PHOTOS: Clarendon Hall vs Dorchester Academy

Five of eight series will have teams trying to defend titles

By Billy G. Baker Publisher Sumter — The good news was that no rain fell on Sumter’s Patriot Park on May, 11 providing for some great games in the annual SCISA softball playoffs with 8 teams qualifying to compete for AAAA, AAA, AA and Class A state titles starting on Monday. Game two will be played on Tuesday at the opposite site of the home team on Monday. If a third game is needed it will be played at a neutral site on Wednesday. One notable highlight from the games on Saturday was junior Mandy Wells of Clarendon Hall hitting three consecutive home runs in her team’s 15-0 win over Calhoun Academy to advance the Saints to the AA finals on Monday against Colleton Prep . Wells hit her two home runs to dead center field and her second homer was a base clearing grand slam. Her third home run was a line drive over right center field. Wells came into the SCISA tournament batting .481 with 28 RBI’s. Game one between Clarendon Hall and Colleton Prep is schduled for 6pm on Monday in Summerton. Laurence Manning defeated Hammond 5-3 to advance to the AAAA finals. The lost sent Hammond to the loser’s bracket finale against Wilson Hall and Hammond the defeated the Barons 14-4 to earn the right to play Laurence Manning for the title starting on Monday at 6 p.m. in Manning. “We started out hitting the ball right at people and Hammond gave us a great game,” said LMA head coach Buddy Truett . ´We didn’t like having to get up at 7 a.m. to get over here by 9 a.m. and it took us awhile to get going. We are excited to playing for a state championship. It should be a very competitive series and having finished runner-up the past two seasons we are focused on winning it all this year.” LMA trailed Hammond 3-3 going into the bottom of the 6 th inning. Lily Welborn led off with a single and made it all the way to third on a throwing error. An RBI single by Kaylee Avins scored Welborn to tie the score at 3. The difference in the game was a two- run homer from 8 th grader Karly Bjork the next batter up for LMA. “I told her after she hit the home run that I didn’t think I could love her anymore but I do now,” said Coach Truett. “I am very proud of the girls. We made some errors early in the game we do not normally make but we came back from being down and I very proud of all of them. ”We know that Pee Dee has good pitching and they are a solid hitting team also so we are expecting quite a series against them,” said Coach Kinard. “We went over there last year and kicked the ball around a bit. Our goal is playing better defense against them. Defense wins championships.” In Class AAA action, Orangeburg Prep defeated Thomas Sumter 15-0 to advance to the AAA finals. The Class AAA championship games for Pee Dee and Orangeburg Prep start Monday in Mullins at 6pm. Pee Dee Academy head coach Wes Eskridge told the HSSR after his team’s big win over John Paul II Saturday: “We have been fortunate to win three state titles in a row and we are competing in the finals for the 7 th straight time and I could not be prouder of this team,” said Coach Eskridge. ”Jo Jo Perritt is just a sophomore and she gets the job down in the circle for us. “Orangeburg Prep is a tough team and the key for us is for us to play our game and not theirs,” said Coach Eskridge. “We know we have to keep working hard.” In Class A action Jefferson Davis Academy will compete against Cross Schools , who defeated Laurens Academy 4-3 to advance. Jefferson Davis earned the right to play for a Class A title by defeating Cross School 7-1 on Saturday. Head JDA head coach Bart Owens told the HSSR , “Regan Still did a great job pitching all three games in the tournament and she is headed to Florence-Darlington Tech to play next season,” said Coach Owens. “We beat Wardlaw 16-3 and Laurens Academy in our other two tournament games ”Regan is an outstanding pitcher and she is the best that I have ever had at JDA,” said Coach Owens. “Super proud of the whole team today. Or goal now is to win the state championship next week.” The Class A championship series starts Monday at JDA game time is 6pm.

