Seneca girls win fourth consecutive AAA girls state championship

Neill Kirkpatrick Special Contributor • May 19, 2024

Philip Simmons claim boys AAA crown

           Hopkins – The Philip Simmons Iron Horse boys track and field team captured its first AAA track and field state championship while the Seneca High School Lady Bobcats won their fourth consecutive AAA championship on Friday at the Stadium at Lower Richland.


          The Iron Horses won their only gold in the 4x400-meter relay but used their depth to score points in 14 of the 18 events for a total of 84 points to beat runner-up Seneca, which finished with 66. It was Seneca’s third runner-up finish in the last four years.


         Meanwhile, the Lady Bobcats were in a cat fight with their Region 1 rival, the Daniel Lady Lions. The difference was the Lady Bobcats sprinters outdueling the Lady Lions distance runners to win by a score of 91-85.


         “This is a phenomenal group; they show up, they enjoy the workouts and they look out for what’s best for the team even though track tends to be an individual sport,” said Seneca head coach Chris White. “We did what we expected, but we were excited to get points from our 4x800 relay team and some extra points in the 200 and 400. Getting those points in a close meet really helps.


         "I’m going to miss this senior class, but we say that every year. This group has won seven state championship in track and cross country; just a phenomenal group of young ladies.”


        The Lady Bobcats were led by senior Micayla Collins. She was the only triple individual gold medal winner, sweeping the sprinting events -- the 100-, 200- and 400-meter dashes. in elite performances times. She won the 100 in 12 seconds flat, the 200 in 24.99 and the 400 in 57.55. She also ran the second leg of the silver medal-winning 4x100 relay team.


       Joining Collins on the 4x100 relay team were Izara Seraneau (lead leg), Celia Gully (third) and Jaelyn Carver (anchor).


       “Honestly, I have not really processed it yet. The events are so close together and with all the races that I run, you just have a job to do and you just have to finish it. I am really glad that I was able to do what I was supposed to do for my team,” said Collins.


        “Micayla is a special athlete and young lady. Her attitude is always team first and the team follows her lead,” said White.


        Gully also had a big meet for the Lady Bobcats, winning gold in the triple jump with a hop, skip and jump of 37 feet, 3.25 inches, which set a new personal record. She won her second silver medal in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 15.52, which was just off her PR of 15.47. She picked up two vital points in the long jump as well.


        The Lady Bobcats placed second and third in the pole vault. Elli Berry took the silver with a vault of 11-00.00 and Sadie Goodroe won bronze with a vault of 11-00.00, Berry placed higher because of fewer misses at a lower height.


        Sophomore Jenna Morris also brought home a medal as she placed third in the high jump (4-11.00) to win bronze.


        All points were important in Seneca’s win as Carver also had a sixth in the 200 and fifth in the 400, while Morris had an eighth in the long jump and Savannah Weston had a sixth in the discus.


       The 4x800 relay team of Hailey Gomez, Isabella Dever, Karmandee Hall and Ava Nimmons finished seventh.


        Daniel's Ashby Williams won gold in the 3,200-meter run (11 minutes, 37.11 seconds) and bronze in the 1,600 run (5:14.57), while teammate Lizah Williams won gold in the 1,600 (5:13.08) and finished fourth in the 3,200.


        The Lady Lions won the 4x800 relay as Ashby Williams and Lizah Williams teamed up with Hannah Brown and Lilly Tidwell for the gold (9:36.07) and Jaden Fleming, Caroline Schell, Madison Stowers and Colleen DiMaio brought home gold in the 4x400 in a time of 4:03.89 to end the running events


        In the 4x100, the Clinton Lady Red Devils took the gold in a time of 48.37. Running for Clinton were McKenzie Clark, Mylayja Thompson, Nahshia Wright and Zipporah Scurry.


        Belton-Honea Path’s Aisha Edmond won the 800 run in a time of 2:22.10. She took control of the race on the back stretch and held on to win.


