Clarendon Hall state championship softball team has six All-Region selections

           Summerton – The Clarendon Hall softball team won its third consecutive state championship last month. The Lady Saints swept Colleton Prep Academy in the best-of-3 series to defend their SCISA AA state championship after winning the Class A state crown in 2022.

           Six girls who have been a part of each of those championships were selected for the All-Region 1-AA team. Leading the way was junior pitcher Calli Yount, who was named the Region Player of the Year.

           The right-handed Yount finished the season with an 11-1 win-loss record for Clarendon Hall, which finished the year with a 19-4 record. Yount had 119 strikeouts against just 17 walks and 35 hits allowed in 71 2/3 innings pitched. She had a 0.49 earned run average.

           Yount also had an outstanding season at the plate, finishing with a .463 batting average and on-base percentage of .507. She had four doubles, five home runs, 31 runs batted in and 19 runs scored.

           As strong as Yount was in the circle and in the batter’s box, Clarendon Hall head coach Jeffrey Bays said she was just as important to the team in the dugout and in the locker room.

           “She's a leader on this team as well,” Bays said. “She'll come in and talk to the girls in huddles and try to get them on track. She's an awesome kid, and awesome player. Her in the circle, she'll put the team on her shoulders.”

           The other five All-Region selections were junior Mandy Wells, junior Maggie Harrington, senior Colleen McIntosh, senior Sidney Berry and junior Skylar Dymond.

           Harrington, the centerfielder, led the Lady Saints in hitting with a .592 average and on-base percentage of .738. She had six doubles, one triple, two homers, 24 RBI, 29 runs and 10 stolen bases.

           “She's a complete ball player, both offensively and defensively,” Bays said of Harrington. “She's a key player on the team. She had the highest batting average on the team this year. She's just another great one to coach, a great kid.”

           Wells, the shortstop, was the team leader in hits with 34, home runs with nine, runs with 36 and RBI with 34. She batted .486 and had an OBP of .532. She also had eight doubles.

           “The best word I have to describe her is my spark. She's my sparkplug,” Bays said. “She's the one that kind of lights the fire and gets things going. If you're in a tight game, she's normally the one that's going to break it loose offensively.”

           McIntosh, who pitched and played left field, had a .323 average to go with an OBP of .429. She had two doubles, 16 RBI and 15 RBI. In the circle, the left-hander went 8-1 with a 1.11 ERA in 44 1/3 innings. She struck out 86 batters while allowing just 19 hits and nine walks.

           “I couldn't be more proud of the way she ended her season,” Bays said of McIntosh, who tossed a pair of no-hitters in the state tournament. “She put in an awful lot of hard work and she wanted to finish strong, and she did finish strong. Definitely a top contributor on the team.”

           Berry, who played second base, had a team high nine doubles to go with a triple, 14 RBI and 21 runs. She batted .358 with a .442 on-base percentage.

“Sidney is so coachable,” Bays said. “I love that kid to death and I'm really going to miss her. I'm going to miss having her around. Sidney was great at second base. Sidney was great defensively. Sidney had a good bat on her. She was a leader on the team.”

           Dymond was the catcher and finished with a .306 average and a .361 OBP. She had five doubles and 15 RBI.

           “Skylar is one who doesn't get the recognition that she really deserves, and I'm part of that,” Bays said. “We talk about Calli and Colleen and how well they've done pitching this year, but they're not the pitchers they are without Skylar. She's out there catching all of the (bull)pens. In the games she's doing a great job catching the balls. She does a great job and we're not the team we are without her behind the plate.”