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Larry Gamble Photo Editor, HSSR SCISA Softball Tournament play kicked off in Sumter, SC with teams from around the state playing an intense two days of games to determine the top teams in each class to challenge each other for the final championship that will decide each Class' State Champion later this week. This photo gallery is just some of the Seniors who will be on the diamond and giving it their all one more time for a championship. More photos from the softball games, at Palmetto Park and Patriot Park from Friday and Saturday are available by following this link or the one below. High resolution prints and digital downloads from this event are available at www.LarryGamble.com by clicking this link to the photos.

Columbia – Memorial Stadium in Columbia was the site for the 2024 South Carolina High School League state championships for boys soccer on May 10-11. The five contests were highly competitive with three contests needing overtime to decide the outcome. Oceanside Collegiate repeated as the state champion in Class AA while Riverside won a fourth consecutive state championship in Class AAAA. St. Joseph’s coach Frank Kucinic hoisted the top trophy for the 11 th time in his career. Here’s the recap of the five contests. Class A boys St. Joseph’s 2, Christ Church 1 (golden goal) Johnny Bunecke’s golden goal in the first sudden death overtime period lifted the Knights of St. Joseph’s Catholic to a 2-1 win over Greenville area rival Christ Church. The title was the 11 th for Knights head coach Frank Kucinic and was the second straight Class A crown for the Knights. St. Joseph’s finished 2024 with a 17-4 record. “Holy smokes, what a game,” Kucinic said. “Amazing season for these kids. I knew coming into this that it was always a battle. The rivalry adds to it every time we play. Hat’s off to our guys. I’ve had these seniors since they were in the sixth or seventh-grade and this is a great way to send them out.” Christ Church and St. Joseph’s split two games in the regular season had split the last six contests heading into the finals. The Knights took the early advantage, getting a goal from Thomas Flanigan in the sixth minute of play. Christ Church evened the score seven minutes before halftime on Reeves Dobson’s equalizer off a follow up shot. Each team had a few chances to score but went through regulation and two 10-minute overtime sessions before the sudden death periods. Bunecke’s goal came less than two minutes into the period. “Just a great play by everyone,” Bunecke said. “Just passing it around and it got crossed over to me. At that point it was just muscle memory.” Christ Church’s first-year coach Russell Shelley felt his team had opportunities to win. “Great respect for their program and both teams had chances to win it,” Shelley said. “We played hard. Guys gave a great effort. We’re disappointed but it was a great season and a great accomplishment to be in this position.” Class AAAAA boys – Fort Mill 2, Stratford 2 (Fort Mill wins 3-0 on PKs) It took a while, five hours in fact, but the Fort Mill boys soccer team found a way to outlast Stratford in the Class AAAAA boys soccer finals. Fort Mill won the penalty kick phase, 3-0, to come away with their first state title since 2012. Adding to the 110 minutes of soccer was a two-hour weather delay with 31:59 left in the contest. The loss ended Stratford’s chase for their first-ever boys soccer state championship. Fort Mill provided the offensive push early in the first half and grabbed 1 -0 lead off a header by Braden Gritz in the14th minute of the contest. With 31:59 remaining in the contest, the teams were forced off the field by lightening, a delay that lasted for two hours. When the teams returned, the Knights brought another level offensively. “I think the rain delay helped us. I think it took some of the pressure off,” Stratford coach Jessie Stament said, “They came out and it was brilliant soccer. I could not be prouder of them. To see the pain in their eyes but they have no reason to hang their head. It was an incredible game by both teams. They really gave it their all.” Senior Vinny Teixeira got the equalizer in the 58 th minute of play. Three minutes later, fellow senior Jackson McNeil found the back of the net to give the Knights a 2-1 lead. The Yellow Jackets would not go away, firing a shot at Stratford keeper Enzo Mori that bounced off his hands and to the foot of Ryan Seitz. The point blank goal tied the score at two. “I am super proud of the boys,” Fort Mill coach Pete Burroughs said. “We felt like we were here for a reason. Our guys left it all on the field today. Both teams did really. It was a great game to be a part of.” Class AA – Oceanside Collegiate 3, Gray Collegiate 0 Oceanside Collegiate got three goals in the final 25 minutes of the contest to record their second