        The hurdles saw Molly Page Morris of Powdersville win 100 hurdles in an elite time of 14.41 and Camden’s Caroline Cassidy win the 400 hurdles in a time of 1:04.24.


        Anaiya Houseal of Beaufort won the high jump (5-01.00) on fewer misses and Leiyana Rose of Camden won the long jump with a jump of 18-08.75.


        Ashley Roush of Philip Simmons won the pole vault with a vault of 11-11.75.


        The throwing events saw three different winners; in the discus, Ella Davidson of Powdersville won with a throw of 119-05.50, Diamond Martin of Broome won the javelin with a throw of 120-09.50 and Lower Richland’s Jhnai Sumter won the shot put with a put of 38-06.50.


        Bo Jimenez, Kolton Kellermann, Alejandro Peredia and Ethan Sullivan won Philip

Simmons' lone gold on the last running event of the meet, the 4x400 relay, in a time of 3:22.68. Their time was an elite performance time.


        Sullivan also placed fourth in the 400 in 49.63 while Peredia finished seventh in the 400 hurdles in a time of 58.55.


        On the track, the Iron Horses scored points in every event but the 110 hurdles and the 800. They were led by Corey Steed. He finished second in both the 100 and 200 and ran the

second leg on the silver medal -winning 4x100 relay team. His 10.80 in the 100 was a new PR.


       Joining Steed on the 4x100 relay team are Darriel Porcher,  Troy Stevenson and Markellis Asbury. Stevenson, a Georgia Tech signee in football, brought home two bronze medals in the long jump and high jump. He jumped 21-10.50 in the long jump and cleared 6-02.75 in the high jump.


        Pierce Walker posted a time of 9:35.10 in the 3,200 to finish second and take silver. He also scored points in the 1,600, finishing fourth. Joseph Wright also scored points in the 1,600 placing eighth in 4:37.44.


       The 4x800 relay team placed fourth in a time 8:17.53. The team consists of Wright,

Grady Castiglia, Wesley Patterson and Walker.


       In the field events, Bryce Ellington took third in the triple jump with a jump of 45-04.50, while Trey Hensley placed eighth (12-05.50) in the pole vault, and Matthew Yaun was sixth in the javelin with a toss of 153-10.50.


       The boys lone double gold medalist was Southside’s Ian Johnson. He won the 100 meters in 10.48 and posted the best time of the state championship weekend in the 200 with a time of 21.14.


       “It feels great to win two gold medals. Running the best race I could possibly run and I set a new PR in the 200. I did not run the first 100 as fast as I have so when I came off the curve I was able to kick it into another gear, “ said Johnson. “I wanted to go 10.3 in the 100 but I have summer track so I am going to get it.”


       Alex Smith of Fountain Inn High School won the 400 in 48.79, setting a new PR in the process.


       The 800, 1,600 and 3,200 were won by Todd Harris of Travelers Rest, Eli Roth of Dreher and Elijah Poore of Walhalla, respectively. Harris won the 800 in 1:58.80, Roth won the 1,600 in

4:18.58 and Poore won the 3,200 in 9:32.77.


       In the hurdles, Chapman’s Shamon Black won a very fast 110 race in a time of 13.93.

Five of the eight hurdlers ran sub-15. Jabari Dillard of Clinton posted a time of 13.99 for

second. In the 400 hurdles Beaufort’s Eric Smart dove across the line to narrowly edge Lower

Richland’s Jemarious Reaves as both finished in 55.12. Smart had the lead coming down the

home stretch until Reaves caught him with 10 meters to go before Smart launched himself across the finish line for the win.


       The Seneca quartet of Elias Mcgee, Kamari Hudson, Landon Crawford and Cooper Glass won the 4x100 relay in 41.69. Crawford was fourth in the 200, while Glass was sixth in both the 200 and 400.


       William Martin, William Howard, Wilson Rutherford and Wade Leventis of Waccamaw

won the 4x800 relay in a time of 8:06.52.


