North Augusta – Andrew Peckham likes the direction in which the Fox Creek High School baseball program is heading, but he won’t be around to see what happens – well, in the dugout at least.
Peckham became the interim head coach when Jake Smith had to leave the post prior to the start of the season. He guided the Predators to a 14-12 record and a nice run in the AA state playoffs, but former FCHS player and assistant coach Roby Gillespie will take over the program next season.
“We had some big wins this season,” said Peckham, who is the school’s veteran boys basketball head coach. “We defeated top 5-ranked Strom Thurmond for the first time since 2017 and advanced to the district championship for the first time since 2019. We had seven freshmen and sophomores start throughout this year, so the future of the program is very bright.”
The Predators’ all-region selections were sophomore Devin Hillary, sophomore Hank Greene, senior Bryson Wright and senior Alex Walker.
Hillary led FCHS in several offensive categories, batting average at .412, stolen bases with 17, runs scored with 34, runs batted in with 20, doubles with seven and triples with three.
Greene batted. 338 with 20 runs and 10 RBI, while Wright batted .333 with 16 runs and 13 RBI.
Senior Kearston Hughes batted .394 while senior Dylan Miller batted .333 and senior Braden Shealy batted .317.
Hillary also led the team in innings pitched with 40 2/3 and had a 5.85 earned run average. Walker had 34 2/3 innings and 3.63 ERA. Shealy had a 4.01 ERA in 22 2/3 innings.
Gillespie is a 2014 graduate of Fox Creek, having played for former head coach Wesley Brown. He started as an assistant at Fox Creek before going to Strom Thurmond where he served as the junior varsity head coach and varsity assistant.
In a press release, Gillespie described the position as his “dream opportunity.”
SOFTBALL TEAM FINISHES 16-10
A young FCHS softball team went 16-10, finishing third in Region 3 with a 5-3 mark. The Predators made the playoffs, going 1-2 in the district tournament.
The two senior starters Fox Creek is losing are Emily Drew and Shelby Benson. Drew batted .356 with 15 stolen bases while Benson batted .323 with 23 RBI.
Junior Holly Guerri had team highs in average (.470) RBI (30), runs (32), triples (4) and homers (4). Sophomore Kaylee Morlan batted .469, sophomore Hannah Andrews batted .435 with eight doubles, junior Zoey Owens batted .375 and junior Paden Quinn batted .345.
Morlan had a team high 17 stolen bases, Guerri had 13 and Andrews had 11.
Sophomore Addyson Snellings handled most of the pitching, going 11-5 with a 3.48 ERA.
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