BOILING SPRINGS, SC - After struggling to find a victory in their last couple of games, the Boiling Springs softball team was finally able to change their momentum by picking a 4-0 win over Landrum on Friday night.
"When you go through games like we have the last week and you have one or two things during those games that could have changed the outcome, it's good to get a game like this where things go your way," said Bulldogs head coach Randy Piazza. "We needed something to get our spirits back up after the last few games and we got that tonight. I'm proud of the effort the girls gave us tonight." After both teams went scoreless over the first three innings, the Bulldogs got the first score of the game when Bulldogs first baseman Bri Stanley hit a towering homerun down the leftfield line to put Boiling Springs ahead 1-0 to start the bottom of the fourth inning. Second baseman Jacie Ross followed Stanley with a double to centerfield before coming around to score on a bunt by leftfielder Sarah Ezell that resulted in a Landrum error to take a 2-0 lead over the Cardinals. Boiling Springs added to their lead in the top of the fifth inning as right fielder Emma Wilkins worked a six-pitch walk before moving to second base on a wild pitch. Wilkins advanced to third base on a sacrifice groundout by shortstop AD Raines before making the score 3-0 on a long sacrifice fly to centerfield by third baseman Kate Philbeck. Sayde Parris followed Philbeck with a big double to the base of the left field wall before Bri McAbee, who was running for Parris, scored on a single to right field by Jacie Ross to give Boiling Springs a 4-0 lead over the Cardinals. "Our girls done a good job of making adjustments about halfway through the game and it really paid off at the plate," said Piazza. Boiling Springs got a strong start from pitcher Hayden O'Neal who went four and a third innings not allowing a run while striking out three batters and only allowing four hits by the Cardinals. She also picked up the win for the Bulldogs snapping a three-game losing streak for the Bulldogs O'Neal was relieved in the fifth inning by Bri Stanley who came on to pick up the save as she struck out seven of the eight batters she faced. "Hayden done exactly what her job was tonight and did a great job of that," said Piazza. "There in the fifth I just felt like we needed to make a change and Bri done her job as well. Between the two of them we got ten strikeouts and came away with a shutout victory." Boiling Springs will look to keep their momentum going as they face Fort Mill on Tuesday in another region matchup that starts a busy week for the Bulldogs, including senior night on Thursday against Mauldin. Piazza said that senior night is always a tough night for him because of the connection built with the seniors over the years. "We needed a change in our energy heading towards next week and I think we got that tonight," said Piazza. "The most emotional time of the year for me is senior night because those kids were just babies when they started playing for our program and I think the world of them. I want it to be a special night for the seniors and I hope that everyone in the dugout gives the effort those seniors deserve for what they have done for this program." BOILING SPRINGS, SC - The Boiling Springs boys' soccer team started off the second half of their region play with a 3-1 victory over Gaffney as they got a strong performance from junior Will Poplawski on Tuesday night.
While being the first match on the back half of their region schedule, it's also the Bulldogs first match back since the school went on spring break. "It's a good way to start the second half of region play and in this second half we're looking to make a good run to get a higher seed in the playoffs," said Bulldogs head coach Jack Underwood. "We're now looking at working to winning that first playoff game and getting to somewhere in the state, which is important to us." The game started off with a physical tone as both teams possessed the ball and were able to get shots at the goal but neither team could find the back of the goal early as both defenses kept the other offense off the board. At the twenty-one-minute mark in the first half, the Bulldogs broke the scoreless tie when Will Poplawski took a pass from Yonathan Gonzalez down the left side before breaking behind the Gaffney defender for a right footed shot that found the bottom left corner of the Indians' net to give Boiling Springs a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs looked to be taking the lead into halftime but with just a few minutes left in the first half Gaffney's Agustin Penaloza was able to break around the right corner of the Boiling Springs defense and find the back of the net to tie the match at 1-1 going into the halftime break. Boiling Springs didn't wait as long in the second half to get their first goal as Poplawski struck again for his second goal of the night for the Bulldogs as he fought off the Gaffney defenders down the left side to strike a left-footed shot to the bottom right corner of the net to put the Bulldogs ahead 2-1 at the thirty-four-minute mark in the second half. "I've known Will since he was little and he's extremely aggressive with very good ball skills," said Underwood. "He's a very difficult player for other teams to mark and he works very hard offensively. At halftime I told the team we needed to work better as a unit and his second goal was a product of our team doing just that, working as a unit and being aggressive." The Bulldogs didn't waste much time to get their next goal as just one minute later senior Christian Gonzalez broke through the middle of the Gaffney defense finding the back of the net and pushing the Boiling Springs lead to 3-1 over the Indians. Boiling Springs also got a strong night in the goal from goalkeeper Jayce Lamb as he registered seven saves, including some strong stops on corner kicks late in the match by the Indians with the game still on the line. "The beauty with Jayce is I can pretty much ignore a lot of normal shots," said Underwood. "He'll make some spectacular saves but iffy balls he'll just smother, and his distribution is beyond anyone else in this state. He could put the ball on a dime to the fifty-yard line if we needed him to and even though he's a keeper, he's an offensive weapon." With the Bulldogs now starting off the second half of region play with a victory their focus will be on working to improve their possible spot in the playoffs as they will host two of their final three region games this season. In the region the Bulldogs are in, Underwood says it's big getting to play tough region games at home as most road games involve two-hour trips. "Having the home match in region play is very important," said Underwood. "When you're having to make two-hour road trips then play a competitive match, it's a big ask both ways and we're now going to look to use that in our favor in the second half and be a lot more competitive with teams now coming to us. We want to work on our defensive shape going forward this season in practice as most of the goals we've given up this year have been silly mistakes and we want to work that so that we're not giving up those type of easy goals." Boiling Springs will next return to the field next Tuesday when they host Fort Mill before hosting Nation Ford on Friday night. Girls Game - Boiling Springs 4 Gaffney 3 The Boiling Springs girls went on the road to Gaffney for a region matchup on Tuesday night and came away with a 4-3 win in overtime over the Indians. Boiling Springs got two goals from Charley Kerr while also getting one goal each from Emily Vargas and Keturah Meadows. The girls' team will next be in action on Monday when they travel to Hillcrest for a non-region matchup before traveling to Fort Mill on Tuesday for another region matchup. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - Boiling Springs senior pitcher Tristan Smith proved that he hadn't lost a beat over the school's recent spring break and in fact may have only gotten stronger as he pitched a seven-inning shutout to give the Bulldogs a 5-0 victory over Gaffney in another key region matchup on Monday night.