       Hanahan’s Javion Brown beat Darlington’s Markis Wells in the high jump. Both jumped 6-04.75, but Brown won on fewer misses.


       Rashawn Cunningham of Chapman won the long jump in 23-07.50, a new PR and Crescent's Rykevieus Flemming won the triple jump with a hop, skip, and jump of 45-10.50.

Wren’s Jaxon Jerabek won gold in the pole vault in a vault of 15-03.00.


       Seneca’s Avery Butler and Corbin Williamson won the discus and javelin, respectively. Butler won with a toss of 171-10.50 and Williamson won the javelin with a throw of 174-05.00. Butler also took silver in the shot put with a put of 50-08.75.


       Charles Jeffcoat of Dreher took home gold in the shot put with a put of 54-05.25.

Laurence Manning baseball, softballt teams having trremedous seasons

By Dennis Brunison hssr.com Associate Editor • April 18, 2025
Lady 'Cats gearing up for another run at SCISA AAAA state title

Emerald Baseball Focused On Strong Finish In Pursuit Of play-off Berth

By Billy Baker • April 18, 2025
By Billy G. Baker Publisher Greenwood — Emerald head baseball coach Mack Hite knew if he could ever get talented freshman Beau Hite back on the mound that his confidence would be restored and positive things would emerge. Hite has been able to bat all season, but an injury prevented him from pitching until recently. “Beau has been able to throw an inning here and there recently, and he had a big strike out against a highly regarded prospect at Laurens who is going to Georgia. Big moments like that have helped him get his confidence back,” said Coach Hite. “It has also helped him increase his hitting average at the plate also.” Hite is now batting .438 with 9 RBI’s, including five doubles and a triple. Hite also has 8 stolen bases. He is a three-sport athlete at Emerald where excels in football and basketball also. One bit of recent bad news for the team was losing the pitching services of LHP and PC commitment Tucker Meredith . “He is still able to play a position and bat, so not all is loss,” said Coach Hite. Other top hitters to date for the Vikings include freshman Ethan Metts at .375 along with sophomore Eli Swancey who is at .400 with five TBI’s including an excellent .978 fielding percentage. Finn Howard is at ,367 with four RBI’s while junior Aaron Polly is hitting .351 with 9 RBI’s. Freshman Coleman Marino is at .360 with six RBI’s. With Meredith off the rubber, Hite, Howard, Marino, and Swancey have all stepped up to share pitching duties. Howard has become the work horse and he is 2-1 with 32 K’s in 28.2 innings of work. As of April, 11 the Vikings were in 5 th place in the region. “I think as competitive as our region has been this season, with so many good teams, that we should have a good case to possibly qualify for an at-large play-off berth,” said Coach Hite. “In the mean time we just need to keep playing with grit and toughness and win as many games as we can. “We have been hitting well is spurts, but we can’t seem to get a timely hit with runners in scoring position,” said Coach Hite. “Hopefully our luck will change as we enter a crucial part of our schedule.” The team had seven games left as of April, 14 when they played at Ware Shoals . Hey have region games against Westside on April 15 and 17. They next play region games against Laurens on April 22 and 24 before hosting Abbeville on the 30 th . They close out the season at home against Ware Shoals on May, 1. Emerald Softball Very Young This Season  Tiaria Agnew is in her fourth season as the Emerald High girls’ softball coach and her team is very young and rebuilding this season. The Lady Vikings are made up of one 7 th grader, three 8 th graders, two freshmen, one sophomore, three juniors and just two seniors so a youth movement has certainly hit the program. The team was 5-3, 2-6 entering the final two weeks of the season. They recently had two confidence wins over Southside (16-1, 20-0). The young team is being led by senior LHP Bria Jones, sophomore Paydyn Stafford and freshman utility athlete Caitlyn Hackett.

