By: Jay Hendrix
The Batesburg-Leesville spring sports teams are off to some impressive starts and have already locked up a region championship in boys tennis.
The Panther baseball team is off to a hot start this season. The Panthers have opened the season 10-3 overall and 3-3 in Region 3-AA play. The Panthers, coached by Rob Bouknight, split with highly regarded Fox Creek last week with the Panthers winning 11-4 at home. Sophomore, Braydon Hallman picked up the win in the contest as he went 5.1 innings and struck out seven while allowing just three earned runs. Hallman was also a leader at the plate going 2-3 with three RBI while junior Gavin Parrish drove in two.
On the season the Panthers are led by senior Cole Price with a .420 batting average to go with three doubles, two triples, a home run and 16 RBI. Hallman is second on the team with a .385 average five doubles, a home run and also has 16 RBI. Juniors, Carter Bouknight and Tanner Watkins are both hitting at a .364 clip with Parrish right behind at .357 and he also has a home run. Hallman leads the team with a 4-1 record on the mound to go with a 1.79 ERA with opponents batting just .198. Another senior, Tucker Bolen, has been holding opponents to a .169 batting average while raking up a 3-2 record with a 2.18 ERA. Bouknight has been the go to man out of the bullpen as he has two saves on the season to go with a 1.00 ERA.
The boys tennis team claimed their third straight Region 3-AA title as they swept Fox Creek to improve to 7-2 on the season. The Panthers are led by senior Hollis Ruff at the number one seed followed by Gavin Penny, Liam Truitt, Anthony Holmes Jr., Dillon Jordan, Riley Kirkland and Nate Cook.
The boys soccer team is also having a hot start under first year head coach Logan Koon. The Panthers are now 8-2 overall and 5-1 in Region 3-AA. The Panthers have swept Fox Creek and Silver Bluff while splitting with Strom Thurmond. With two region games remaining with Pelion the Panthers are in position to claim a conference championship. The Panthers have been led by senior Abner Madrid who was the Region 3-AA player of the year last season. The strong senior class also features goalkeeper Felipe Juarez-Diaz, midfielder Jorge Torres and defenders Tanner Fulmer and Griffin Ledford and Brian Hinson-Hernandez. Sophomore Angel Garcia Gerardo leads the team in goals.
The Panthers Track and Field have been getting better on the track as well as the teams have several athletes that will be in contention for region championships and will make noise in the state meets. The Panthers’ throwers have been solid with Keira Frye winning meets in the discus and shot put for the girls while Ja’Quan Corely and Travis Gates have also won in the same events for the boys. The boys distance runners have been special as well with Cade Long, Brayan Villasecca-Torres, Eric Gambrell and Wyatt Dismukes competing in the 800, 1,600 and 3.200 events. McKenzie Dozier is an all-around athlete who competes in the sprints as well as the long jump and while Callie McDougal has been competitive in the 100 and 400 meter hurdles.
The Panther softball team is showing promise as they are led by a young core as they are 5-8 overall and 1-5 in region play. The Panthers did knock off rival Gilbert 7-4 on the road recently for their biggest win of the season to go with their 10-5 win over Silver Bluff for their lone region win. Eighth grader Kate Shealy has been a star for the Panthers as she is batting .484 to lead the team to go with a home run and nine RBI. Junior Zoey Rowe is batting .424 with eight RBI while senior Laiken Brock is batting .348 with sophomore Cailyn McCleskey batting .320 and another eighth grader, Lexie Davis batting .310. Shealy and junior Riley Bouknight have split the pitching duties equally with Shealy leading the team with 32 strikeouts in 29 innings pitched.
The girls soccer team had an extremely difficult schedule to open the season but battled to a 2-2 mark in Region 3-AA play as they knocked off Silver Bluff. The Panthers have been led by sophomore Madison Herbert who has been a scoring machine for the Panthers. The Panthers are also led by senior goalkeeper Reagan Minick who has signed with USC-Lancaster. The Panthers also get solid offensive production from Arden Etheredge and Caitlyn Sirtout while Jackie Villaseca, Josey Hand, Kim Balderas, Claire Cogdill and Angela Hernandez have played well on defense.
The golf team was slow getting started on the season and dropped the opener to Mid-Carolina 181-189. The Panthers defeated Ridge Spring-Monetta before dropping a match with River Bluff. The Panthers are led by a core of sophomores in Nathan Ott, Jackson Shealy, Wyatt Hendrix and junior Carson Luckadoo. Newcomers Michael Hendrix and Skyler Frick will be looked to as they push the veteran group.
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