James Island baseball off to great start

James Island – Armed with a young but talented group this spring, James Island head baseball coach Matt Spivey sees the potential for great things in 2024.

The Trojans are considered one of the top five teams in Class AAAA this season, along with defending state champion Catawba Ridge, defending Lower State champion North Myrtle Beach, Laurens and Airport.

The Trojans have yet to lose a game through 13 outings, winning 12 games and posting a 0-0 tie against Lugoff-Elgin in a preseason tournament.

Spivey, now in year seven as head coach, has perhaps his best team yet.

“We’re still a relatively young team but I knew we had a chance to be competitive,” Spivey said. “I’m not sure I expected us to be this good but I think this is a team full of competitors. They love to play and they have played very hard so far.”

James Island counts early season wins over Summerville and Hanahan, while also notching wins over AAAA contender Eastside and AAAAA Ashley Ridge.

Offensively, some of the top early performers include sophomore shortstop Taj Marchand (.448), junior catcher Stow Rogers (.343) and junior corner infielder Jake Amman (.531). Senior Grayson Bennett leads the team with 13 RBI. Amman has driven in 11 runs while Marchand has nine RBI. The Trojans are hitting right at .300 as a team but the offense is successful in several areas.

“This is probably the most competitive offensive team I’ve had,” Spivey said, “We have good gap to gap power and we run well. Our speed allows is to put pressure on teams defensively. We have guys that grind out at bats. They don’t give away anything. They bunt, run, play smart.”

Anchoring the pitching staff is senior Kyle Stock, with solid help from junior left-hander Collin Anderson and a bevy of other arms. Stock has a 0.35 earned run average in his first 20 innings of work. Anderson is at 1.11 in 19 innings. Each has three early wins. Marchand has yet to allow an earned run in 11 innings of mound work.

James Island was ranked fourth in the most recent AAAA poll by the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association. Most consider the Trojans the top team in the Lowcountry amongst all classifications. But, while appreciative of the notoriety for his program, Spivey knows polls in March and April are not important in the grand scheme. How his team plays in May will determine their ultimate ranking.

“The rankings are good recognition for our kids and how hard they work but they really don’t mean anything,” Spivey said. “We all know that the playoffs are what matters and it is important that we continue to improve. To be honest, we don’t practice well. They show up ready on game day but I keep telling these guys we have to practice better.”