PHOTOS: Mar 7th SCHSL BB Championship - Blythewood vs Summerville

Raiders off to an 11-4 start as SCISA AA state playoffs draw near

Spring sports hitting the final stretch of regular season play By David Shelton Senior Writer Lake City – Don’t look now but the 2025 spring sports season is nearly over and the athletes at Carolina Academy are prepping for the stretch drive. The spring has been a mixed bag of success to date but all of the teams are looking to finish strong. The baseball team has had a tough go, winning four of their first 15 games. Several losses were close games so the team has been competitive at times. On the mound, getting work are Walker McCutcheon, Bennett Mathews, Hampton Kirby Ryker Rhodes and Ryan Cox . McCutcheon, Rhodes and Matthews have seen time behind the plate as well. Kirby has seen time at short, along with Matthews, while Parker Miles , Carson Hanna and Holden Carsten are seeing time at the corner infield positions. Cox, Tanner Floyd and Kingston Cox are working in the outfield. The boys golf team has had some success this spring and will be playing in the SCISA state tournament on April 26 th in Conway. The Bobcats played in the region tournament on April 10.  The team has a bevy of seniors who are playing in the top group. Seniors include Thomas McDaniel, Cam Porter, Mason Huggins, Michael Wyatt, Blanding Franks, Jamison Andrews and Drake Morri s . Also playing are Landon Crosby , eighth-grader Grady Long , and seventh-graders Braeden Morris and Kohl Elmore . The Carolina Academy softball team has had better luck so far this season, winning nine of their first 12 games to put them in contention for a region title. Coach Scotty Philips felt his team had what it takes to challenge for a state championship if things continue to progress. “I see a lot of potential with this team but they have to focus and continue to work,” Phillips said. The strength of the 2025 team is inside the pitching circle. Junior Raylee Frye is a third-year performer who is as good as any hurler in SCISA when she brings her “A” game. Freshman Ella Ham will log innings at pitcher as well while also playing centerfield and first base. Lauren Sims also will pitch and share third base duties with Frye. “We have three good pitchers, dependable,” Phillips said. “I feel good giving the ball to any of them.” Handling the catching duties is returning starter Carlie Ann Smith , a junior who has been impressive behind the dish early on. Sophomore Jaylyn Davis will play most of the innings at first base while eighth-grader Natalie Braveboy will move from left to second base to replace McCutcheon. Three eighth-graders, Paisley Coker, Kayley Lyerly and Emma Amos are working in rightfield, with Ham also getting reps. Rounding out the varsity roster this season are Katherine Holiday, Lexi McCutcheon, Sarah Emma Garris, Savannah McCUtcheon, Jennifer Vargas and Hannah Grace Matthews.

Max Poulakis has been key to Pinewood’s success this season as a pitcher, infielder and batter.

By David Shelton Senior Writer Bennettsville - The 2025 season has been a rough ride for the baseball and softball teams at Marlboro County High . With the top four teams in each region of Class AAA qualifying for the Lower State playoffs, both of Marlboro County’s teams are in jeopardy of not making the cut. Both need a strong finish in the remaining region 6-AAA games to earn their postseason opportunity.  The baseball team has been a regular in the postseason and was expected to be a top four team in the region this spring. As of April 7, the Bulldogs were 2-8 overall with three of those early losses by two runs or less. Coach Ryan Pierce has mixed and matched his lineup this season, searching for the right combination of players that can yield success. Senior Cam Hunt is arguably the top overall player on the roster as a shortstop and pitcher. Tristan Quick plays mostly third base and is another arm on the mound. Others who have seen time on the mound include Zach Hardee and J ameson Bradshaw . Hardee also does work defensively as a corner infielder. Patrick Stubbs mans centerfield in most games while Layton Chavis handles most of the catching duties. Jayden Chavis plays second base while Ty Kickery , Tim Sloan and Landon Sweatt are working primarily in the outfield. Justin Haithcock and Khalil Sloan have seen time as the designated hitter, and Greir Norris has spot time at first base. Rounding out the roster are RJ Hale, Coy Preston and Jake Sloan . Entering the first full week of April, the Marlboro County softball team was 0-7 in region play and 3-13 overall. In recent years the Bulldogs have been region title contenders but have not been able the get it going this spring. One player who is playing at a high level is sophomore shortstop Addison Skipper , who is hitting .618 with five homeruns and 15 runs batted in through 15 games. Sophomore Ruthie Grooms hit .344 with nine RBI in the first 15 games while junior centerfielder Amir Bridges is hitting ,316 on the season. Eighth-grader Kaylee Sweatt is hitting ,296 and senior Abby Quick is hitting .286.

