AJA Lady Warriors Softball Team Hoping To Earn Spot In SCISA Play-offs By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt— As of April, 10 the Andrew Jackson Academy softball team (2-7, 1-2) was focused on a strong finish to the 2025 season, and a possible berth in the upcoming SCISA softball play-offs scheduled for Sumter in mid-May. “Our defense does decent, but our hitting has been very inconsistent this season,” said head Warriors coach Denise Duncan . “We have hit better in some games. We are hoping to work together better as a team and focus on correcting mistakes in the field.” To date, the Warriors have been led at the plate by senior left-fielder Sam Stevens who is hitting .600 with three RBI’s and a very impressive .714 on base percentage. Talented sophomore McKinnley Beard is the team’s ace pitcher and she is not in the circle she plays center field. Beard is currently hitting .583 with 8 RBI’s. Beard has also pitched 28 innings to date with 32 K’s. “McKinley’s pitching has improved throughout the season,” said Coach Duncan. Sophomore center fielder/catcher Carrigan Moore continues to play well and she is batting .423 with six RBI’s and four stolen bases. Next on the hit index is senior second baseman Sydney Crosby and sophomore third baseman Mary Gray Hiers at .400 each. Crosby has six RBI’s and Hiers five to date. Senior right fielder Riley Roe is batting .389 while senior catcher Ryleigh Trivette is currently batting .333 with four RBI’s. Freshman Harlo Sease is batting .286 with six RBI’s starting at either shortstop or first. Sophomore first baseman/shortstop Braelyn Hall has a double and triple to her credit and she is batting .250. Key reserves include freshman back-up pitcher Mariya Hiott , junior out-fielder CJ Ulmer , and junior out-fielder Alexandra Johnson . The team has a .386 team batting average with a .470 on base percentage. “Our last win was over Thomas Heyward Academy (22-4) on March, 12 so we have been struggling some,” said Coach Duncan. “We have been trying to pick up some games late in the season.” The team’s five remaining regular season games are with Holly Hill Academy , Branchville , Jefferson Davis Academy , Dorchester Academy and a region game against the Cross Schools at the end of the regular season on May, 5.  Coach Duncan is assisted by Chad Johnson and Carmen Mixon .

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —The Andrew Jackson Academy girls’ softball team is headed up by first-year mentor Denise Duncan this season, and after four games of the 2025 season, the Lady Warriors are 2-2 with a focus on daily improvement. “After four games we have two games where we hit the ball well, and two games where we didn’t hit well,” said Coach Duncan. “We are still moving players around, and many positions are still being contested. “Our number one goal is to win,” said Coach Duncan. “Then we want our players to have good attitudes, with good team spirit, and show support for each other. We also want to have good sportsmanship at all times.” The team finished 4-14 a year ago but with the top three hitters all back this season the team should exceed the success of last year’s team. Their other win came over Orangeburg Christian . Their two losses were against Holly Hill Academy and Jefferson Davis Academy . In a recent 22-4 win over Thomas Heyward these three players paced the hitting attack. Sophomore all-region center fielder Carrigan Moore (played catcher as a freshman) had an inside the park home run and a double against the Rebels. Sophomore returning all-region performer McKinnley Beard had two triples against the Rebel’s and she also pitched well with three K’s. Senior right fielder Riley Roe , the team’s clean-up batter, also had several key hits against Thomas Heyward.” Carrigan, McKinnley and Riley are definitely our top three hitters thus far in the season,” said Coach Duncan. “McKinnley is our main pitcher and she can play in center when she is not in the circle,” Coach Duncan. “Carrigan is very fast in the outfield and she is our lead-off batter,” said Coach Duncan. “Last year she was all-region and she was also chosen to play in the all-star game after the season, but I think the bad weather cancelled the event,” said Coach Duncan. “Riley is a solid contact hitter who hits the ball very well.” Senior Sydney Crosby is a returner who starts at second base. Freshman shortstop Harlo Sease is back from last season and she rotates between shortstop and first base with sophomore Braelyn Hall . Senior catcher Ryleigh Trivette has been moved from first base to catching duties for her senior season. Sophomore Mary Grace Hiers is currently starting at third base. Senior Sam Stephens is a first-year starter in left field. Junior Alexandra Johnson is starting in left field. Sophomore Mariya Hiott can play numerous positions in the infield and outfields and junior reserve CJ Ulmer is mainly a right fielder. “It is hard to say what the strength of the team is right now,” said Coach Duncan. “Hopefully, our hitting that we experienced against Thomas Heyward will continue.” Coach Duncan is assisted by Monica Beard , Carmen Mixson and Bill Johnson .

