Soccer is A Family Affair At Gray Collegiate With Kevin & Emily Heise Head Coaches Of The Boy’s & Girl’s Soccer teams At the School

Tournaments resume on Saturday at 9 a.m. at Patriot Park, Palmetto Park in Sumter

By Billy G. Baker Publisher  Batesburg —The Batesburg - Leesville Panthers (18-6-1) won their first two games of the 2025 AA baseball playoffs at homes with dominating 11-1 wins over Fairfield Central and Liberty on May, 6 and May, 8 and the Panthers can now enjoy the “sit back” as they await the winner between Liberty and Buford. Liberty will host the game with Buford at 2 pm on Saturday. The winner will advance to travel to Batesburg-Leesville on Monday May, 10 needing to beat the Panthers twice in order to advance. The HSSR was on hand for the Panthers 11-1 win over Liberty, and head B-L coach Chad Bouknight shared some thoughts after the win. “We swung the bats well tonight and after we got a head they had to take their starter out, and then they had to throw some guys who had not thrown a lot, and we were able to take advantage of that,” said Coach Bouknight who played high school baseball at Batesburg-Leesville. “We are taking the rest of the season game-by-game,” said Coach Bouknight. “I still do not know how good we are. In my opinion, we have not played up to our full potential yet, and that is a good thing. We started off the season with home and home games and we spilt with them and we are proud to have won 18 games. “There are a lot of good teams in the upper state AA like Mid-Carolina, Chesnee, Clinton, Andrew Jackson, and Strom Thurmond just to name a few so we have a lot of good teams in front of us,” said Coach Bouknight. “We just need to stay focused and keep improving. “Our lead-off is right fielder Reese Boehnke (19 RBI’s/4 doubles/2 triples & 9 SB) and average wise he might be hitting what he would like, but he is a good lead-off and if gets on base he can do a lot,” said Coach Bouknight. “Then our two-hole hitter Tanner Watkins is having a great senior season (.403/ 23 RBI’s/4 doubles/2 triples/1 HR) and I wish he was a junior, because if he were, he would have a really great chance at going somewhere, and we are still hoping that he does get an opportunity, but he is a kind of late bloomer.” Watkins also plays excellent defense in center field. Coach Bouknight calls three- hole batter, shortstop Braydon Hallman , (.319/19 RBI’s/2 triples/2 HR’s) a key leader of the team, who has been on the varsity since his freshman year. “He is probably our best arm also but he has had arm issues all season,” said Coach Bouknight. Coach Bouknight said the third base position has been platooned among several players this season. Carter Bouknight and Tyler Kneece hold down the position most of the time, depending on which one is pitching. Carter is batting .298 with 8 RBI’s. Kneece has six RBI’s, six doubles and one homer. Junior Preston Smith (.333) in the Panther catcher. “Preston has done a really good job for us behind the plate this year,” said Coach Bouknight. The team’s top hitter to date is left fielder Jack Bouknight who is the team’s clean-up batter and he hitting .443 with 12 RBI’s including six doubles and three triples. “Jack is having an outstanding season for us also,” said Coach Bouknight. Gavin Parrish is the team’s designated hitter batting .344 with 8 RBI’s including four doubles. The second baseman is Landon Soper and he is batting .353 with 12 RBI’s from the 9 th hitting slot. John Sawyer is holding down first base and he bats 5 th in the line-up with a .262 average including 14 RBI’s, four doubles, and one triple. The Panthers certainly have a solid pitching staff that could give them a deep run in the AA baseball play-offs. “We will likely start Kneece or Carter Bouknight on Monday but I still need to consult with my coaches on that,” said Coach Bouknight. The top four pitchers for B-L this season, innings pitched wise, are Kneece who is 7-0 with a 0.93 ERA with 37.2 innings of work and 45 K’s. C. Bouknight who is 4-1 with 37.1 innings of mound work resulting in 47 K’s and a 2.06 ERA. Landon Soper is 1-1 in 21.2 innings of work and he has 16K’s with an ERA of 1.64. Hallman is 1-0 with 14 K’s in 15.2 innings of work and he has a 0.89 ERA. In the win over Liberty, Hallman was 2-of-2 with 2 RBI’s including a two- run homer in the first inning that put the Panthers up 3-0 after the first inning. Boehnke also had two hits and one RBI while Jack Bouknight had two hits and one RBI also. Other Panthers with one hit each against Liberty were Watkins, Soper, Kneece, Parrish and Smith. Michael Lorick scored two runs and had one RBI. Against Liberty Kneece worked 2.1 innings on the mound allowing one earned run. C. Bouknight went 3.2 innings allowing one hit and striking out three. Trey Ulmer is the head coach of Liberty. They had three hits against B-L. Junior Cade Collins had a double, senior Ed Bledsoe had a single and one RBI, and junior Carson Garrick also had a hit. Garrick came into the game leading the team in hitting at .461 while TJ Borow was at .397 and Bledsoe came in at .377. Liberty used four pitchers in the game. They were Cade Collins , Caron Garrick , Caleb Collins and Nolan Oglesby .