Dorchester softball team having a great season

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor • April 18, 2025
Raiders off to an 11-4 start as SCISA AA state playoffs draw near

Spring sports hitting the final stretch of regular season play

By Billy Baker • April 18, 2025
Spring sports hitting the final stretch of regular season play By David Shelton Senior Writer Lake City – Don’t look now but the 2025 spring sports season is nearly over and the athletes at Carolina Academy are prepping for the stretch drive. The spring has been a mixed bag of success to date but all of the teams are looking to finish strong. The baseball team has had a tough go, winning four of their first 15 games. Several losses were close games so the team has been competitive at times. On the mound, getting work are Walker McCutcheon, Bennett Mathews, Hampton Kirby Ryker Rhodes and Ryan Cox . McCutcheon, Rhodes and Matthews have seen time behind the plate as well. Kirby has seen time at short, along with Matthews, while Parker Miles , Carson Hanna and Holden Carsten are seeing time at the corner infield positions. Cox, Tanner Floyd and Kingston Cox are working in the outfield. The boys golf team has had some success this spring and will be playing in the SCISA state tournament on April 26 th in Conway. The Bobcats played in the region tournament on April 10.  The team has a bevy of seniors who are playing in the top group. Seniors include Thomas McDaniel, Cam Porter, Mason Huggins, Michael Wyatt, Blanding Franks, Jamison Andrews and Drake Morri s . Also playing are Landon Crosby , eighth-grader Grady Long , and seventh-graders Braeden Morris and Kohl Elmore . The Carolina Academy softball team has had better luck so far this season, winning nine of their first 12 games to put them in contention for a region title. Coach Scotty Philips felt his team had what it takes to challenge for a state championship if things continue to progress. “I see a lot of potential with this team but they have to focus and continue to work,” Phillips said. The strength of the 2025 team is inside the pitching circle. Junior Raylee Frye is a third-year performer who is as good as any hurler in SCISA when she brings her “A” game. Freshman Ella Ham will log innings at pitcher as well while also playing centerfield and first base. Lauren Sims also will pitch and share third base duties with Frye. “We have three good pitchers, dependable,” Phillips said. “I feel good giving the ball to any of them.” Handling the catching duties is returning starter Carlie Ann Smith , a junior who has been impressive behind the dish early on. Sophomore Jaylyn Davis will play most of the innings at first base while eighth-grader Natalie Braveboy will move from left to second base to replace McCutcheon. Three eighth-graders, Paisley Coker, Kayley Lyerly and Emma Amos are working in rightfield, with Ham also getting reps. Rounding out the varsity roster this season are Katherine Holiday, Lexi McCutcheon, Sarah Emma Garris, Savannah McCUtcheon, Jennifer Vargas and Hannah Grace Matthews.

Panthers enter HIT as region champs

By Roger Lee • April 18, 2025
Max Poulakis has been key to Pinewood’s success this season as a pitcher, infielder and batter.

Baseball, softball struggling this spring

By David Shelton • April 18, 2025
By David Shelton Senior Writer Bennettsville - The 2025 season has been a rough ride for the baseball and softball teams at Marlboro County High . With the top four teams in each region of Class AAA qualifying for the Lower State playoffs, both of Marlboro County’s teams are in jeopardy of not making the cut. Both need a strong finish in the remaining region 6-AAA games to earn their postseason opportunity.  The baseball team has been a regular in the postseason and was expected to be a top four team in the region this spring. As of April 7, the Bulldogs were 2-8 overall with three of those early losses by two runs or less. Coach Ryan Pierce has mixed and matched his lineup this season, searching for the right combination of players that can yield success. Senior Cam Hunt is arguably the top overall player on the roster as a shortstop and pitcher. Tristan Quick plays mostly third base and is another arm on the mound. Others who have seen time on the mound include Zach Hardee and J ameson Bradshaw . Hardee also does work defensively as a corner infielder. Patrick Stubbs mans centerfield in most games while Layton Chavis handles most of the catching duties. Jayden Chavis plays second base while Ty Kickery , Tim Sloan and Landon Sweatt are working primarily in the outfield. Justin Haithcock and Khalil Sloan have seen time as the designated hitter, and Greir Norris has spot time at first base. Rounding out the roster are RJ Hale, Coy Preston and Jake Sloan . Entering the first full week of April, the Marlboro County softball team was 0-7 in region play and 3-13 overall. In recent years the Bulldogs have been region title contenders but have not been able the get it going this spring. One player who is playing at a high level is sophomore shortstop Addison Skipper , who is hitting .618 with five homeruns and 15 runs batted in through 15 games. Sophomore Ruthie Grooms hit .344 with nine RBI in the first 15 games while junior centerfielder Amir Bridges is hitting ,316 on the season. Eighth-grader Kaylee Sweatt is hitting ,296 and senior Abby Quick is hitting .286.

