a walk to put two runners on. Clean-up batter Daniel Scarth then delivered a single RBI, scoring Helms to make it a 4-1 lead for the Iron Horse. In the top of the 5 th the Panthers cut the deficit to 4-2. Second baseman Landon Soper reached on a one-out error and then right fielder Boehnke reached on a hit-by-pitch. Two batters later Hallman delivered an RBI single to score Soper to make it a 4-2 game. In the bottom of the 6 th Philip Simmons added an insurance run to the make the score 5-2. Helms delivered a one-out single and then stole second. Bachmann drew a walk to put runners on first and second with one-out. Scarth came through with an RBI single, scoring Helms to make it a 5-2 game. Helms relieved Clifford in the top of the 7 th . The Panthers got a lead-off single by Soper and then Boehnke walked to put two on with no-outs. Two batters later a single RBI by Jack Bouknight brought in Soper to cut the deficit to 5-3. The next B-L batter flew out to left field to end the game. For the game the Iron Horse collected five hits. Scarth led the way at the plate with two hits and two RBI’s. Other hitters were Helms, Bachmann, and Mullen each with one hit. Mullen had the big home run. B-L had seven hits. Hallman led the way going 3-for-four with two RBI’s. The other solo hits were contributed by J Bouknight, first baseman John Sawyer, center fielder Tanner Watkins, and Soper. Starting B-L pitcher Tyler Kneece worked 3.1 innings giving up two hits and four runs while striking out one batter. Other pitchers for B’L were Soper and Brody Lephart who combined to limit the Iron Horses to just one run while striking out two batters in the 2.2 innings they worked. Clifford was the winning pitcher for Philip Simmons and he allowed five hits and two runs while striking out seven. Helms worked one inning and picked up the save.

J.L. Mann’s Nico Ortiz and Ashley Ridge’s Joshua DeSouza battle for possession May 23

Columbia – The 2025 state championships for boys soccer were contested May 22-24 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. Two titles in class AAAAA, as well as titles in AAAA, AA, AA and Class A were decided. The championships included one team finishing with an undefeated season and another win its first title in school history. Here’s a recap of the weekend. (will be updated) Dixie coach Brian Gamble expects a slow start to most seasons. Many of his players participate in basketball and wrestling so time is needed early on to get the team chemistry right. The chemistry was right in 2025 as Dixie won the Class A state title with a 2-1 victory over Hardeeville. It was Dixie’s first title since 2019. “We graduated eight seniors from the team last year so we knew we needed some time to get these kids some experience,” Gamble said. “We definitely got better as the year went on and we thought we had a shot to have a great finish.” Garrett Atkins gave the Hornets a 1-0 lead, finishing off a nice pass from Josh Beiler . Hardeeville tied the game with six minutes gone in the second half but Beiler broke the tie with his game-winner just two minutes later. Both teams battled cramps as the temperatures began to rise and Dixie had just enough to hold off a frantic Hardeeville finish. “We were hanging on by a thread, running on fumes at the end,” Gamble said. “I remember thinking we’d be in trouble if they got the equalizer. But we were able to hang on and survive.” Riverside made history in the AAAAA Division II championship, winning their fifth consecutive state title, 3-1, over Lucy Beckham . It was Riverside’s 17 th boys state title, which tied Bishop England for the most in SC prep history. Will Knight scored two goals inside a minute of each other to break a 1-1 tie about 15 minutes into the second half to give the Warriors the lead for good. Lucy Beckham scored first as Thomas Smith gave the Bengals a 1-0 lead with six minutes left in the first half but Riverside’s Gavin Weidman tied the game with :42 left in the half. Riverside was just 10-8 during the regular season but won five playoff games to win the title. Riverside's history-making win lasted only a few hours. Bishop England defeated Daniel, 2-1, in two overtimes to break the tie with their 18th state championship. It was the first title for second-year coach Brandon Costa. “We’re a defensive team,” said Costa, a 2010 graduate of Bishop England. “The strength of this team is the backline. We have three all-state defenders on this team. We had to change what we do some after we fell behind but the guys did a great job of keeping Daniel off the scoreboard again to give us a chance.” Rowan Pennell’s g oal with 1:06 remaining in the second overtime proved to be the game-winner. Jonah Cooker sent the game into the extra 10-minute sessions, scoring with six minutes remaining to knot the score at one. Earlier this season, Bishop England lost a regular season matchup with Daniel on penalty kicks so Costa expected a defensive battle in the finals. Daniel’s Luka Gasic gave the Lions an early lead, getting a goal five minutes into the contest. After falling behind, the Bishops dominated the play, turning up the offensive push and keeping constant pressure on the Lions. “We name our plays after our coaches and Costa is all-out attack mode,” the coach said. “The guys really did something special.” Despite dictating the pace of play for most of the game, Bishop England trailed, 1-0, after Daniel's :Luka Gasic scored in the fifth minute of play. The Lions, seeking a fourth consecutive state title, opted to play defense for the rest of the night and it worked until late. The Academic Magnet boys team capped a 23-1 season with an impressive 4-0 win over Andrew Jackson in the Class AA finals. Coach Jason Hamil won his fourth state title with the program, their first since 2018. “It’s incredible, these seniors and what they overcame after Covid and all