James Island enters this season as the top-ranked team in AAAAA baseball.

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer LEXINGTON — Clover heavyweight wrestler Messiah Outing’s mission at the 5A Division 1 state championship match Wednesday night was not to get pinned. Going into the 285-pound match between Outing and James Island’s Steven Hernandez at the Lexington High School gym, the Blue Eagles held a 34-28 advantage, and a pin by the Trojan wrestler would subject the matchup to tiebreak criteria established by the National Federation of High School Sports. “We knew it was going to be a tough match,” Clover head coach Michael Fitzgerald said. “We’d wrestled them earlier in the season, we’d seen them at other places, and it was going to be a grind,” Fitzgerald said. “there was a late move there at the end that really put us in a position to win, but yeah it was a nail-biter to say the least.” Outing accomplished the mission and spared the finer points of determining a winner. Through three rounds and six minutes of action, Outing’s defensive posture resisted every effort Hernandez exerted to turn Outing’s shoulders to the mat. While Hernandez won with a score of 8-1, his victory brought only three points to James Island—while Outing’s resistance secured a 34-31 victory and gave the Blue Eagles their first state wrestling championship. “We talk about it with our guys all the time, it’s not necessarily the guy who gets the pin, it’s the guy who doesn’t get pinned,” Fitzgerald said. Taking points away from their opponent was the strategy for the Blue Eagles from the start. Keygan Waters avoided a pin from James Island’s Robby Baty in the 106 match. Even though the Trojans took a 3-0 lead, the Blue Eagles won the next three classes— Beckham Boggess pinned James Baty at 113, Luke Hudson won a technical fall over Caedman Stoyles at 120, and Aiden Santiago won by decision over Sam Harris at 126—to take a 15-3 lead. James Island’s Luke Ridgeway got the Trojans back into it with a pin of Henry Parker at 132, and Trent Collins followed up with a decision over Jamison Smithers at 138 to make it 15-13 Clover. After that match the teams exchanged victories in each weight class. Clover’s Xavier Gonzales pinned Jacob Rasamee at 144, but James Island’s Sebastian Bruno won by decision Keller Brunnelson at 150. Clover’s Tyrone Norris III won by a technical fall over Mikah Brown at 157, but James Island’s Mark Johnson pinned Casey Roden at 165. Clover’s Owen Tatum won by decision over Marcus Van Sickle at 175, but James Island’s Copeland Grooms pinned Will Naves at 190. At that point Clover clung to a 29-28 lead, but when Ethan Vought won by technical fall of James Island’s Morris White at 215, the Blue Eagles were in a position to win—all that was left for Clover to clinch the win was for Outing to outlast Hernandez. “We thought we had a couple of places where we could flip some matches, we knew they were going to kind of flip some as well,” Fitzgerald said. “We kind of stole some points there, but when we won at 157, then we were in a position to match our best with good matchups and seal the victory.” James Island was looking for its first state wrestling championship since 1997 and came close to turning the tide of Clover throughout the match. “I’m definitely super proud of the team,” head coach Tony Bolen said. “They fought, and even our last guy did everything he could. There’s a lot of little things that each guy could do. Three points, you could find that about anywhere in that match. You feel good to get here, but you also hurt for the guys, especially the seniors.”

Summerville defensive back Jordan Ravenell tackles James Island receiver Sam Crumpton Nov. 28 during the fourth round of the 5A Football playoffs. Photo by Roger Lee.

From left, offensive linemen Daniel Krantz, Jahmarion Lott and Cameron Thomas block for the Green Wave Oct. 10. Photo by Roger Lee.

James Island Head Coach Jamar McCoy.