straight championship game victory. “This one was harder,” OCA coach Collin Phillips said. “Happy for this moment. Guys played with discipline. They (Gray) pressed us hard in the first half. I think once we scored that first goal, we seemed to relax and play better. We needed one score to give our kids some confidence.” After a scoreless first half, OCA got on the board in the 54 th minute of play on a goal by Isaac Rasheed. That lone goal would appear to be enough but security was provided by Mathias Dennis with just over six minutes remaining in the game. Icing on the cake came with under two minutes on a goal by sophomore Robert Hemingway. “In my opinion, they are the best team in this state, regardless of classification,” Gray Collegiate coach Kevin Heise said of OCA. “Our guys battled. We came to play and we played great soccer for about 65 minutes or so. Once we got down, we tried to push more and we gave up a few goals. I’m proud of my team. We gave them all they wanted. We knew we would have to play an A-plus game to have a chance. I’m disappointed for my boys but we had a helluva year.” Phillips was proud of the way he team handled the pressure of being the defending state champion. “When we came into this season, we talked about the target on our back. We managed to go through the season undefeated because the guys work so hard. We didn’t rest on what we did last year,” Class AAAA – Riverside 1, James Island 0 (overtime) Riverside made it four in a row, winning an intense, physical battle with James Island. After a scoreless 80-minute battle in regulation. With two mandatory 10-minute overtime periods to come, Riverside got an early goal from Kanye Ridgill off a header in the first overtime. The Warriors then played great defense for the remaining 17 minutes, holding off several scoring challenges from James Island. “Great game,” Riverside coach Scott Columbia said. “It seems impossible to win four (in a row) but it’s a program. These guys, their heart was so much bigger. They followed the program and played so hard. “Tonight, that was a great James Island team. They put the pressure on us and they kept us from scoring goals with their defense. I give them major, major credit. We just kept fighting the whole entire time and I am very proud of the boys.” “It was a well-played game by both teams. We just came up a little short,” James Island coach Todd Robinson said. “Really proud of my team though. We gave it all we had. We lost to a really good team.” James Island entered the final game having won 11 straight while allowing just four goals during that run.

Columbia – The South Carolina High School League held its 2024 state championships for girls soccer on May 10-11 at Memorial Stadium in Columbia. Three of the four champions were repeat winners from 2023 with Clover being the new kid on the block in Class AAAA. In Class AA, Oceanside Collegiate won their fourth consecutive state title, claiming two in Class AAA in 2021 and 2022 before going back-to-back in AA. Class AAAAA – Clover 2, Chapin 1 Clover built an early 2-0 lead and held off Chapin’s late push to win, 2-1. The championship was the first in school history Clover and avenged an earlier season loss to the Lower State champion. Clover finishes its season with a 20-4 record while Chapin finishes 24-3-2. Clover’s top player, senior Marilia Nieves, used her speed to break free early in the contest, drawing a foul in the box to set up a penalty kick. Nieves drilled the kick for a 1-0 lead just two minutes into the game. “We kept up the pressure. The start gave us a lot of confidence,” Nieves said. “We were tired at the end. All of us doing hard work, running, running, running. I think our speed up top definitely helped us a lot. It was a great year. We accomplished everything we wanted to accomplish.” Clover made it 2-0 in the 14 th minute on a goal from Olivia Maurer. Chapin gained some life on a goal from Darcy Ahern in the 26 th minute, sending the teams into halftime at 2-1. Chapin increased the offensive pressure in the second half but Clover was up to the challenge defensively. “I was holding my breath for the last two minutes,” Clover coach Kelsey Black said. “It’s amazing, absolutely amazing. We wanted to come out with some energy. We knew Chapin would come out and play hard in the second half. We had some other opportunities, probably could have sealed the deal. It was a battle to the end.” Chapin coach Chad Bridges could not fault his team. Chapin was in the finals for the first time since 2016. “This group is resilient, very tough,” the coach said. “We had an excellent season. To be 24-3 is nothing to be ashamed of. We will be upset with how it ended but it’s okay to feel a little hurt. We will be fine.” Class AAAA - Eastside 2, Lucy Beckham 1 (Sudden death golden goal) Eastside repeated as state champion with a golden goal early in