Hilton Head Christian baseball off to strong start

           Bluffton – That the Hilton Head Christian Academy baseball team was off to an 11-2 start prior to Easter came as no surprise to Eagles head coach JW Wilkerson.

           “This team has played to our expectations,” said Wilkerson, who is in his third season in charge of the program. “We can pitch and hit it 1-9 (in the batting order). Also, we return every defensive starter from last year.”

          Alex Epstein and Steele Burd are sharing time at first base with Chip Hetzel and Slaide Burd up the middle at second and shortstop, respectively. Keene Reese is the third baseman and Roman Colella is the catcher.

           Cody Bradt holds down the fort in center field, while Dylan Clark and Zane Wilson share left and Tucker Tevepaugh and Jackson Richardson split time in right.

           Steele Burd is a Clemson signee. He had a .323 batting average with a team high three home runs. He had nine runs batted in.

           Bradt has signed with Radford. He was batting .447 with a home run and shared the team lead in runs with 16. Hetzel also had 16 runs and a .375 average.

           Slaide Burd led the team in hitting at .450 and runs batted in with 16. Colella was hitting .439 with 11 RBI and seven doubles, Epstein .310, Reese .263, Clark .263, Tevepaugh .217 and Richardson .200.

Bradt had 12 stolen bases, while Slaide Burd had 11.

           Hilton Head Christian was hitting .346 as a team and was averaging nine runs a contest. The Eagles had 23 doubles and three triples to go with four home runs.

While happy with his lineup, Wilkerson leaves little doubt as to the team’s strength.

           “The strength of the team has been the pitching staff as a whole, top to bottom,” Wilkerson said. The Eagles had a 1.67 team earned run average.

           Right-hander Hayden Brooks, lefty James Crosby and righty Wilson have been the starting pitchers. Brooks and Crosby both had a 3-0 win-loss record. Brooks had a 1.50 ERA in 23 ½ innings pitched while Crosby had a 1.22 ERA in 23 innings. Wilson was 1-1 with a 1.97 ERA in 10 2/3 innings. 

           Six other pitchers have made at least two appearances. They are Clark, Tevepaugh, Walker Mikkelson, Will Mahl, Bradt and Tucker Nelson.

           Nelson and Mahl had both pitched in four games, Nelson with a 1.50 ERA and Mahl at 2.47. Mikkelson had a 1-0 record and a 1.62 ERA in three appearances, while Clark, Tevepaugh and Bradt had pitched in two games. Clark had allowed one unearned run in 2 2/3 innings, Tevepaugh was 0-1 with a 4.67 ERA and Bradt had a 4.20 ERA.

Wilkerson said Brooks and Slaide Burd have been the catalysts for the Eagles.

           “Slaide Burd and Hayden Brooks are leading the charge, Slaide at the plate and out at shortstop and Hayden on the mound,” he said. “Their leadership, work ethic and play so far has stood out and helped us get out to an 11-2 record.”

Other members of the team are Jesse Hall, Ian Stiner and Anthony Seminara.