 By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —The Andrew Jackson Academy girls’ softball team is headed up by first-year mentor Denise Duncan this season, and after four games of the 2025 season, the Lady Warriors are 2-2 with a focus on daily improvement. “After four games we have two games where we hit the ball well, and two games where we didn’t hit well,” said Coach Duncan. “We are still moving players around, and many positions are still being contested. “Our number one goal is to win,” said Coach Duncan. “Then we want our players to have good attitudes, with good team spirit, and show support for each other. We also want to have good sportsmanship at all times.” The team finished 4-14 a year ago but with the top three hitters all back this season the team should exceed the success of last year’s team. Their other win came over Orangeburg Christian . Their two losses were against Holly Hill Academy and Jefferson Davis Academy . In a recent 22-4 win over Thomas Heyward these three players paced the hitting attack. Sophomore all-region center fielder Carrigan Moore (played catcher as a freshman) had an inside the park home run and a double against the Rebels. Sophomore returning all-region performer McKinnley Beard had two triples against the Rebel’s and she also pitched well with three K’s. Senior right fielder Riley Roe , the team’s clean-up batter, also had several key hits against Thomas Heyward.” Carrigan, McKinnley and Riley are definitely our top three hitters thus far in the season,” said Coach Duncan. “McKinnley is our main pitcher and she can play in center when she is not in the circle,” Coach Duncan. “Carrigan is very fast in the outfield and she is our lead-off batter,” said Coach Duncan. “Last year she was all-region and she was also chosen to play in the all-star game after the season, but I think the bad weather cancelled the event,” said Coach Duncan. “Riley is a solid contact hitter who hits the ball very well.” Senior Sydney Crosby is a returner who starts at second base. Freshman shortstop Harlo Sease is back from last season and she rotates between shortstop and first base with sophomore Braelyn Hall . Senior catcher Ryleigh Trivette has been moved from first base to catching duties for her senior season. Sophomore Mary Grace Hiers is currently starting at third base. Senior Sam Stephens is a first-year starter in left field. Junior Alexandra Johnson is starting in left field. Sophomore Mariya Hiott can play numerous positions in the infield and outfields and junior reserve CJ Ulmer is mainly a right fielder. “It is hard to say what the strength of the team is right now,” said Coach Duncan. “Hopefully, our hitting that we experienced against Thomas Heyward will continue.” Coach Duncan is assisted by Monica Beard , Carmen Mixson and Bill Johnson .

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —It is always great when you see progress made by teams in athletics, and such is the case with the Andrew Jackson Academy baseball team, who finished 0-18 last season, but after six games of the 2025 season the Warriors are 4-2 and favored to win a region title. “When we beat Thomas Heyward 10-9 this season, it was our first region win in three years,” said head coach Jason Mathys, who played college baseball at Iowa State before playing a few seasons in the minor leagues with the New York Yankees. “We didn’t have any seniors last year so our players are all one year older and one year better. “We also have two really talented 8 th graders ( Kaiden Kinard & Channing Terry ) who have blended in well with our older players,” said Coach Mathys. “Kaiden is starting at first base and batting around .380 and Channing pitched a complete game against Thomas Heyward with two strike-outs and only a couple walks, and that win was huge for the program.” The Warriors participated in a pre-season tournament hosted at Orangeburg - Wilkinson . “We went 2-1 in the tournament with wins over Edisto and Calhoun County ,” said Coach Mathys. “Our two losses this season came against Williston - Elko and Holly Hill Academy .” The top all-around player on the team is senior Jack Walling who played legion baseball this past summer in Walterboro. Walling is the starting shortstop and also a right- handed pitcher. He is currently leading the team in hitting with a superb .614 average.  “Jack hit our first home run in three years in a recent win over Beaufort Academy,” said Coach Mathys. “Jack is the guy who makes things happen when others can’t. His hitting and pitching have improved every year since I took over the team four years ago. I feel like he can contribute to a college baseball program somewhere.” Senior Hayden McClung had not played baseball in three years but he decided to come out for his senior season, after being a key player on the Warrior football and basketball teams the past two seasons. “Hayden is primarily our starting catcher but we had a rash of sickness on the team and he played in center field and did a great job,” said Coach Mathys. “He almost threw out a runner on first base from center field. He has a strong arm and he is super- fast. He leads the team in stolen bases with around 10 right now.” Walker Terry is starting at third base and he has pitched 12 innings with a 1-1 record to date. Landon Stanfield starts at second base and he has scored seven runs so far this season. Senior Tim Williams starts in center field but he has missed a couple game with sickness. Sophomore Eli Mathys starts in left field and he is batting .270 and he is also a right-handed pitcher. Junior Hall Sease is a returning starter on the team and he is also a right- handed pitcher. Due to sickness on the team, Coach Mathys brought up freshman Jaxson Brandt from the junior varsity to add depth to the team. “Jaxson got two hits in two games and played very well,” said Coach Mathys. “He filled in at shortstop also. We plan to play him up-and-down the rest of the season.” Some key reserves on the team include senior RHP Hunter Zorn along with junior outfielder Grayson Hays. Brad Hightower will see action “up and down” this season. Connor Mount is a junior RHP and 9 th grader Hunter Tucker is a back-up catcher. “We are a three- team region with Thomas Heyward and Beaufort Academy,” said Coach Mathys. “We beat both of them on the road this season, so we feel good about having a shot at winning the region this year. After that a deep run in the play-offs would be great.” The Warriors will play at Colleton Prep on March, 15 before playing at Coastal Home School on the 17 th . AJA will host Thomas Heyward on the 18 th and Horse Creek Academy on the 24 th . They close out the month of March with a home game against Dorchester Academy on the 26 th . Coach Mathys is assisted by Kevin Kinard and Kip Terry .