the first five minute sudden death overtime period to win 2-1. The winning score sort of happened out of nowhere as Eastside’s Peyton Nutzman lofted a high arcing shot from about 30 yards out. The ball carried over the head of the keeper and into the goal. “I really didn’t see the ball go in,” Nutzman said. “It was like a blur. I didn’t expect it to. This means the world to us. We wanted another one. We worked so hard to win it again.” After a scoreless first half, Eastside took the 1-0 lead with a goal two minutes into the second half on a goal from Kennedy Craig. Lucy Beckham’s Lilliana Iacofano knotted the score with a goal in the 57 th minute. A physical game that had numerous yellow card violations, each team had scoring chances in the two 10-minute overtime sessions before sudden death. “Both teams played hard, really wanted to win,” Eastside coach David Craig said. “We came out in second half and I said we needed a goal. Wasn’t expecting it that quickly but that was good. Lit a little fire under them. Settled down and played.” Lucy Beckham was playing in their first state championship in only their fourth year as a program. “It was an even match, could have gone either way,” coach Frank Torcasio said. “It’s tough to lose. We won’t dwell on the ‘what-ifs’. I want them to think about all of their accomplishments and be proud. This team will be talked about for many years to come.” Class AAA – Waccamaw 2, Powdersville 0 Waccamaw’s Lindsey Latimer scored two second-half goals to send the Warriors to their second straight title in Class AAA. After a scoreless first half, Latimer put Waccamaw on the board with a goal in the 45 th minute of play. That 1-0 lead was enough as Waccamaw played shut down defense the entire contest. Latimer, however, put icing on the cake with a second goal coming in the 66 th minute. “We just kept connecting passes, working to get something,” Latimer said. “It was really everyone working together. We just talked at halftime about fixing our bad passes. It got a little shaky in the last 10 minutes but our back did a great job.” The championship game started three hours later than scheduled due a weather delay earlier in the day. Waccamaw coach Mark Sanchez felt his team handled the delay well and were ready to play. “I just told them to be happy kids, just relax,” the coach said. “I told them to have fun and enjoy being here. They came out focused and ready to play. The girls are phenomenal.” Waccamaw finished this season with six losses but Sanchez scheduled tough during the regular season, playing high caliber teams like Wando, Oceanside Collegiate and Pinewood Prep. The schedule helped his team grow. “Last year was our dream season, 23-1,” he said. “People wrote us off this year. They look at our record but we play a very tough schedule. We lose some but we learn from our mistakes. “We lost three girls to season ending injuries in March. We had three subs on the bench. Resiliency is the word. Really happy for these kids.” Powdersville coach Colin Melton said his team gave a great effort and did not blame the long delay for the loss. “Our girls were ready for this game. It is what it is. We were ready and prepared. We just fell a little short today,” he said. “We felt we were in it, even down two goals. We made an effort. We kept pushing. I am proud of the girls tonight.” Oceanside Collegiate 3, Christ Church 0 Oceanside Collegiate finished 18-1-2 this season while winning a fourth straight title. The Landshark scored three times in the second half. Coach Mark Meyer credits his large senior class and spoke of the accomplishment. “I can’t imagine going through four years of high school with four state championships,” Meyer said. “These (10) seniors, they are more than great soccer players. They are going to be great leaders for our society.” The Landsharks allowed seven goals all season and recorded their 14 th shutout of the season. The championship game whitewash was their fifth of the postseason. Anchoring the defense were senior Julia Cosgrove, junior Emma Gesser, and sophomore Izzy Pessilio, along with all-state keeper Ainsley Chunn. “We made a change at halftime and it worked out for us,” Meyer said. “Our defense, they are lockdown players. You get a two goal lead, you feel pretty good with those girls.” The changes offensively produced three second-half goals. Sophomore Ella Petry scored first, in the 55 th minute. Sophomore Kate Schmidler followed with a score about 10 minutes later, and senior Ella Stief closed out the scoring in the 74 th minute. Chunn, the starting keeper for Oceanside’s last three title teams, heads off to College of Charleston to extend her career in the Fall. “We’re so close as a team and that shows on the field,” Chunn said. “Our chemistry is really strong. We’re not afraid to tell each other when we do something wrong. We put in so much hard work.”

