Hilton Head Christian wins SCISA AAA baseball state title

Bluffton – The Hilton Head Christian Academy baseball team found itself on the short end of the score twice late in the games in the SCISA AAA state championship series. The Eagles’ belief in themselves never faltered though, and now they are state champions.

HHCA trailed Pee Dee Academy entering the seventh inning of Game 1 in Mullins to win 3-1 and then scored six runs in the bottom of the fifth to overcome a 4-3 deficit and beat the 2-time defending state champion 12-4 on May 14 and sweep the best-of-3 series.

Hilton Head Christian head coach JW Wilkerson said his team just maintained the same steady approach it had taken all year to finish with a 24-6 record and give the school its first baseball title since 2010.

“Throughout the season, we just battled,” said Wilkerson, who has since stepped down as the head coach to focus solely on the athletic director duties he inherited prior to the start of the just completed school year. “That just got us ready for that moment. We just never panicked. We had guys on base all (of the first) game, but we couldn't get them through.

“In the second game, we just kept doing what we do. We did a good job of not letting the moment get too big. The crowd and the environment were great. We felt we were never out of the game. We had good at-bats and trusted what we did all year.”

The Eagles trailed 1-0 going to the seventh of Game 1. They pushed across three runs with one out against PDA relief pitcher Bennett Causey, who had come on to get the final out of the sixth after PDA starter Colby Richardson had reached his pitch limit.

“It was do or die at that moment,” Wilkerson said. “We knew they were a really good team, and he was one of the best pitchers we’ve seen all year.

“We knew once we got through the lefty (Richardson) we were going to be just fine,” Wilkerson said. “We did a good job being selective and getting his pitch count up.”

Richardson had 5 1/3 innings of scoreless pitching for Pee Dee. He allowed two hits, struck out eight and walked four.

Keene Reese had two runs batted in for HHCA. Roman Collela had two hits and Jackson Richardson had the other hit. Scoring runs were Slaide Burd, Richardson and Jesse Hall.

James Crosby and Dylan Clark combined to limit Pee Dee to just one hit. Crosby worked 4 1/3 innings, allowing the hit and an unearned run. He walked four and struck out one. Clark worked the final 2 ½ innings, striking out four and walking none.

Hughes Elvington had the one hit for the Eagles. Colby Richardson scored the run and Ryan Hucks had an RBI.

           In the second game in Bluffton, HHCA jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one inning. Pee Dee tied it in the top of the second before Hilton Head Christian scored a run in the bottom of the inning. PDA scored twice in the third and held that advantage until Hilton Head Christian had the 6-run fifth. It added three more in the sixth.

           HHCA had seven hits, three of them coming from Collela with two of them being doubles. He also had two RBI.

Cody Bradt had a hit, a run and two RBI, Chip Hetzel had a hit, scored three times and had an RBI, Clark scored twice and had an RBI, Steele Burd had a hit, a run and an RBI, Reese had a hit and an RBI, Slaide Burd had a run and an RBI, and Anthony Seminara scored twice.

           Hilton Head Christian also drew 10 walks with Clark and Jackson Richardson drawing three apiece. It also had four batters get hit with pitches.

           Walker Mikkelson pitched three shutout innings to hold Pee Dee at bay until HHCA got its bats going. He allowed two hits and walked one while striking out one. Hayden Brooks pitched the final inning.

           “We knew we were the better team, nothing against Pee Dee,” Wilkerson said. “There was no stress because we knew we had a good team all the way around. Everybody felt the same way.”

           Pee Dee, which finished with a 19-5 record, also had seven hits, three of them coming from Colby Richardson along with a run and an RBI. Miles Trussell and Jamison Rogers both had a hit and a run, Chandler James had a hit and an RBI, Elvington had a hit and Causey scored a run.

           PDA head coach Brian Davis thought his team had a great year even though it didn’t end with a 3-peat.

           “Dropping the ball at the end and not playing our best was not ideal,” Davis said. “Obviously that’s a downer. Just for us to get back there though after losing four big seniors that contributed a lot the year before was great. Those were big parts out of lineup and pitching rotation. Bouncing back and replacing those four shows the program’s in a good spot right now.

“We were 15-2 in the regular season and didn’t lose a game in the region, which we didn’t do last year. Three of five losses came in the playoffs. We lost to Orangeburg Prep in our first playoff game then we were battling adversity, having to go on the road a lot and winning. We took big steps forward and, overall, I’m super proud of the guys.”

                      Pee Dee had five seniors in Elvington, London Johnson, Slate Lewis, Nobles and Griffin Wilbanks.