Gators finish state runners-up on hardwood

Clarendon Hall's senior pitcher Cali Yount allowed six hits and had five K’s in their come back win over O-P.

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Ashley Ridge senior Skyla Tuthill was named the 5A Girls Basketball Player of the Year. Photo by Roger Lee 

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 .

By Dennis Brunson hssr.com Associate Editor Honea Path – Belton-Honea Path High School won its first ever softball state title last season, claiming the AAA crown with a 31-4 record. The Bears lost five starters from that team, all of whom are playing in college this season. Two were All-State and North-South All-Star Game selections and three of the five were All-Region selections. You know what though? That’s OK with head coach Jarad Jennings. “I feel that we still have some talented players,” said Jennings, whose team won its first five games this season. “We’ve got some younger kids that will be stepping up into different roles. Where they may have been courtesy runners, third pitchers or pinch hitters, they now have to learn how to step up and be everyday players and figure out what it takes to win.” BHP will have the Region Player of they Year from a season ago anchoring the middle of the infield in senior shortstop Emma Jo Evans . Along with being an All-State selection from a year ago, Evans is committed to play with James Madison . Senior Meg Griffin , who is committed to USC Beaufort , will split time between the outfield and infield upon her return to the lineup in April. Junior Carli Smith , an All-Region pick last year, will be sharing pitching duties and first base with sophomore Addi Vaughn . The rest of the defensive alignment will have sophomore Kinsley Martin at second base, sophomore Carsen Foster returning at third, freshman Madi Boggs back in center field and sophomore Ally Vaughn in right field. Junior Rhiley Bannister and sophomore Miranda Smith will be either behind the plate or in left field. The batting order will have Evans batting leadoff with Boggs in the 2 hole and Foster batting third. Smith will be the cleanup hitter followed by Bannister, Martin, Smith, Ally Vaughn and Addi Vaughn . Smith and Addi Vaughn will be sharing time in the circle to determine who is the No. 1 pitcher. Smith was the No. 2 pitcher last year to All-State performer Kinsley Kay , now pitching at Erskine . “Carli throws harder, while Vaughn is more up and down,” Jennings said. “We’re seeing who wins it or it might be a case or who is the best matchup that night.” Jennings hopes his team is ready for what’s coming its way. “Whether they like it or not, every game we’re going to have a target on our back,” he said. “It’s great that we won a state championship, but that’s last year’s groceries. It don’t mean anything from here on out. We’ve got to work and compete, play our best each game and push each other.”

Cheraw’s Reagan Freeman Named “NETC” Female Student Athlete Of the Month  Cheraw—Reagan Freeman is a junior honor student at Cheraw High School, where she batted nearly .500 as a sophomore on the softball team, before suffering a season ending elbow injury. Very early in her junior season Freeman is batting .400 and she is completely recovered from the injury she sustained as a sophomore. She is also a very good defensive first baseman and rarely makes an error in the field. She was also a member of the volleyball team at Cheraw this past season. In the class room this honor student carries a 4.56 GPA, and to date she has benefitted from taking six online dual credit courses from the “NETC”, based in her home town of Cheraw. For all her athletic and academic accomplishments, Freeman has been chosen the “NETC Female Student Athlete of the Month.” This honor is bestowed through a partnership between the Northeastern Technical College and “The High School Sports Report” with the publication communicating with athletic directors at high schools in the counties of Dillon, Marlboro, and Chesterfield, where NETC serves the needs of high school students seeking to earn dual credits in various subjects that can be transferred to colleges after a student’s high school graduation. The ”NETC” is currently offering over 44 online dual credit courses for the 2024-25 school year to students in the three counties they serve. Freeman is currently taking Growth & Human Development along with Computer Programing as online dual credit courses offered by the “NETC.” As a sophomore she took dual credit online courses in Psychology 101, Sociology 101, Spanish 101 and Introduction to Criminal Justice offered by the “NETC.” “I enjoy taking online dual credit courses through the NETC because they are local, and my grades with the online courses helped improve my GPA for academic scholarships I am applying for,” said Freeman. “Taking online courses also teaches me the importance of time management and gives me an idea for what I will be preparing for, once I get to college. “The main difference in taking courses in a class room setting, versus online, is that you feel like in the class room setting your teacher seems to always be pushing you to learn as if you are up against a deadline,’ said Freeman. “With online courses it is much more self-paced, and you can work around your schedule to complete the courses you are taking online.” Freeman hopes to become an athletic trainer once she completes her college education. At the present time her top three college choices are Coastal Carolina , the University of North Carolina or Clemson . In travel softball, she played third base for the “Hot Shot’s” but she enjoys playing first base on her high school team. “My goals in softball are to help the team win, and I would like to improve my batting average and also make all-region,” said Freeman. “I enjoy playing softball at Cheraw High because my head coach Kevin Thurman is the best coach I have every played for, and he cares about his players.”

Cheraw’s Kadin Thomas Named “NETC” Male Student Athlete of the Month Cheraw — Kadin Thomas is a junior two-sport athlete at Cheraw High, where he earned all-region honors this past season as a quarterback on the football team. He is currently playing in the outfield for the AA state ranked Braves high school baseball team. He threw for over 2,000 yards on his football team with 17 passing touchdowns this past season. Thomas is currently being recruited by The Citadel , Charleston Southern and Elon for football . He will visit Charleston Southern on March , 29 th and The Citadel on April 5 th , In the class room he carries a 3.95 GPA and he has a strong desire to play football at the next level. For all his athletic and academic accomplishments, Thomas has been chosen the “NETC” Male Student Athlete of the Month.” This honor is bestowed through a partnership between the Northeastern Technical College and “The High School Sports Report” with the publication communicating with athletic directors at high schools in the counties of Dillon, Marlboro, and Chesterfield, where NETC serves the needs of high school students seeking to earn dual credits in various subjects that can be transferred to colleges after a student’s high school graduation. The ”NETC” is currently offering over 44 online dual credit courses for the 2024-25 school year to students in the three counties they serve. Thomas is currently enrolled in two dual credit online courses offered by the :NETC.” They are Probability & Statistics along with Spanish 101. Thomas has a strong desire of majoring in Sports Management in college. “Taking online courses through the “NETC” I feel like I am being prepared for what my actual experiences could be once I get to college,” said Thomas. “I am really enjoying the two online courses I am involved with right now, and I plan on taking two more online courses from the “NETC” next semester. “Taking online courses through the “NETC” not only helps me bump up my GPA, that will help me with my college recruitment, but is teaches me how to manage my time better and learning time management is so important once you get to college,” said Thomas. Thomas said thar while football is his favorite sport he has been playing baseball since he was 8-years old. “Playing baseball helps me to be a better quarterback in many ways,” said Thomas. “For example, playing baseball, hip rotation is very important when you are batting, or running down a fly ball in the outfield, and good hip rotation is also vital to a quarterback,” said Thomas. “Playing baseball keeps me in shape for football and vice versa.” Thomas has a favorite play involving himself from this past football season. “We are at Barnwell in the third round of the play-offs and it is like two minutes left in the game,” said Thomas. “I am under pressure from the defense so I roll out of the pocket. On the dead run I threw a 60-yard touchdown pass to one of my receivers (Nick Gordan) in stride for a touchdown.” Although Cheraw lost the evenly matched game 28-27, Thomas was the star of the game for the Braves. He passed for 274 yards and two touchdowns and he added 63 yards rushing on the ground.

March issue is hot off the presses and in the mail.

Christ Church looks for continued success in move to AAA