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special To the HSSR Bluffton - Holy Trinty's Izzy Harter scored at the 24:45 mark of the first half, off of a corner kick by Harper Squires and the Lady Lions defense pitched a shutout as they captured the SCISA Class A girls state soccer championship at Hilton Head Christian Academy Saturday afternoon defeating the Beaufort Academy Lady Eagles 2-0 Squires and Harter connected again at the 11:25 mark of the second half for the final margin of victory. "This feels absolutely amazing," said Harter. "Our team played amazing together and I love everyone on this team. We wanted this rematch, and we wanted this win and we got it." This was co-head coach Hunter Squires final match on the pitch and it could not have gone any better for her and her girls. "This team was amazing all year. The girls play for each other, they love each and they are going to play with their hearts every match, " Squires said. "This was my last match so it is so sweet to go out on top with this team." It was tough end to a great season for the Lady Eagles and head coach Chris Jones . "We played as team like we have all year, but we were a bit unlucky and hats off to Holy Trinty. They made a couple more plays than we did and that is what happens sometimes," said coach Jones. The first half started with Holy Trinty spend the majority of the team on the Beaufort Academy’s side of the pitch after BA’s senior Claire Tumlin’s corner kick went through the box. Tumlin was the only senior on the pitch. Holy Trinity’s used the speed of it is forwards to flip the field. Harter, Squires, Bryant Salley and Bryar Twitty kept the Lady Eagles and their keeper Mads Trice fending off scoring chances. Trice and her defense of Kate Brosman , Brielle Young, Angle Pez, and Kaz Green were able to fight off the barge until Harter and Squires connected for the first time. After Twitty’s shot on goal from the top of the right side of the box was cleared for an HT corner kick. Squires took the corner from the left side and placed the ball low towards the net. Harter popped in from the right side and put the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 HT lead at the 24:45 mark of the first half. The Lady Eagles responded with their top player Keileey Good pushing the ball up the pitch to get some shots on goal. Coming into the match Good had scored 40 goals coming into Saturday’s match. The problem for Good was that HT was marking her with three and sometimes four ladies when she had the ball and behind them was goalkeeper Abby Schaub who had allowed only six goals all season. The Ladies in front of Schaub were Sarah Anderson , Payton Kalor , Lilly Cooler and AnnaCate Gray . This quartet made sure that Good was never alone and they frustrated her all day long. “Our defense has been solid all season and they came out on fire today. They covered each other all day long,” said coach Squires. “We know that Good is a great player, who can create her own shot so we wanted to keep someone on her at all times.” The second half started with BA pushing the ball deep into HT’s side of the pitch with Good getting off a couple of shots on goal. Harter then broke out and raced down the right side of the pitch to get a shot on goal that went wide right. The teams continued to press each other with each defense producing big stops to keep the score at one-nil. Then at the 16:31 mark of the second half BA had its best chance to tie the match up when Bella Lippy sent a shot toward the right corner of the HT goal. As the ball neared the goal, Schaub dove to her right and made the save of the game. After HT cleared the ensuing corner kick by Tumlin they moved the ball quickly to the Lady Eagles side of the pitch where they got off a couple of shots on goal and three corner kicks in a short span of time. On their third corner is when Squires and Harter connected again, Squires sent the ball across the box where Harter headed into the net on left side and with 10:34 to go the Lady Lions lead was 2-0. BA tried to counter but each time they were turned back and HT would make a run up the field. Harter almost had a hat trick as she got the ball and raced up the left side to place another shot on goal at the 6:20 mark but Trice came up with another save. The Lady Eagles had one more great opportunity to get on the board with less than two minutes to go in the contest when Good drew a foul just outside the box. The penalty gave BA a free kick but Tumlin’s shot was just over the crossbar. The win capped off a perfect season for the Lady Lions at 12-0 and was their third win of the year over the defending state champions, Beaufort Academy Lady Eagles.

