In what could, potentially, be a AAA state playoff showdown, the Camden High tennis team used three wins in singles and took second doubles to come away from the Grand Strand with a 4-2 victory over Waccamaw last Wednesday.
On Thursday, Camden dropped its first match of the season with a 4-2 loss at the hands of 4A A.C. Flora in Forest Acres.
The Bulldogs open defense of their AAA state crown today when Lower Richland, the fourth-place entry out of Region 5, comes to the Roger Smoak Tennis Courts for a 5 p.m. match. Should Camden win this afternoon, it will remain at home to host Thursday’s second round contest. The second round pairing is scheduled for Thursday with the third round and AAA Lower State title pairings slated for next Monday and Wednesday. The state final is on tap for Saturday, May 4 at the Dr. Eddie Floyd Tennis Center in Florence. The AAA final is set for a 10:15 a.m. start.
As for last Wednesday, Abby Baytes’s squad won the rematch of last year’s third round AAA playoff match with Waccamaw, also won by the Bulldogs. The host Warriors won the first singles match before CHS junior Slade Funderburk won by default at second singles.
The Dogs won at third singles with junior Hank Greenway sweeping past Hick Strickland, 6-2, 6-3. After dropping the fourth singles pairing, CHS used a 6-3, 7-5 win from junior Will Grumbach at fifth singles to lead, 3-2, after singles play.
The visitors wrapped up the match in second doubles with Robert Jenkins and Harris Younghans teaming up to defeat Dupre Harmon and Trace Harmon in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4.
Demons open 4A playoffs on the road: Lugoff-Elgin, the third-place finisher out of Region 5 kicks off the 4A Lower State boys’ tennis playoffs today with a trip to meet Hilton Head High School.
The Demons are a ninth seed while Hilton Head comes in as an eight seed.
Dogs rally down the stretch to knock off MC: Camden exploded for 16 runs in its final pair of at-bats to leave Marlboro County with a 19-7 win last Tuesday in a baseball game between the two remaining unbeaten teams in Region 6-AAA.
The victory gave the visiting Bulldogs (15-5-1) an 8-0 record in conference play while Marlboro County lost for the first time in eight league contests.
The hosts jumped to a 5-0 lead by scoring five times in the second before CHS hit the board with a run in the third before closing the gap to 5-3 with a pair in the fourth. MC tacked on solo runs in the fourth and fifth before Camden took the lead for keeps with seven in the sixth before rallying for nine runs in the seventh.
The Dogs pounded out 16 hits on the evening with freshman second baseman Brady Furniss having four of those while driving in one run and scoring twice. Senior centerfielder Aidan Heriot had three hits, three stolen bases, drove in two runs, scored three times and walked twice.
Byer Ware had two hits with two walks and scored two runs. Mac Mellichamp had two hits and had an RBI. Chandler Johnson belted a three-run home run to left-center to highlight a seven-run sixth inning while Kade Bell smacked a two-run blast in the nine-run top of the seventh. Shiver Huggins had a double and drove in a pair of runs. Zechariah Haney and Logan Freeman each had a single to round out the Bulldog offensive barrage.
Campbell Denton was the starting pitcher for the Bulldogs. The senior lefty went the first 3.2 innings and allowed six runs of which four were earned. He gave up four hits with three strikeouts. Haney relieved Denton and went the final 3.1 frames allowing unearned run on one with three strikeouts to earn the mound win.
On Thursday, junior Cade Marturano pitched Camden to a 9-1, non-region win over McBee.
Marturano, a right-hander, pitched 6.1 innings, allowing an earned run on five hits, one walk and eight strikeouts to earn his third victory of the season. Marturano came out after one out in the bottom of the seventh inning and Kade Bell finished off the last two batters.
The Dogs continued their hot streak of hitting with 13 total hits on the evening. Byer Ware was 2-3 with three RBI and scored a run. Thomas Bishop was 2-4 with three RBI and a run scored while Zechariah Haney went 2-3 with two doubles a run scored with Wyatt Thompson was collecting a pair of singles and coming home once.
Knights climb over .500 mark with three straight wins: After dropping eight straight games, the North Central baseball team rebounded nicely after the spring break by putting together a three-game win streak while recording a sweep of Chesterfield in Region 5-AA play.
The Knights improved to 12-11 on the season and 6-4 in conference action heading into this week’s two-game set with Andrew Jackson which will bring the curtain down on league and regular season action.
On Friday, the Knights scored the first 10 runs of the game in a 10-1 road victory over Chesterfield.
NC opened the scoring by pushing across three runs in the first, added another in the third before tacking on four more in the fifth to go out to an 8-0 advantage. A two-run NC sixth was followed by the Golden Rams’ averting the shutout with a solo run in the bottom of the frame.
Dylan Smith received the mound start for the visitors with the senior righty working the first 4.2 innings, allowing one hit while fanning six batters.
Offensively, the Knights out-hit the hosts by a 13-3 count. Freshman Colt Babic paced the winners with three hits in as many at-bats while driving in a pair of runs. Ashton Brazell had a pair of singles while driving in three runs while Landan Anderson had a two-RBI night with a two-run double.
Last Tuesday, NC needed less than five full innings to put away visiting Chesterfield a with an 11-1 victory. The Knights scored three times in the top of the first before adding seven runs in the second to grab a 10-0 advantage. The Golden Rams scored their lone run in the third before the hosts scored one in the fifth for the walk-away win.
NC out-hit Chesterfield, 10-3, led by a three-hit night from Patton Hood. Camryn Santacroce had a double and a single with an RBI while Dylan Smith knocked home three runs for the winners who received a two-run triple off the bat of Ashton Brazell.