KNIGHTS BASEBALL GROWING STRONGER

By Gerald Doolittle • April 18, 2025
BY: GERALD DOOLITTLE Contributing Writer Batesburg-Leesville, S.C. – The W.W. King Academy Knights coached by Brian Kneece heads into Spring break with an 5-4 overall record. The Knights still have regular season games left with Greenwood Christian, Ridge Spring-Monetta and Wardlaw Academy. After the regular season games SCISA Region 3-A will have a Region tournament at Richard Winn on 4/21 and at W.W. King on 4/22. With a win over Wardlaw Academy to close the regular season the Knights will have a 4-2 region record which will give them second place behind Richard Winn Academy. The Knights offense has been sparked by Casen Buzhardt (so), Elijah Hutto (so), Joshua Oswald (fr) and Greyson Rikard (fr). These four are followed by Colton Buzhardt (sr) and Zed Watkins (jr). Casen leads with a batting average of .393 and 8 RBIs. And 10 runs scored. Hutto has a batting average of .375, 4 RBIs and 14 runs scored. Oswald has a batting average of .375, 4 RBIs and 8 runs scored. Rikard has a batting average of .375, 8 RBIs and 5 runs scored. Rikard also has 2 home runs. Landen Anderson (so) has four hits that has resulted in 9 RBIs. One of those hits was a home run. Leading the base running stats is Hutto with 14 stolen bases followed by Colton Buzhardt with 6 stolen bases. Oswald follows with 5 and Casen with 4.  Hutto leads the pitching staff with 28 Ks followed by Colton and Casen Buzhardt with 17 each.

With Spring Break Over Gaffney Softball Focused On AS Winning Streak

By Billy Baker • April 18, 2025
By Billy G. baker Publisher Gaffney —The Gaffney Lady Indians softball team went into Spring break at 10-7, and in sixth place in a very competitive AAAAA region, and head coach Maddie Pruitt is very focused on the team having a strong finish to the 2025 season over the next two weeks. “We are coming off Spring break well rested and we are ready to go to work and we are looking forward to finishing the regular season on a high note so we can ride into the playoffs the first week of May with a lot of momentum,” said Coach Pruitt. “We play all the region teams we faced in the first half of the season over the next two weeks. It will be a busy time and our focus is to work hard and have success.” One setback to the team was an injury to talented 8 th grade infielder Maysen Byars who was hitting .514 at the time of her injury. Maysen played second and third base for me and she is a solid infielder and we will miss her so much,” said Coach Pruitt. Over the Spring break Brooklyn Jennings committed to play softball at USC Union . Senior Dacy Phillips has signed with North Greenville and Korbyn Lydia is headed to USC Upstate. Both Phillips and Lydia have been a key part of the Gaffney softball program for five seasons including junior varsity. The team’s ace pitcher this season has been sophomore Ashley Caraway who has a record of 5-2 with an ERA of 2.70. caraway has worked 46 innings in the circle with 41 strike-outs. The leading hitters for Gaffney have been junior Kourtney Caraway who is batting .442. Sophomore Ashley Caraway is batting .405. Lydia is batting .378 and Jennings is at .333. Dacy Phillips is batting .250 and playing solid defense “Dacy has been barreling balls up and good during her at bats, but it’s been right at the defense,” said Coach Pruitt. “Hopefully, she will have a strong finish to the season.” Gaffney has played a very competitive schedule this season and they have defeated some talented teams among their 10 victories. They have wins over: ALA (15-5), Legion Collegiate (7-3), Seneca (4-3), Oceanside Collegiate (6-1), Greenville (14-1 & 5-2), Riverside (7-3), and Wade Hampton (9-2).  Gaffney will play at Spartanburg on April,15 then travel to Eastside the next day before hosting Byrnes on April, 18. The Indians host Boiling Springs on April, 21 and Riverside on April 22. Gaffney is at Dorman on April, 25 before hosting Wade Hampton on April, 29. Chapman comes to Gaffney on April, 30 and then the Indians close out the regular season at home against Eastside on May, 2.