BY: GERALD DOOLITTLE Contributing Writer Batesburg-Leesville, S.C. – The W.W. King Academy Knights coached by Brian Kneece heads into Spring break with an 5-4 overall record. The Knights still have regular season games left with Greenwood Christian, Ridge Spring-Monetta and Wardlaw Academy. After the regular season games SCISA Region 3-A will have a Region tournament at Richard Winn on 4/21 and at W.W. King on 4/22. With a win over Wardlaw Academy to close the regular season the Knights will have a 4-2 region record which will give them second place behind Richard Winn Academy. The Knights offense has been sparked by Casen Buzhardt (so), Elijah Hutto (so), Joshua Oswald (fr) and Greyson Rikard (fr). These four are followed by Colton Buzhardt (sr) and Zed Watkins (jr). Casen leads with a batting average of .393 and 8 RBIs. And 10 runs scored. Hutto has a batting average of .375, 4 RBIs and 14 runs scored. Oswald has a batting average of .375, 4 RBIs and 8 runs scored. Rikard has a batting average of .375, 8 RBIs and 5 runs scored. Rikard also has 2 home runs. Landen Anderson (so) has four hits that has resulted in 9 RBIs. One of those hits was a home run. Leading the base running stats is Hutto with 14 stolen bases followed by Colton Buzhardt with 6 stolen bases. Oswald follows with 5 and Casen with 4.  Hutto leads the pitching staff with 28 Ks followed by Colton and Casen Buzhardt with 17 each.

By Billy G. baker Publisher Gaffney —The Gaffney Lady Indians softball team went into Spring break at 10-7, and in sixth place in a very competitive AAAAA region, and head coach Maddie Pruitt is very focused on the team having a strong finish to the 2025 season over the next two weeks. “We are coming off Spring break well rested and we are ready to go to work and we are looking forward to finishing the regular season on a high note so we can ride into the playoffs the first week of May with a lot of momentum,” said Coach Pruitt. “We play all the region teams we faced in the first half of the season over the next two weeks. It will be a busy time and our focus is to work hard and have success.” One setback to the team was an injury to talented 8 th grade infielder Maysen Byars who was hitting .514 at the time of her injury. Maysen played second and third base for me and she is a solid infielder and we will miss her so much,” said Coach Pruitt. Over the Spring break Brooklyn Jennings committed to play softball at USC Union . Senior Dacy Phillips has signed with North Greenville and Korbyn Lydia is headed to USC Upstate. Both Phillips and Lydia have been a key part of the Gaffney softball program for five seasons including junior varsity. The team’s ace pitcher this season has been sophomore Ashley Caraway who has a record of 5-2 with an ERA of 2.70. caraway has worked 46 innings in the circle with 41 strike-outs. The leading hitters for Gaffney have been junior Kourtney Caraway who is batting .442. Sophomore Ashley Caraway is batting .405. Lydia is batting .378 and Jennings is at .333. Dacy Phillips is batting .250 and playing solid defense “Dacy has been barreling balls up and good during her at bats, but it’s been right at the defense,” said Coach Pruitt. “Hopefully, she will have a strong finish to the season.” Gaffney has played a very competitive schedule this season and they have defeated some talented teams among their 10 victories. They have wins over: ALA (15-5), Legion Collegiate (7-3), Seneca (4-3), Oceanside Collegiate (6-1), Greenville (14-1 & 5-2), Riverside (7-3), and Wade Hampton (9-2).  Gaffney will play at Spartanburg on April,15 then travel to Eastside the next day before hosting Byrnes on April, 18. The Indians host Boiling Springs on April, 21 and Riverside on April 22. Gaffney is at Dorman on April, 25 before hosting Wade Hampton on April, 29. Chapman comes to Gaffney on April, 30 and then the Indians close out the regular season at home against Eastside on May, 2.

