James Island wins AAAA baseball state championship series

Charleston – James Island High School already had a win in the bag in the AAAA baseball state championship series against Laurens, so as it trailed 7-4 going to the sixth inning of Game 2 there was solace in the fact that a third and deciding game still awaited if it was unable to mount a comeback.

Rally for a victory the Trojans did though, scoring a single run in the top of the sixth and two in the seventh to force extra innings and three in the eighth to win 10-7 at the LHS field on May 22 and claim the school’s first baseball state title since 1996.

“Finishing the year winning the last game in the state championship means a ton to our program,” said JI head coach Matt Spivey, who guided the program to its third state title, the other one coming in 1994. “We've been knocking on the door for a few years now, finishing runner-up in 2021 and finishing in the final eight in '22 and '23. This win validates all of the hard work our team has put in over the last several years.”

After scoring the run in the sixth to cut the lead to 7-5, James Island was down to its final out of the game against Laurens relief pitcher Josh Hughes. It responded with three consecutive hits, a single from senior Kyle Stock, a double from senior Grayson Bennett and a 2-strike, 2-run single from sophomore Connor Dantzler to tie the game at 7-7.

Trojans reliever Bennett got through the bottom of the seventh unscathed to force extra innings. JI junior Stow Rogers hit a solo home run in the eighth to make it 8-7 before sophomore teammate Taj Marchand added a 2-run shot to extend the lead to 10-7.

Spivey said JI has been a clutch hitting team all season.

“This team has believed all year long that they were good and no moment was too big for them,” said Spivey, whose squad finished the year with a 29-3-1 record. “We practiced the mental game every single day of the season and our team bought in. They were able to relax in big moments and just focus on the present. It is no surprise that (seventh) inning started with two seniors in the lineup. The single by Kyle Stock and the double by Grayson Bennett is evidence of how deep our lineup is. Those two seniors stepped up and refused to be denied, opening the door for our sophomore, Connor Dantzler. He had been swinging it well all night. In fact, that was the softest hit ball he had all night and it found the right hole. 

“Tying it up was huge, but we knew we had to go out in the seventh and get their middle-of-the-order hitters out, which had been tough all night. Grayson Bennett did that in dominating fashion, which set the stage for the mammoth home run from Stow Rogers and was then followed by Taj Marchand. Again, the various players stepping up just proved how awesome our lineup and offense was.”

Bennett pitched a scoreless eighth to secure the victory. He pitched 3 1/3 innings of scoreless 1-hit ball to go with seven strikeouts.

The Raiders, who finished the year with a 26-8 record, were playing for their first state title since 1990. While disappointed with the ending, head coach Tori Patterson was proud of the season they had.

“There is no frustration at all, James Island is a very good team,” Patterson said. “There were some plays we could have made, but those guys hit the baseball really well against our pitching. 

“Our team did exactly what myself and the coaching staff thought they could do. We didn't win it all, but I’m proud of the way my guys competed all year.”

The game was tied 4-4 in the fifth when Laurens scored three runs to open the 7-4 advantage. Bennett Edwards had a 2-run single that scored Zay Pulley and Hunter Nabors. Coleman Coker added a 2-out double that scored courtesy runner Zee Williams.

Edwards was the leader of the Raiders’ 12-hit attack, going 3-for-5 with two runs batted in. Owen Pridgen was 2-for-4 with three RBI. He smacked a 2-run homer in the second that put Laurens up 2-0 and added an RBI single in the third that made it 3-1.

The Trojans, who batted .328 as a team on the season, also had 12 hits with junior No. 3 hitter Collin Anderson the only member of the lineup not getting a hit. Dantzler was 2-for-4 with two runs and three RBI, Stock was 2-for-3 with three runs, Marchand was 2-for-5 with a run and two RBI, and senior Conley Steed was 2-for-5 with an RBI.

Freshman Trip Ostergard and Rogers both had a hit, a run and an RBI, Bennett had a hit and two runs and junior Jake Amman had a hit.

In his way of thinking, Spivey said James Island is a year ahead of schedule.

“Honestly, no. I thought this team was still a year away,” Spivey responded when asked if he anticipated winning the title this year. “I knew that we were very talented from the beginning of the year and based on what we lost last year, I thought we'd be really good, but I didn't think this team would be this good.

“We believed that our offense was going to be really good with the returning talent, but looking at the pitching staff, we had to answer a lot of questions. Ultimately, they did and that's why we ended our season 29-3-1 and state champions.”

Six of the nine members of the Game 2 batting order return next season. The three senior starters are Stock, Bennett and Steed.

The remainder of the James Island roster is senior Wyatt Crouch, senior John Virgil, senior Bade Thomas, junior Will Herring, junior Bishop Nixon, junior Hayden Little, junior Drake Robertson, sophomore Colt Hernandez, sophomore Braden Deprill, sophomore Luke Maxwell, sophomore Finlay Pratt, freshman Brady Dantzler, freshman Cooper Jones and eighth-grader Brayden Easterling.

Spivey’s coaching staff includes Lawton Hendricks, Matt Porter, Austin Heflin, David Beckley and Dylan Sawyer.