Smith got the starting nod on the mound and worked the first three innings, allowing an unearned run with six strikeouts before giving way to Cauthen Branham, who went the final two frames with a pair of strikeouts.
Last Monday, the Knights went over the .500 mark for the first time since early in the season in a 16-1 thrashing of host Great Falls in a non-league contest.
NC broke a 1-1 tie by scoring four runs in the top of the fourth before closing this one in five frames by tacking on eight runs in the top of the fifth.
Brandon Faulkenberry’s offense collected a season-best 19 hits on the night led by Patton Hood’s 5-for-5, two-RBI game. Ashton Brazell had three hits with a trio of RBI while Colt Babic had a home run — — his team-leading fourth of the season — — and a single while driving in a pair of runs.
Dylan Smith added three singles, which gave him 100 in his high school career, while Camryn Santacroce had two singles and two RBI in the romp.
Cassidy Horton was the mound starter for the visitors and he went the first 3.2 innings, allowing four hits while fanning five. Bryson Gainey came on in the fourth inning and went the rest of the way. He surrendered two hits while striking out one.
On Wednesday, NC stepped out of league play, again, and fell to host East Clarendon, 3-1.
The Wolverines scored a pair of runs in the bottom of the first inning before making it a 3-0 game by tacking on a solo run in the third.
The Knights averted the shutout by getting to EC starter Caleb Coker for a run in the top of the sixth when Colt Babic singled home Dylan Smith, who doubled.
NC out-hit the Wolverines by a 7-5 count with Landan Anderson, Smith and Babic each collecting a pair of hits on the night.
Pickett, Lady Demons walk it off over A.C. Flora: Saving it all and their best for last, the Lugoff-Elgin softball team used Reece Pickett’s walk-off, three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh to cap a six-run rally and overcome a 5-0 deficit in a 6-5 win over visiting A.C. Flora last Thursday night at Shelby S. Miles Memorial Field.
The win was in direct correlation to the meeting between the two sides staged two nights earlier in Forest Acres.
Last Tuesday, A.C. Flora scored seven runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to overcome a 7-4 deficit and hold on for an 11-7 victory over visiting Lugoff-Elgin in a Region 5-4A softball game played in Forest Acres.
The loss was the first in league play Savannah Grisgby’s charges while the Lady Falcons improved to 5-0 in the circuit.
The Lady Demons scored three in the top of the first before ACF pushed a pair of runs across in the home portion of the inning. L-e used a two-run sixth to lead, 7-4, before the hostesses rallied for seventh in the sixth.
Ella Sheorn, Kayley Lynch and Jameson Keeter had a pair of hits each — — with Sheorn having a triple — — to lead the eight-hit L-E offensive attack. Lynch and Keeter drove in a pair of runs each while Emaree Ray had a triple.
Reece Pickett and June Heitman shared the pitching chores for the Lady Demons.
CHS girls top MC to force three-way tie atop 6-AAA softball: With one week left to go before the start of the state playoffs, the situation in Region 6-AAA softball could not be any more muddied.
Last Friday night on Marcus Warren Memorial Field, Camden move into a three-way atop the conference leader board with a 6-3 win over visiting Marlboro County as the Lady Bulldogs evened their two-game series with the visitors from Bennettsville.
Robinson’s goal lifts short-handed Lady Bulldogs past MC: Senior forward Mia Robinson’s goal in the first overtime session proved to be the game-winner and lone score of the night as the Camden girls’ soccer team remained perfect in Region 6-AAA play with a 1-0 road win over Marlboro County last Friday.
The Lady Bulldogs made the trip to Bennettsville missing five players including leading scorer Joyce Edwards who was in Brooklyn to play in Sunday’s Jordan Brand Classic basketball game.
Bulldogs crush MC Bulldogs: Osmin Aguilar and James Metheny each had three-goal hat tricks while assisting on one other as the Camden boys’ soccer team improved to 8-1 in Region 6-AAA play with a 10-2 win over visiting Marlboro County last Friday night.
In addition to the three-goal nights from Aguilar and Metheny, Luis Reyes had two goals with a pair of assists for Jerry Jones and company. Spencer Blank added a goal while Conner Jones doled out a pair of assists in the win.
On Sunday, the CHS junior varsity boys’ soccer team successfully defended their championship in the Irmo JV Tournament by defeating 5A Fort Dorchester in the finals, 2-1, to return home with the title.
CHS soccer blitzes Crestwood: Camden swept both ends of a Region 6-AAA soccer doubleheader last Tuesday at Crestwood.
The Lady Bulldogs downed Crestwood, 8-1, to improve to 8-0 in conference play while the Camden boys left with a 3-0 victory over the host Knights.
Joyce Edwards scored four goals while adding an assist for Paul Ahern’s Lady Demons while Ella Roberts added two goals. Mia Robinson had a goal and an assist while Avery Youghans had a goal with Laney Blanks lending an assist.
For Jerry Jones’ boys, Luis Reyes had a goal and an assist while, Osmin Aguilar and James Metheny added goals. Conner Jones doled out an assist.
CHS golfers get road win: Led by a 35 from James Reames, the Camden High golf team returned from the Trace Country Club in Florence with a 149-155 win over host West Florence.
After Reames’ 35, Clayton Daniels’s squad received a 36 from Josh Cameron, a 37 from Hank Thompkins, a 41 from Mac Long and a 43 from Hank Daniels.
Connell flies like an eagle for Knights: West Connell had an eagle two on the par 4 sixth hole at Cheraw State Park as the North Central golf team finished third in a three-team Region 5-AA match.
Connell’s shot came from 145 yards away before finding the pin.
Connell led Mitch Lowder’s squad with a 41 while teammate Evan Eubanks carded a 43.
Andrew Jackson won the match with a 163 followed by Cheraw (177) and North Central with a 190.