James Island spring sports racking up the wins in 2025 By David Shelton Senior Writer James Island – There has been winning aplenty for the James Island Charter spring sports teams through the first two weeks of April. The move from Class AAAA to AAAAA has not been as difficult as some predicted as several James Island teams are contending for region 8-AAAAA championships. The girls and boys soccer teams are in the thick of the race as the regular season winds down. The girls soccer team won their first six region contests and won 11 of their first 13 matches overall. The boys soccer team is off to a 5-1 start in region play, winning 10 of their first 14 contests overall. Lacrosse continues to grow and gather strength as a relatively new sport at the school. The boys team sits at 9-6 as of April 12 with just a few games remaining. The girls team went 5-10 in their first six weeks of the season. Leading the effort on the girls team is senior Mary Katherine Williams , who has scored 48 goals with six assists. Senior Emma McFall has tallied 20 goals while sophomore Lane Hobey has added 11 goals. Senior Reece Bertschy has nine assists to go with her 10 goals. The softball team is in a little rebuild this spring but has still competed well overall. The Trojans split their first six region games, losing to the top three teams in the region – Summerville, Fort Dorchester and West Ashley. Senior first baseman/pitcher Mary Davis Hancock leads the team in hitting with a .405 batting average. She has eight runs batted in as well while logging 54 innings inside the circle. Senior outfielder Rachel Manchester is hitting .350 and sophomore Caroline Jaruzel is hitting .300 while also working 32 innings as a pitcher. The team’s top returning hurler, sophomore Gracie Sue Billings , has not pitched this season after winning nine games last season.  The baseball team is one of the state’s top five teams in AAAAA and will enter the playoffs seeking a second consecutive state championship. They won the AAAA state title in 2024. The Trojans are 9-0 in region play and 14-3 overall entering spring break (April 13). A devastating and productive top of the lineup has been as advertised. Senior catcher Stow Rogers , junior shortstop Taj Marchand , senior third baseman Jake Amman and sophomore second baseman Trip Ostergard have blistered opponents with each hitting near or better than .400. First baseman Finn Pratt , a first-year starter, also is off to a solid start offensively as is junior outfielder Connor Dantzler . Marchand and Ostergard also have been key performers on the mound, along with senior Collin Anderson and sophomores Dawson Belder and Cooper Jones.

Barnwell Softball Starting Three talented 7 th Graders From Ponytails World Championship Team From Last Summer  By Billy G. Baker Publisher Barnwell -Last summer an 11–12-year-old Ponytails softball rec team, from Barnwell County, earned their way to the World Series finals, held in Louisiana, and the team ended up winning a national Championship. Three members of that team are now 7 th grade starters on the Barnwell Warhorse softball team head coached by Michael Beasley, who has nearly 30 years of high school softball coaching experience. “Even in my 22- plus years at Blackville-Hilda I would occasionally have a 7 th grader on the varsity but none of them ever started,” said Coach Beasley. “For us to have three 7 th graders starting, and I mean they are also major contributors, is really amazing I will tell you that.” The top hitter on the entire team is 7 th grade shortstop/pitcher/catcher Kinsey Terrapin who is batting .577 as the team went into Spring break on April, 14. Shalayah Badger is a 7 th grader who is a shortstop/pitcher/catcher and she is batting .500. The other 7 th grade starter is 3 rd baseman Genesis Walker who is batting .417 . “All three of these players have been playing softball for a long time and it is a first- time situation for me to have three 7 th grade starters on a varsity team,” said Coach Beasley. “Kinsley is a natural born hitter and she has had a hot bat all season. Genesis is versatile and she likes playing several positions, but we use her mainly at 3 rd base. Shalayah’s speed and strength for a 7 th grader is quite impressive and she is the fastest player we have on the team.” Barnwell has entered Spring break (13-3, 10-0) and they won the region once again and they have won 29 straight region games in a row going back to the 2022 season. “We feel fortunate to have got all our region games out of the way before Spring break,” said Coach Beasley. “We scheduled a lot more games this season so we have an opportunity to face good pitching by playing 8 non-region games after the break. “We will be playing quality teams like Saluda , Colleton County , Branchville , and Silver Bluff after our Spring break, and we will be playing all 8 games over a two- week period,” said Coach Beasley. “What is also nice about the way we have set things up is that we have five days to prepare for our first home playoff game after we conclude our regular season.” The rudder of the team is senior pitcher Jaidyn Devore who has signed a softball scholarship with Howard University . In her senior season, Devore is currently 6-3 with 92 K’s in 47 innings in the circle with a sterling 0.74 ERA. At the plate she is batting .265 with 13 RBI’s and two home runs. Over her long career in the Barnwell softball program, Devore has 538 career K’s, has pitched 14 no-hitters, and four perfect games in 280 innings in the circle. Her career record is 38-15. “Jaidyn has been a hard worker and very focused player over her entire career at Barnwell,” said Coach Beasley. “She’s battle tested and playing very well in her senior season. “ Sophomore Laney Grubbs is an outfielder number two pitcher for the Warhorses. She went into Spring break batting .436 with 11 RBI’s. In the circle, Grubbs is 3-0 with 21 K’s in 12 innings of work with an ERA of 2.92. “I consider Laney a next level prospect and she is one of our team leaders despite being just a sophomore,” said Coach Beasley. “Everything she does is for the team.” Starting sophomore second baseman, Molly Wilson has a nick name she certainly likes. “We call her “Hitting Machine”,” said Coach Beasley. “She rarely strikes out and she always puts the ball in play.” Senior starting third baseman Brooklyn Gordon is one of three seniors on the team. She is an all-region returner who is currently batting .389 with 10 RBI’s. Sophomore Kendall O’Berry starts in center field and she is currently batting .375 with 11 RBI’s and she leads the team with three doubles. “She is a gold glove type center fielder,” said Coach Beasley. Junior Brianna Croft has been the starting catcher the past two seasons and she comes into the break hitting .278 with 8 RBI’s. “Brianna is probably our best bunter and she makes good contact with the ball.” said Coach Beasley. Abigail Corley is a three starter in right field and she in also a returning all-region player from last season. She is currently batting .241 with 7 RBI’s. Two key reserves who round out the 13-player roster are junior Shaelyn Badger who plays first and third base along with junior Layla Bishop who is an outfielder. “With our young players maturing so quickly this season, and as well as we have been hitting the ball lately, we are certainly hoping for a deep play-off run,” said Coach Beasley. “We have averaged 13 hits a game over our last games. “Our pitching is solid and deep also,” said Coach Beasley. “We hope playing 8 non-region games over the final two weeks of the season will expose us to some good pitching and get us ready for the playoffs.” Rick Arnold is an assistant coach for the team.