Sumter – It is SCISA Softball Tournament Weekend 2025 in Sumter. Two ball parks, two days of action packed softball! Friday Games: Start at 1:30pm Patriot Park – Class A, Class AA, and Class AAA Lower bracket games 6 Games start at 1:30p, 6 games at 3:15p, 6 games at 5p, 1 game at 6:45p, 2 games at 7p Patriot Park – Class A, Class AA, and Class AAA Lower bracket games 4 Games start at 1:30p, followed by 4 games at 3:15p, 4 games at 5p, 2 games at 6:45p, and 2 games at 7p Saturday Games: Start at 9:00pm Patriot Park – Class A and Class AA, bracket games 4 games at 9a, and 2 games at 11a Patriot Park – Class A, Class AA, and Class AAA Lower bracket games 4 games at 9a, 4 games at 11a, 1 game at 1:15p

Sumter – The South Carolina Independent School Association will hold its softball state tournaments for all four classifications on Friday, May 9, and Saturday, May 10, at both Palmetto Park and Patriot Park SportPlex in Sumter . The 9-team AAAA tournament will be played completely at Patriot Park. Laurence Manning Academy will be trying to defend its state championship. The AAA tournament consists of 11 teams and has a couple of intriguing story lines. Defending champion Pee Dee Academy will be going after its fourth consecutive state title and its third in a row in AAA. The Golden Eagles won the AA crown in 2022. Clarendon Hall will be going after its fourth straight state title as well, having won the last two AA crowns and was the Class A champion in ‘22. The Lady Saints were moved up to AAA this year after realignment, meaning they have a chance to win titles in three classifications in their title run. The AA field will consist of eight teams, while the Class A tournament will have six teams. Jefferson Davis Academy will be trying defend the Class A title, while AA will be crowning a new champion. Each of the tournaments will two bracket winners. Those teams will face off for the state championship in a best-of-3 series. Games will be played May 12-14. The Monday games will be played at the upper bracket winner with the lower bracket winners hosting the Tuesday games. If a third game is needed, it is scheduled for Wednesday at a neutral site. AAAA At Patriot Park SportPlex Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Wilson Hall vs. Augusta Christian, 1:30 p.m. (Field 4) Game 2 – Ben Lippen vs. John Paul II, 3:15 p.m. (Field 3) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 3) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 4) Saturday, May 10 Game 5 – Lower Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 1) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 1) Game 7 – If Necessary Lower Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Northwood Academy vs. Cardinal Newman, 1:30 p.m. (Field 3) Game 2 – Hammond vs. Game 1 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 1) Game 3 – Laurence Manning vs. Heathwood Hall, 3:15 p.m. (Field 4) Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 2) Game 5 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 2 Loser, 7 pm. (Field 4) Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 7 p.m. (Field 4) Saturday, May 10 Game 7 – Upper Game 4 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 2) Game 8 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 2) Game 9 – If Necessary AAA At Patriot Park SportPlex Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Greenwood Christian vs. Dillon Christian, 1:30 p.m. (Field 1) Game 2 – Williamsburg vs. Thomas Sumter, 1:30 p.m.(Field 2) Game 3 – Clarendon Hall vs. Game 1 Winner, 3:15 p.m. (Field 1) Game 4 – Calhoun Academy vs. Game 2 Winner, 3:15 p.m. (Field 2 Game 5 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 4 Loser, 6:45 p.m. (Field 1) Game 6 – Game 2 Loser Game 3 Loser 6:45 p.m. (Field 3) Game 7 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner (Field 2) Saturday, May 10 Game 8 – Game 5 Winner vs. Game 6 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 3) Game 9 -- Lower Game 6 Loser vs. Game 8 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 3) Game 10 – Game 7 Winner vs. Game 9 Winner, 1:15 p.m. (Field 1) Game 11 – If Necessary Lower Bracket Friday, May 9 At Palmetto Park Game 1 – Colleton Prep vs. Florence Christian, 3:15 p.m. (Field 1) Game 2 – Pee Dee vs. Game 1 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 1) Game 3 – Orangeburg Prep vs. Spartanburg Christian, 3:15 p.m. (Field 2) Game 4 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 2) Game 5 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 2 Loser, 7 pm. (Field 6) Game 6 – Game 3 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 7 p.m. (Field 2) Saturday, May 10 At Patriot Park SportPlex Game 7 – Upper Game 4 Loser vs. Game 5 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 2) Game 8 – Game 6 Winner vs. Game 7 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 2) Game 9 – If Necessary AA At Palmetto Park Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Carolina Academy vs. Thomas Heyward, 1:30 p.m. (Field 1) Game 2 – Cross Schools vs. Lee Academy, 1:30 p.m. (Field 2) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 3:15 p.m. (Field 5) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 6) Saturday, May 10 Game 5 – Lower Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 1) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 1) Game 7 – If Necessary Lower Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Dorchester Academy vs. Andrew Jackson, 1:30 p.m. (Field 3) Game 2 – The King’s Academy vs. Laurens Academy, 1:30 p.m. (Field 6) Game 3 – Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser, 3:15 p.m. (Field 6) Game 4 – Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner, 5 p.m. (Field 5) Saturday, May 10 Game 5 – Upper Game 4 Loser vs. Game 3 Winner, 9 a.m. (Field 2) Game 6 – Game 4 Winner vs. Game 5 Winner, 11 a.m. (Field 4) Game 7 – If Necessary CLASS A At Palmetto Park Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Wardlaw Academy vs. Jefferson Davis, 1:30 p.m. (Field 3) Game 2 – Game 1 Winner vs. Holly Hill, 3:15 p.m. (Field 3) Game 3 – Lower Game 2 Loser vs. Game 1 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 4) Saturday, May 10 Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner 9 a.m. (Field 3) Game 5 – If Necessary Upper Bracket Friday, May 9 Game 1 – Marlboro Academy vs. Richard Winn, 1:30 p.m. (Field 4) Game 2 – Game 1 Winner vs. Richard Winn, 3:15 p.m. (Field 4) Game 3 – Upper Game 2 Loser vs. Game 1 Loser, 5 p.m. (Field 4) Saturday, May 10 Game 4 – Game 2 Winner vs. Game 3 Winner 9 a.m. (Field 6) Game 5 – If Necessary