the restrictions, this is the group that sort of brought us back,” Hamil said. “ I can’t say enough about this senior class in particular, batting through all and culminating with this.” Jaden Daley scored six minutes into the match and later added a second goal in the first two minutes of the second half. Cesar Ramirez added a goal off a free kick 21 minutes into the match. Aiden Ruggiero closed out the scoring late in the match. Two-time defending state champions Oceanside Collegiate was unable to capture a third crown as Powdersville won their first title in school history with a 1-0 victory in the Class AAA boys finals. Powdersville was in their first final after losing in the Upper State championship twice prior to this season. The play was physical as both teams battled for an edge. The lone goal of the contest came with 12 minutes remaining in the contest as Ethan Piel found success. Piel also had the only goal in a 1-0 win of the Upper State championship. Powdersville was 23-3 this season. “I am super proud of this group,” Coach Jeremy McCall said. “These boys, they deserve it. It’s a dream come true for them and for me.” OCA appeared to have scored the equalizer as time expired but the goal was waved off by the official, who said the ball touched a player’s hand. The Patriots also lost a goal in the first half when J.P Spearman’s header was nullified due to offsides. “It was a good season,” said OCA coach Collin Phillips . “We didn’t have our best game today but that’s what the game is. You have to show up every day. I wish we could have sent our seniors off with another championship but that’s the way it goes.” Seeking a perfect season, the J.L. Mann Patriots took on Ashley Ridge for the AAAAA Division I title. Ashley Ridge was seeking its second state title in three years after winning their first title in school history in 2023. The Patriots were impressive throughout, building an early lead on their way to a 5-3 victory. The Patriots finish with a 26-0 record while Ashley Ridge was 22-4. Mann scored two goals in the first 18 minutes to take early control of the contest. Timmy Reardon tallied two of those goals and Pietro Bono added a score as the Patriots led 3-1 at halftime. Josh DeSouza scored two goals for Ashley Ridge to keep his team within striking distance but the nation’s third-ranked Patriots had an answer each time. Austin Fuller found the net late to bring Ashley Ridge closer but Smith Darby sealed the deal for J.L, Mann. It was Mann’s first state title since 2015. “All credit to the boys. They worked hard all season,” said J.L. Mann coach Brendan Jones , a former player at Mann. “They don’t quit and that’s something they can hang their hats on. This is something historic for this program, something these kids will never forget.”

Columbia – State championships in girls soccer were decided at Memorial Stadium in a three-day event that featured 11 state title games. Here is a recap of the championships. (will be updated) Oceanside Collegiate won a fifth consecutive state championship in girls soccer, claiming the Class AAA title with a 3-0 win over Christ Church on Friday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. For the third straight season, Oceanside Collegiate faced Christ Church in the championship and for the third straight year the Landsharks won by 3-0 scores. “All three years the matches went pretty much the same,” said coach Mark Meyer . “It was 0-0 all three years at half. We were able to get control early in the second half and it just carried over. Once we got that first goal, we settled down and pretty much played our game.” Neither team scored in the first half but a more settled OCA dominated the final 40 minutes, doing their damage over an 11-minute span. OCA took a 1-0 lead on sophomore Hailey Piesner’s goal midway through the second half. Junior Ella Petry added a goal six minutes later and junior Hayden Wamboldt scored five minutes after Petry for the commanding 3-0 lead. “We lost 11 players, nine that went to play in college, so I don’t think anyone expected us to be here,” Meyer said. “We’re a young team but we are talented. With our youth we feel like we can be back next year.” Academic Magnet’s girls team capped off an impressive playoff run with a 5-0 win over Dixie High School in the Class AA championship. The Raptors out-scored their playoff opponents 32-1 during their run to a seventh state title in school history. It was their first since the 2018 season. “We had 13 seniors who had not experienced this so I am really happy for them,” said coach Alister DeLong , who won his third title. “Some of them have been four-year varsity players and they’ve worked so hard to reach this point. We had a great day, a great playoff run.” Academic Magnet dominated early play, getting off numerous shots on goal with any success. However, Bridget Lee scored in the 15 th minute of play and the rout was on. Hanna Ismail scored off a rebound five minutes later for a 2-0 lead. The Raptors looked to have scored on a corner kick later in the first half but the goal was nullified by the officials. Sophia Benich found the back of the net two minutes into the second half for a 3-0 lead. Just minutes later, Madeline Moye made it 4-0 and Mattie Vermette closed out the scoring in the 63 rd minute of play. DeLong began to empty the bench for the final 10 minutes of the contest. Eastside won a third straight championship, and seventh overall, with a 3-2 overtime win over Chapin in the AAAAA Division II title game. All-stater Payton Nutzman scored two goals, including the game winner in the first of two overtime periods. Camille Carter also scored for the Eagles. When asked what makes his team so solid in key moments, coach David Craig had an answer. “These girls are so religiously grounded in all aspects of their life, the only secret sauce needed is Jesus,” Craig said. “On and off the field, these girls demonstrate what it really means to give 100% of themselves selflessly, and whatever the situation they will give it all for each other as a representation of complete servitude that Jesus put on display. “At the beginning of the season, we had four freshmen make the team and they all got a lot of playing time at the Viking Cup and subsequent games. I even had one of my senior captains ask me why they were getting so many minutes, to which I replied, ‘something tells me we are going to need them down the stretch.’ My daughter and senior four-year starter, Kennedy tore her ACL in the fall, made it back for three games before re-injuring the same knee (surgery coming up Friday). Four-year senior starter, Maryn Holmes tore her ACL before spring break, and 3-year starter Haley Knarr tore her ACL in the last regular season game. And just like that, 3 of the 4 four freshmen found themselves in the starting line-up. The dedication to each other through thick and thin was on full display Saturday when we entered OT, yet again. Each girl sacrificed every bit of energy they had for each other.” Craig says the comeback and performance in overtime is something he has come to expect from a team with great heart and determination. “Chapin is a phenomenal team and extremely dangerous in the attack. We knew that if we could contain their attack or at least slow them down, and work forward from there, we would be okay. Going down 1-0 in the first half and coming back to take the lead 2-1 showed the same resilience I have seen from the girls in this program for 10 years now. We never give up and believe that we are in it. When they tied it up, I figured we would be going to OT. It's what we do and we do not lose in OT, so once we got there, I felt very good about where we were, even with only playing 12 players during the game. “My heart is so happy for them, especially for my eight seniors. I have known most of them for the 10 years I have been back at Eastside with the girls’ program and even some of them since they were born. They knew when they started as Freshmen that these four years were going to be special and they delivered. four straight state championship appearances and winning the last three. The first team in program history to win back-to-back and then to up the ante and conquer the three-peat. While players graduate each year, the foundation is set in stone, and everyone comes in knowing who we are and what we are about.” Chapin got a goal from Mayson Donahue to grab a 1-0 lead in the 17 th minute of action. Chapin’s other goal, from Cat Hagler , came in the 71 st minute to tie the game 2-2. Chapin did not allow a playoff goal until the finals but coach Chad Bridges knew his team would be challenged. “We knew Eastside was a good team,” the coach said. “We had a lead at halftime and they came out and answered. I hate it for girls but we had a great season. We got it to overtime and felt we had a pretty good chance but they answered pretty quick. We just came up a little short.” The class AAAA championship between A.C. Flora and Bishop England proved one thing. It’s not how many shots you take that matters. It’s how many go into the net. A.C. Flora managed just two shots on goal and only one made it into the net, but that one goal was enough for the Falcons to win the first state title in school history with a 1-0 victory. Eric Navarro took over the Flora program last year, moving up from his position as the junior varsity coach, and knew he had a program with potential. “I knew there was something special about this group,” he said. “As we progressed through the season we had some bumps, some hiccups. Every single time we faced a challenge, they stepped up. They got closer and stronger This was the best defensive performance we’ve had all season.” Flora’s only score came from Samantha Lawther , who successfully played a corner kick into paydirt with 22 minutes left in the game. Flora keeper Kennedy Bagley held up her end with a clean sheet despite Bishop England getting 13 shots on goal. Bagley is in her second year as a soccer player. “With every save I got more and more confident. I just didn’t want to lose because this team worked so hard for this,” Bagley said. Bishop England dominated play in the first half, dictating pace of play but failing to score on seven shot attempts. A.C. Flora was the more aggressive team in the second half, limiting the Bishops to just one shot on goal in the first 14 minutes. J.L. Mann and Wando met for the girls title in AAAAA Division I. It was the ninth time the two powerhouses had clashed in the state finals, each team having four wins. J.L. Mann took the series advantage, posting a 3-1 win to claim their fifth title in school history and their first since 2019. “We started out a little shaky to the season but when it really mattered they went out and won games,” said Mann coach Anastasios Georgopoulos . “It’s an amazing feeling. We finished the season with a great moment.” Mann scored all three goals in the first 21 minutes of the contest, the first coming on an own goal when an Ashley Gonzales corner kick bounced off a Wando player’s leg and into the net. Minutes later, freshman Caroline Ray tallied her 14 th goal of the season for a 2-0 lead. Laney Keith’s header, her 15 th goal of the season, made it 3-0. Wando avoided the shutout late with a goal from sophomore Mikayla Humplik. Wando finished 21-6 on the season with only one senior. The roster included 11 sophomores and four freshmen. “We weren’t expected to be here,” said Wando coach Shannon Champ . “We lost eight seniors, six of them went on to play collegiately. To me this was a rebuilding year, just bring them along and maybe get here in a year or two, but here we are playing for the AAAAA Division I state championship. I couldn’t be prouder of the work they put in.”