Cheraw Ranked Number two In AA Baseball Ranking As Braves Host Diamond Classic Event By Billy G. Baker Publisher Cheraw -With the return of three all-region players, the Cheraw High baseball team (13-3, 10-0), under the tutelage of 27- year baseball coaching veteran David Byrd, is ranked second in the latest HSSR Class AA ranking with two weeks left in the regular season. Cheraw’s three losses have been to bigger schools North Myrtle Beach (9-5), Fort Dorchester (3-2) and Sumter (9-4). The Braves have wins over Palmetto (4-2), Waccamaw (7-4), Central (12-2 & 10-2), Andrew Jackson (11-1 & 8-3), Darlington (12-0), Buford (3-0), York Prep (6-4 & 7-5), and Chesterfield (10-0, 7-6). It was the 7-6 Braves win over Chesterfield on April, 9 that raised concerns for Coach Byrd as his team gets ready to host the Foundation Diamond Classic on April 14-15 in Cheraw. Cheraw will be joined in this event by Sumter High , McBee High , Central of Pageland , and North Central . “After we had defeated Chesterfield 10-0, the very best day we are in a dog fight with them, and we actually trailed in the game with two-out in the 7 th inning, and we felt fortunate to have won the game 7-6,” said Coach Byrd. “We still need to clean up some things on defense, and hit a little better before we can start thinking about a deep playoff run.” The three returning all-region players include senor second/baseman-outfielder Jackson Byrd who is batting .326 with 8 RBI’s coming into the Classic. Senior Brayden Michael is also back and he is leading the team at the plate with a .378 average including 12 RBI’s and 15 stolen bases. The third all-region returner is talented three sport athlete sophomore Anthony Strong who is batting .312 with 8 stolen bases. Strong, who plays at short or second base, is also the Braves number one pitcher. “Anthony is a three-sport athlete at Cheraw and he is a good football prospect for sure,” said Coach Byrd. “He is just a natural athlete with a lot of talent.” Strong is 4-1 on the mound and in 23.2 innings pitched he has 25 K’s with a 0.00 ERA. The team’s number two pitcher is Michael who is 3-1 with a 0.98 ERA. Michael has 31 K’s in 28.2 innings of mound duty. Senior Charlie Phillips , who is 6-6, provides pitching depth and he is 2-0 with 16 K’s in 16.2 innings of work. Senior Tyler Gordon adds pitching to the team and he is 1-1 with a 2.40 ERA. Other starters include senior shortstop Kaden Johnson (.262) along with senior third baseman Will Quick , second on the team in hitting at .352 with 15 RBI’s and a homer. Junior Tyler Tolson starts at either first or the outfield and sophomore Brenden Pace is doing a good job catching and he hitting .294 with 13 RBI’s. Sophomore Nick Gordon is also a top receiver on the football team and he starts in the outfield. He bats in the 6 th hole and he now hitting .286. Senior Demaris Ellerbe starts at first and he also been a designated hitter. “We are still not totally committed to one starting line-up and we have been playing around seven players up-and-down this season,” said Coach Byrd. “We hope to get everyone in the right positions once the playoffs start. “I would say in my 27 years at Cheraw, talent wise this team is one of our top five teams but we still need to clean up things on both offense and defense,” said Coach Byrd. “We are capable of a deep playoff run but we are still working hard to get several things corrected.” Three players having joined the varsity now that the junior varsity season is over. They are out-fielders Crawford Poole , Terrence Blackmon , and Kaden Thomas . Coach Byrd is assisted by Tristian Campbell , Jordan Melton , Kevin Hardee , and Rodney Byrd .