James Island spring sports racking up the wins in 2025

By David Shelton • April 18, 2025
James Island spring sports racking up the wins in 2025 By David Shelton Senior Writer James Island – There has been winning aplenty for the James Island Charter spring sports teams through the first two weeks of April. The move from Class AAAA to AAAAA has not been as difficult as some predicted as several James Island teams are contending for region 8-AAAAA championships. The girls and boys soccer teams are in the thick of the race as the regular season winds down. The girls soccer team won their first six region contests and won 11 of their first 13 matches overall. The boys soccer team is off to a 5-1 start in region play, winning 10 of their first 14 contests overall. Lacrosse continues to grow and gather strength as a relatively new sport at the school. The boys team sits at 9-6 as of April 12 with just a few games remaining. The girls team went 5-10 in their first six weeks of the season. Leading the effort on the girls team is senior Mary Katherine Williams , who has scored 48 goals with six assists. Senior Emma McFall has tallied 20 goals while sophomore Lane Hobey has added 11 goals. Senior Reece Bertschy has nine assists to go with her 10 goals. The softball team is in a little rebuild this spring but has still competed well overall. The Trojans split their first six region games, losing to the top three teams in the region – Summerville, Fort Dorchester and West Ashley. Senior first baseman/pitcher Mary Davis Hancock leads the team in hitting with a .405 batting average. She has eight runs batted in as well while logging 54 innings inside the circle. Senior outfielder Rachel Manchester is hitting .350 and sophomore Caroline Jaruzel is hitting .300 while also working 32 innings as a pitcher. The team’s top returning hurler, sophomore Gracie Sue Billings , has not pitched this season after winning nine games last season.  The baseball team is one of the state’s top five teams in AAAAA and will enter the playoffs seeking a second consecutive state championship. They won the AAAA state title in 2024. The Trojans are 9-0 in region play and 14-3 overall entering spring break (April 13). A devastating and productive top of the lineup has been as advertised. Senior catcher Stow Rogers , junior shortstop Taj Marchand , senior third baseman Jake Amman and sophomore second baseman Trip Ostergard have blistered opponents with each hitting near or better than .400. First baseman Finn Pratt , a first-year starter, also is off to a solid start offensively as is junior outfielder Connor Dantzler . Marchand and Ostergard also have been key performers on the mound, along with senior Collin Anderson and sophomores Dawson Belder and Cooper Jones.

Barnwell Softball Starting Three talented 7th Graders From Ponytails World Championship Team From Last Summer