Pinewood Prep, Ben Lippen to play Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in Sumter for final AAAA berth

Gray Collegiate head coach Doug Frye With Co-captains Aspen Boulware an Naveah Matthews.

All four teams complete sweeps in semifinal series

Irmo – Lexington High’s girls lacrosse team made history on May 3, winning their first-ever state championship with a 12-7 win over Spartanburg in the 2025 Class AAAAA Division I state title contest at Irmo High School. The rest of the state championship contests were dominated by Lowcountry schools. Oceanside Collegiate won the boys and girls titles in class AAAA, while Lucy Beckham won titles in both boys and girls in AAAAA Division II. The Wando boys team won the AAAAA Division I championship. The Wildcats finish an historic season with an 18-1 record, losing only to AAAA state champion Oceanside Collegiate during the regular season. Early in the season, Lexington knocked off Bishop England, handing the Bishops their first loss to an in-state team since 2017. Izzy Saville scored five goals to lead a balanced offensive effort for the Wildcats, Anna Barger scored three goals, all in the second half. “It has to take everyone to accomplish something like this,” Saville said. But the story of the day was Lexington goalie Emersin Clamp , who shut down the Spartanburg offensive attack with 15 saves. Seven of those saves came in the key first quarter when she had seven saves as Lexington opened a 4-1 lead in the opening period. “I had to do it for my team,” Clamp said. “I knew what I was doing it for, for my team.” Saville’s third goal gave Lexington a 5-2 halftime lead and her fourth goal, after Barger’s first score, pushed the lead to 7-2 with 7:30 left in the third. Spartanburg’s biggest rally came over the final 4:07 of the third period. Evers Morris tallied two quick scores and Saffy Evans made it 9-6 heading into the fourth on a goal with seven seconds left. Lexington snuffed out the comeback with three goals in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter as Jada Van Sickle, Bella Adler and Barger all netted tallies. Morris and Evans led Spartanburg with three goals each. “We focused on playing our game, really all season. We didn’t worry so much about who we were playing as long as we kept our tempo up,” second-year Lexington coach Tiffany Tortorello said. “This shows the improvements in the Midlands and how our team culture is growing.” Not even Mother Nature could keep the Oceanside Collegiate girls lacrosse team from winning their second state title in three years on Friday night. The Landsharks, ranked as the No. 1 team in South Carolina, earned their first-ever win over rival Bishop England, the second-ranked team in the state, by a final score of 12-8 in the Class AAAA finals. The championship game was halted by thunderstorms early in the third period with OCA holding a 10-3 lead, The delay lasted more than two hours. Two-time All-American Teagan Scott came up big for Oceanside, tallying five early goals and two assists as the Landsharks built a 9-3 halftime advantage. Cadyn Clark’s second goal in the first minute of the third quarter pushed the lead to 10-3 just before lightening and heavy rain halted play. Bishop England came into the contest having won seven of the last eight state titles and with a 16-2 record. The Bishops came out of the long weather delay as the more aggressive team and Hannah Rosato scored two goals in five minutes to trim the OCA lead to 10-5. Scott, however, added her sixth goal with 2:42 remaining in the quarter to put the lead at 11-5. Bishop England’s Natalie Noone scored with under a minute remaining but OCA answered late in the quarter on a goal from Ashlyn Key to take a 12-6 lead into the fourth quarter. Whitney Jellison’s goal early in the fourth to bring the Bishops to 12-7. Noone added a goal to make it 12-8 with just under eight minutes remaining in the game. Oceanside Collegiate finishes with an 18-4 record. “It feels really, really good,” OCA coach Ashley McCulloch said. “I think we know how hard we worked this year and