By David Shelton Senior Writer James Island – Great players thrive on the big moment and love to produce on the biggest stage. James Island senior Jake Amman took full advantage of his moment in the sun. With the 2025 baseball season hanging in the balance, Amman’s RBI single in the bottom of the eighth inning scored Collin Anderson to lift James Island to a 6-5 win over Lexington in game three of the Class AAAAA Division I state championship series. The Trojans, 30-4, win a state title for the second straight season, capturing the AAAA crown in 2024. “We just needed to get to Jake with a chance to do some damage. Ethan Stein had a great at bat and drew a walk. I felt really good about chances with Jake up there,” James Island coach Matt Spivey said. “I can’t say enough about this team, their heart and determination. We faced some major adversity today and we handled it. Really proud of them.” Anderson also played hero in the win. He started the game on the mound before moving to centerfield in the sixth inning. Anderson was recalled to the mound in the eighth inning, snuffing out a potential big rally by Lexington after the Wildcats scored one run to take a 5-4 lead. “Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would bring Collin back but we were getting a little desperate,” Spivey said. “We had trouble throwing strikes and we just went with our gut. Collin’s been that guy all year.” Anderson then doubled in the tying run in the bottom of the eighth, finishing with two hits and two RBI in the game. Amman also tallied a pair of hits, giving him five hits in the series. Trip Ostergard and Connor Dantzler also had two hits in game three. In addition to Anderson, the Trojans used five more pitchers and ended up walking eight hitters while hitting three. Lexington, down 4-2 in the seventh, used a double, three walks and a hit batter to tie game. “I definitely think our experience helped us,” Spivey said. “We returned a lot of guys from last year and this team had a target on their back from day one. It was a lot of pressure but these guys thrive on pressure. We were tough on them but they worked their tails off. We won 30 games but it wasn’t easy.” A three-peat is possible but the Trojans lose Anderson, Amman and catcher Stow Rogers . Amman and Rogers each hit over .370 this season and combined for 40 RBIs. Junior Taj Marchand , an Ole Miss commit and one of the top prospects in the state, hit .530 with 12 doubles, eight homers and 42 RBIs. Sophomore Trip Ostergard hit .470 with 33 runs scored and junior Connor Dantzler hit .370 with 33 RBIs. Anderson finished with seven wins on the mound. Marchand added six wins while sophomores Cooper Jones and Dawson Beldner saw a lot of work and will be counted on in 2026. But 2026 can wait. Spivey plans to enjoy this season for a little time before getting back to the grind.

Jake Amman singles home Collin Anderson with winning run as Trojans win 2nd staright title

By WORTHY EVANS Contributing Writer Columbia - Coming off a 5-4 walk-off loss in eight innings to James Island Tuesday night in game one of the 5A Division 1 state championship series, the Lexington baseball team wanted to leave no doubt Wednesday at the Wildcats stadium. Christian Spivey , Logan Blight , and Graham Coleman all doubled off of James Island junior pitcher and Ole Miss commit Taj Marchand in Lexington’s 4-run first inning, and the Wildcats never looked back in a 9-4 victory over the Trojans in game two. “That’s an incredible arm we faced tonight,” Wildcats head coach Brian Hucks said. “I told our guys that it was an amazing show of grit and toughness to lose a heartbreaker like we did the night before and know you’re facing that guy and come back and swing it like that.” The best-of-three series concludes Saturday, as Lexington (22-10-1) and James Island (29-4) will battle it out in Sumter’s Riley Park at 1 p.m. “We’ve got everybody available except Grant ( Kisner ), I believe. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of managing our pitching staff and our pitch counts. Reidar ( Carlson , the starting pitcher for game one) will be available to go, I’m not sure if we’re going to start him or not, but we’ll figure out how to piece it together and see what we can do.” Wildcats fans and Trojans fans packed the perimeter of the Lexington ballfield Wednesday, and everyone saw what the home team could do at the plate. James Island opened the scoring in the first inning with Connor Dantzler’s 2-out RBI single. That hit scored Luke Maxwell , courtesy runner for lead-off man and catcher Stow Rogers , who was hit by a pitch to get on base. With Trip Ostergard at third base and Dantzler at first, Hayden Little struck out to retire the side and bring Lexington to bat. The Wildcats wasted no time. Lead-off man Toby Sobieralski drew a walk, and with Sobieralski’s courtesy runner Jonathan Waldrop on base, Spivey hit a line drive double into centerfield to put runners at second and third. Marchand struck out Brandon Cromer and Lincoln Hill , but Blight’s double into centerfield scored Waldrop and Spivey to give Lexington a 2-1 lead. Kissner drove in Blight with a single to rightfield, and Coleman’s double into rightfield scored Kissner to make it 4-1. Coleman got stranded when Allen Hegler struck out to end the inning, but the Wildcats hits kept on coming in the second inning. Brandon Mobley led off the bottom of the second with a double to left field, and Sobieralski promptly singled him home to make it 5-2. Marchand struck out Spivey, but Cromer’s single put Waldrop at second, and Hill drew a walk to load the bases. Blight was ruled out on the infield fly rule, but with two out, Kissner’s base hit into centerfield scored Cromer and Waldrop to make it 7-1. By then Marchand left the mound in favor of Colt Hernandez , but the James Island reliever didn’t last the inning. Bishop Nixon came on the mound for the Trojans to face Coleman, butHill bolted home from third and was picked off to end the inning. “You knew this was coming, Lexington is too good of a team to lay down,” Trojans head coach Matt Spivey said. “Coach Hucks and his staff do a great job and they’ve got some really talented players, and you’re coming into a tough environment. A couple of things didn’t go our way early on and we didn’t make a couple of routine plays that I thought would have gotten us out of the inning, and all of a sudden you’re staring at a 7-1 deficit.” Marchand was off the mound but stayed in the game, and in the top of the third inning he led off with a solo home run over the fence in leftfield to cut the lead to 7-2. Lexington got two more runs in the third inning. Spivey led off the frame with a solo homer, and later Kissner’s 1-out RBI single scored Cromer to give the Wildcats a 9-2 lead. Kissner, Lexington’s starter, lasted into the fifth inning. He gave up four hits over 4-plus innings. Jack Cooper came on early in the fifth and gave up two earned runs in the sixth inning, but lasted till one out in the seventh. Ahead 9-4, Jake Epps took the mound for Lexington with one out and two men on. He struck out Collin Anderson for the second out and closed out the game getting Finn Pratt out on a flyball to centerfield. While Wednesday didn’t go the Trojans way, Coach Spivey said the team will shake it off and get down to business on Saturday. “We’ll shake this as soon as we get back to the bus,” he said. “We’ll get back to James Island and regroup and we’ll be ready Saturday.” Saturday’s game between Lexington, the 2024 5A champion, and James Island, the 2024 4A champion, will likely electrify Riley Park. “I’m just incredibly proud of our toughness and our grit, and we forced a game three,” Hucks said. “They held serve at their place and we held serve in our place, now let’s play for it all.” Game 1 Lexington 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 – 4 7 1 James Island 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 1 – 5 9 0 WP : Colt Hernandez, 0.2 IP, 1K L – Toby Sobieralski 3-4, HR. Christian Spivey HR. J –Trip Ostergard 3-4, 2B, 2 RBI. Jake Amman 2-3, 2B, 3B. Taj Marchand 2B. Game 2 James Island 1 0 1 0 0 2 0 – 4 9 0 Lexington 4 3 0 2 0 0 x – 9 11 1 WP: Grant Kissner, 4 IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 3BB, 3K. J – Taj Marchand 2-4, HR, 2 RBI. . L – Grant Kissner 3-4, 2B, 4 RBI. Christian Spivey 2-4, 2B, HR. Logan Blight 2B. Bryce Mobley 2B. Graham Coleman 2B.