By Billy Baker • April 18, 2025
Barnwell Softball Starting Three talented 7 th Graders From Ponytails World Championship Team From Last Summer  By Billy G. Baker Publisher Barnwell -Last summer an 11–12-year-old Ponytails softball rec team, from Barnwell County, earned their way to the World Series finals, held in Louisiana, and the team ended up winning a national Championship. Three members of that team are now 7 th grade starters on the Barnwell Warhorse softball team head coached by Michael Beasley, who has nearly 30 years of high school softball coaching experience. “Even in my 22- plus years at Blackville-Hilda I would occasionally have a 7 th grader on the varsity but none of them ever started,” said Coach Beasley. “For us to have three 7 th graders starting, and I mean they are also major contributors, is really amazing I will tell you that.” The top hitter on the entire team is 7 th grade shortstop/pitcher/catcher Kinsey Terrapin who is batting .577 as the team went into Spring break on April, 14. Shalayah Badger is a 7 th grader who is a shortstop/pitcher/catcher and she is batting .500. The other 7 th grade starter is 3 rd baseman Genesis Walker who is batting .417 . “All three of these players have been playing softball for a long time and it is a first- time situation for me to have three 7 th grade starters on a varsity team,” said Coach Beasley. “Kinsley is a natural born hitter and she has had a hot bat all season. Genesis is versatile and she likes playing several positions, but we use her mainly at 3 rd base. Shalayah’s speed and strength for a 7 th grader is quite impressive and she is the fastest player we have on the team.” Barnwell has entered Spring break (13-3, 10-0) and they won the region once again and they have won 29 straight region games in a row going back to the 2022 season. “We feel fortunate to have got all our region games out of the way before Spring break,” said Coach Beasley. “We scheduled a lot more games this season so we have an opportunity to face good pitching by playing 8 non-region games after the break. “We will be playing quality teams like Saluda , Colleton County , Branchville , and Silver Bluff after our Spring break, and we will be playing all 8 games over a two- week period,” said Coach Beasley. “What is also nice about the way we have set things up is that we have five days to prepare for our first home playoff game after we conclude our regular season.” The rudder of the team is senior pitcher Jaidyn Devore who has signed a softball scholarship with Howard University . In her senior season, Devore is currently 6-3 with 92 K’s in 47 innings in the circle with a sterling 0.74 ERA. At the plate she is batting .265 with 13 RBI’s and two home runs. Over her long career in the Barnwell softball program, Devore has 538 career K’s, has pitched 14 no-hitters, and four perfect games in 280 innings in the circle. Her career record is 38-15. “Jaidyn has been a hard worker and very focused player over her entire career at Barnwell,” said Coach Beasley. “She’s battle tested and playing very well in her senior season. “ Sophomore Laney Grubbs is an outfielder number two pitcher for the Warhorses. She went into Spring break batting .436 with 11 RBI’s. In the circle, Grubbs is 3-0 with 21 K’s in 12 innings of work with an ERA of 2.92. “I consider Laney a next level prospect and she is one of our team leaders despite being just a sophomore,” said Coach Beasley. “Everything she does is for the team.” Starting sophomore second baseman, Molly Wilson has a nick name she certainly likes. “We call her “Hitting Machine”,” said Coach Beasley. “She rarely strikes out and she always puts the ball in play.” Senior starting third baseman Brooklyn Gordon is one of three seniors on the team. She is an all-region returner who is currently batting .389 with 10 RBI’s. Sophomore Kendall O’Berry starts in center field and she is currently batting .375 with 11 RBI’s and she leads the team with three doubles. “She is a gold glove type center fielder,” said Coach Beasley. Junior Brianna Croft has been the starting catcher the past two seasons and she comes into the break hitting .278 with 8 RBI’s. “Brianna is probably our best bunter and she makes good contact with the ball.” said Coach Beasley. Abigail Corley is a three starter in right field and she in also a returning all-region player from last season. She is currently batting .241 with 7 RBI’s. Two key reserves who round out the 13-player roster are junior Shaelyn Badger who plays first and third base along with junior Layla Bishop who is an outfielder. “With our young players maturing so quickly this season, and as well as we have been hitting the ball lately, we are certainly hoping for a deep play-off run,” said Coach Beasley. “We have averaged 13 hits a game over our last games. “Our pitching is solid and deep also,” said Coach Beasley. “We hope playing 8 non-region games over the final two weeks of the season will expose us to some good pitching and get us ready for the playoffs.” Rick Arnold is an assistant coach for the team.
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