Cathedral Academy Repeats as SCISA Class AA Boys Champions

Photo from both the Girls and Boys SCISA Class AA title games. In the girls game, Cross Schools faced Laurens Academy . In the boys game, Cathedral Academy faced Andrew Jackson Academy . This sample of images, follow this link for the full gallery.

Cathedral meets Andrew Jackson in AA boys game; Laurens, Cross Schools play for AA girls crown; Curtis Baptist, Ragin Prep in Class A boys game

Andrew Jackson Academy Boy’s & Girl’s Basketball Headed To The Play-offs By Billy G. Baker Publisher Ehrhardt —With five players sitting out for various reasons the Andrew Jackson Academy Warriors had several players step up to defeat Thomas Heyward , 46-45, on February 7 that clinched a three-way tie for the region championship. “Super proud of how our players stepped up and did really well with us short-handed,” said head coach Josh Barnes . “We had three teams all finish 8-2 in the region and the tie breaker favors all three of us depending on what team we compare our scores too.  “Bethesda is 8-2 and Thomas Heyward is 8-2 and I have been coaching for so long I will wait for the bracket to come out Wednesday night and then start getting ready for the team we have to play,” said Coach Barnes. “If you play well you will advance in the play-offs and if you do not you go home and the season is over.” Against Thomas Heyward, with the team’s backs against the wall, Hayden McClung poured in 20 points and Hall Sease scored five points and hauled in a season high 15 rebounds. Ollie Barnes held the Rebel’s top offensive player to three points with his stellar defense and added 9 points on offense. Elijah Davis, a 6-3 Big, had to guard a quicker guard for the first time all season and he held hi sown while contributing 10 points. “We had senior Jacobe Best start and he hustled and played well on both sides of the ball as well,” said Coach Barnes. The team will play a non-region game against Dorche4ster Academy on February, 10 to conclude the regular season. Currently the team has four Warriors scoring in double figures. They include senior combo guard Gage Dicks who is averaging 16.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, three assists, and 2.6 steals. Dicks is considered a next level prospect. Junior Vashahd Schofield is a 6-3 power forward averaging 13.7 points and 6.4 rebounds. Senior point guard Hayden McClung is at 12.3 points and 5.5 rebounds as the regular season ends. McClung is also averaging four assists and 2.7 steals. Ollie Barnes is at 12 points and 1,8 assists a game. Sophomore Hall Sease (6-3, 170) is averaging 8 points and 8.6 rebounds starting the SCISA basketball play-offs. Sophomore guard Colin Carter is averaging 7 points and 7 rebounds a game and senior Carter Brunson - Brown is averaging 7.1 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. Jacobe Best is at two points and 2.9 rebounds a game. Several hard-working reserves include junior forward Tanner Chassereau , junior forward Tres Mixon , and sophomore forward Eli Mathys. “What we really need to do is step up our defense with the play-offs starting and we need to play with better team unity on the floor,” said Coach Barnes. “We tried some different things on defense against Thomas Heyward the other night and holding a team down to 45 points was our best defensive effort of the season. “Once the play-offs start you have to be playing your best basketball or your season is over,” said Coach Barnes. “We have not played our best game yet and I hope that starts happening in the play-offs.” AJA Girl’s 11-10, 4-2 & Will Earn Spot In Play-offs With a 11-10, and 4-2 record the AJA Lady Warriors basketball team, under the direction of head coach Zach Boltin , showed steady progress throughout the 2024-25 season and they will be earning a spot in the upcoming SCISA play-offs. Some highlights to the season included a rare 37-24 win over Patrick Henry back in December and it had been a while since the team had defeated PHA in girls’ basketball. In that signature win sophomore guard Bella Carrigg scored 23 points and freshman Harlo Sease had 13 points. McKinley Beard had seven points and double-digit rebounds while senior Rileigh Barnes and Ryleigh Trivette each contributed two points. In the team’s recent win over HTCC, Kinslie Carson had 14 points while Beard had 13 points and 10 rebounds. Trivette scored 9 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win. At the end of the regular season Beard is the top scorer at 11 points and 9.1 rebounds a game. Carrigg is at 8.6 points and two assists a game. Sease comes next at 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Carson is averaging 7.4 points and 3.3 rebounds an outing. Barnes, a senior team captain, is averaging three points and 3.5 rebounds a game while Trivette is at four points and 5 rebounds per game.

AJA senior guard, Gage Dicks in the 2024 SCISA playoffs.