how much time and effort we put into it. These seniors were freshmen when I started coaching here so it has been nice to see them go through the program and end on a really good note.” Wando’s boys team claimed their ninth state title, beating Dorman, 18-1, in the Class AAAAA Division I finals, while the Lucy Beckham boys team won their fourth straight championship, beating Nation Ford, 14-5, in the AAAAA Division II finals.. Lucy Beckham’s girls captured their first state title, beating Fort Mill, 8-5, in the AAAAA Division II championship. The dominance of the Wando program continued on Saturday as the Warriors scored early and often while surviving a three-hour weather delay. Wando (16-2) won its ninth state championship in their 13th finals appearance of the last 15 seasons, all under current coach Lance Renes . The Warriors were clearly the better team as evidenced by early aggressive play. Wando got two quick first quarter goals from Connor Carretta and Brock Simpson , followed by Harris Beck’s goal for a 3-0 lead five minutes into the contest. Beck and Simpson each added goals late in the first and the Warriors were up 5-0. The lead stretched to 9-0 after two more goals from Carretta, and tallies from Gavin Long and Pierce Melell a. Dorman got on the board with 7:12 left in the second period, just before a weather delay due to lightening sent the teams to the locker room. This delay lasted three hours but the break in play did nothing to cool Wando’s momentum. Three minutes after the resumption of play, Wando made it 10-1 on Connor Bennett’s tally. The Warriors led 13-1 after three periods on goals from Carretta, Long and Beck. Carretta finished with three goals while Simpson and Beck each scored twice. The second half was played with a running clock with Wando leading 16-1 after three periods. “Today was just another example of adapting and overcoming,” said Renes. “Proud of our guys for sticking out a three-hour rain delay. Proud of them for holding in and getting the job done.” Lucy Beckham’s girls joined the Lowcountry parade of champions with Oceanside Collegiate, who won the AAAA girls title the night before. The Bengals were making their second finals appearance, losing to OCA in 2023. “One of our goals in the beginning of the season was to show out and show up and become a part of the championship tradition,” second-year head coach Vanessa Southworth said. “It has been a journey that started when these seniors were freshmen. We got a little better each year but we all felt like this could be our year. It’s very satisfying as a coach to see these girls celebrate with so much emotion.” A strong defensive effort was key in the victory as Lucy Beckham dominated play and possession in building a 7-2 halftime advantage. Iliana Kane (three goals) and Emily Butler (two goals) set the pace offensively. Mia Weis , Cat Chance and Violet Coates added scores as well. “We certainly try to be balanced but I think our defense has been our strength,” Southworth said. “It was good today. We got the stops and gave our attack an opportunity to score. We were really locked in today.” The Lucy Beckham boys were tested by perennial Upper State power Nation Ford, at least for a half. The Bengals held a slim 4-3 lead at the half but were thoroughly dominant in the last two periods with a 10-2 scoring advantage. Bear Hankins and Connor Simmons each scored three goals while Henry Hankins and Brendan Dick each provided two goals apiece. The Bengals scored 71 goals in their four playoff wins, allowing only seven goals in those wins. The Bengals won the third quarter by a 4-0 count, getting two goals from Henry Hankins and single tallies from Bear Hankins and Wyatt Coombs . Fort Mill made a brief run midway through the fourth quarter as Josh Ameo scored two quick goals to cut the lead to 9-5. Ameo finished his final game with three goals. But, Lucy Beckham answered the challenge with five goals over the final six minutes. The Bengals finished the season with a 17-3 record.

Roundup on all eight games along with complete brackets are available here