SCHSL Championship Series got started on Saturday with 12 teams in each category striving to earn a state title. It's looking to be a wet week for most of the state, we'll see how the forecast holds up for these games to be completed. Softball 5/26 - Class 5A Div 1. - Byrnes @ Summerville 5/26 - Class 5A Div. 2 - Catawba Ridge @ St. James 6p 5/27 - Class AAAA - York @ Gray Collegiate 6:30p 5/27 - Class AAA - BHP @ Aynor 6p5/27 - 5/27 - Class AA - Saluda @ East Clarendon 7p 5/27 - Class A - Latta @ Lewisville 6p 5/28 - Class 5A Div 1. - Summerville @ Byrnes 5/28 - Class 5A Div. 2 - St. James @ Catawba Ridge 6p 5/28 - Class AAAA - Gray Collegiate @ York 5/29 - Class AAA - Aynor @ BHP 6p 5/29 - Class AA - Lewisville @ Latta 5/29 - Class A - East Clarendon @ Saluda 7p Game 3s (if needed) on 5/30 Baseball - Games Started Saturday, May 24 th with games 5/27, 5/29, and 5/31 5/24 - Class AAA - Southside Christian 14 , Oceanside 1 5/24 - Class AA - Philip Simons 5 , Batesburg-Leesville 3 5/24 - Class A - McBee 5 , LakeView 3 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 1 - Lexington @ James Island 6:30p 5/27 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Catawba Ridge @ Berkeley 5/27 - Class AAAA - Airport @ Seneca 5/27 - Class AAA - Oceanside @ Southside Christian 5/27 - Class AA - Philip Simons @ Batesburg-Leesville 5/27 - Class A - McBee @ Lake View 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 1 -Lexington@ James Island 6:30p 5/29 - Class 5A Div. 2 -Berkeley @ Catawba Ridge 5/29 - Class AAAA - Seneca @ Airport Game 3s (if needed) on 5/31