By Neill Kirkpatrick Special to the HSSR Bluffton – Saturday’s SCISA AAA state championship match between area rivals Hilton Head Prep and John Paul II was their third meeting of the year and was by far the best match as HHP scored the game’s only goal at the 17:18 mark of the second half to win their second consecutive AAA state championship. The score was tied at Nil in the 63rd minute when HHP’s Riley Wilbert put a shot on goal that bounced off the hands of JP II’s goal keepers TrintyGrace Maxwell onto the waiting right foot of Ashley Brothers , who put the ball into the back of the net for the only goal of the game. “I tell my girls at every practice to finish strong and that is what they did today. I am so proud of these girls. They had one goal all year and they accomplished it,” said HHP head coach Risa McMillian . “I could not have asked anymore from my girls. They played their hearts out today and I am so proud of them,” said a dejected JP II head coach Karen Pimentel . “Our girls were looking towards this game since we lost to them 3-0.” Defense was the name of the game from the opening kick off as each team was focused on keeping the other team’s scorers from getting good looks at the goal and each keeper Maxell for JP II and HHP’s Emily Brothers played beautifully throughout the match. HHP tested the Lady Warriors defense early as they tried to get the early lead in the match. During the first 10 minutes Ashley Brothers had three corner kicks into the box that were cleared out by the JP II defense and Wilbert missed a shot from the right side. The Lady Warrior defensive effort was led by Abby Brock , Lauren Weniger , Brady Mahoney , Elizabeth Smith , and Hollis Melnick as they were able to get on their marks and when the ball got into the box they would make several key clears all game. “We pride ourselves on our defense. They work so tirelessly every game and they keep us in games,: said coach Pimental. The match flipped to HHP’s side of the field at the 26-minute mark of the first half and HHP’s defense had to step up and make some plays to keep the Lady Warriors off the score board. JP II’s Ayla Reynolds had a free kick on the Lady Dolphins side of the field and made deep kick towards the HHP’s goal. Melnick charged toward the goal and collided with Emily Brothers, who knocked the ball out of bounds. Unfortunately, Hollis Melnick landed on her should and left the game with an injury. After the play JP II would get its best scoring chances of the first half when Reynolds took two shots from 25 yards out with both going over the top of the crossbar. Had either shot been six inches lower JP II would have had a score. HHP responded with a four shots on goal in the final five minutes of the first half. Caroline Ware shot one over the goal while Evelyn Melnick had three straight shots on goal. The first hit the side of the net, the second went over the cross bar and on the third Maxwell made a great kick save. The second half was played mostly in the middle of the pitch as both defenses smothered the others offense The Lady Dolphins defense was led by Millie Cornejo , Alexa Palazzo , Ava Zeoli and Madeline Schlieman . They would not allow the Lady Warriors to get any good looks at the goal in the second half. After a corner kick by Ware went through the box. HHP’s Wilbert corralled the ball and took a shot at the goal that was knocked down by Maxwell but Ashley Brothers was there for the rebound. She did not waste the opportunity as tallied the only goal of the game. HHP finished the year at 16-3-1 with their third win of the year of JP II. JP II finished the year at 11-5 and had their four-game winning streak end.