Smith looked very dominate in his performance on Monday as he struck out seventeen batters in seven innings while throwing only 104 pitches. Boiling Springs head coach Jeff Lipscomb said that Monday's performance was the best performance he's ever seen from his senior pitcher while playing for the school. "Tristan was as good as I've ever seen him pitch at Boiling Springs High School tonight," said Lipscomb. "It's good to see that from him and he just had it tonight. Sometimes it's just not fair having to face an arm like that and when he goes to seven innings, we're a very dangerous team." While Smith was strong on the mound, he also had some key bats on the offensive side of the ball. In the bottom of the first inning the Bulldogs Luke Compton started his at-bat off with a perfectly placed bunt down the third base line for a hit and he was followed by Hudson Wilson who worked a walk to put runners at first and second base for the Bulldogs with no outs. Smith followed Wilson and soon made the game 3-0 in favor of the Bulldogs when he took the first pitch he saw over the right centerfield wall for a homerun, putting Boiling Springs ahead early. Boiling Springs added to their lead in the bottom of the second inning when Jackson Reel singled to rightfield with one out before advancing to third base on a Gaffney error and coming around to score on a single to centerfield by Luke Compton to push the Bulldogs lead to 4-0. With one out in the fourth inning, Boiling Springs saw Compton work a walk before advancing to second base on a single by Hudson Wilson and eventually coming around to score on a single down the leftfield line by Tristan Smith to give the Bulldogs a 5-0 lead. Smith had four RBIs in the game, with three of those runs being scored by Compton and Wilson. Lipscomb said that he's been very happy with the performance of his first two hitters in the lineup, Luke Compton and Hudson Wilson, so far this season. "Luke is becoming a lot better leadoff hitter for us as this is something new for him," said Lipscomb. "He started the game with a great drag bunt and then we had Hudson work a walk. Hudson is a great number two hitter and just a gritty type player. If the game is on the line he's one of those guys I want batting and both our leadoff guys have been doing a great job for us there at the top of the lineup." With the victory the Bulldogs improve to 2-2 in region play after dropping two tough games to Clover just before spring break and the Bulldogs are keeping their eyes looking forward to all the things they want to accomplish this season. "This series is huge and after losing two games to Clover last week winning the region is going to be tough but still have a lot ahead of us," said Lipscomb. "If we can't win the region then we'll then focus on just winning our district, the Upper State, and ultimately the state championship which is our goal. Winning the region was fun last year and we'll do what we can but our ultimate goal is winning a state championship." Boiling Springs will now travel to Gaffney on Wednesday for a road region matchup before returning home on Friday to finish out the series with the Indians. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - On Monday afternoon, the first playoff games were held involving South Carolina boys' volleyball teams and the Boiling Springs Bulldogs were one of the first teams to participate in those playoffs.
The sport of boys' volleyball, which is still considered a club sport until officially recognized by the South Carolina High School League, is in its fourth year of existence in the state and Boiling Springs has been a part of the sport for all four of those years. "As part of the process to get the sport recognized by the high school league was to have a certain number of teams involved in the state and a playoff process," said Boiling Springs volleyball coach Allison Elliot. "This is our first year of the playoff process." Elliot said that the process of getting the sport recognized means so much to her and other coaches in the area because it gives an opportunity to play a sport for some kids that have never found their place in other sports offered at the school. "I think there are some kids that play and over the years have expressed interest in starting a team that we wanted to give them that opportunity," said Elliot. "While all kids of any sport are welcomed to play, we tend to have a lot of kids playing that aren't playing other sports. It has gotten kids that weren't participating in sports the opportunity to get involved with their school through athletics. We've learned over the years that when a kid gets involved in sports they tend to do better in school and in life overall which has been our goal all along." This season the Boiling Springs boys' volleyball team has been led by Coach Elliot's assistant on the girls' team Rachel Hyatt (her second year of coaching the team) and she says there is a big difference in coaching boys and girls in volleyball. "I'd say the biggest difference between the two is a type of attitude on the court as well as a difference to how they approach the game," said Hyatt. "Boys volleyball is a more physical game while girls' volleyball is more mental because girls have been playing the sport so much longer in this area. The guys make a mistake and they immediately get over it because they haven't had it engrained in them for years what they should have done while with girls you have a lot more technique." Elliot believes that now in the fourth year of boys' volleyball in the state that each year they're only getting one more step closer to it being a recognized sport by the high school league. "Each year the interest and talent has grown," said Elliot. "I believe when people come to watch the kids play they realize that these kids are actually pretty good and it's fun to watch. I definitely think as it continues to improve that more kids will get involved." Elliot says she understands the difficulties of making the sport a recognized sport but says her and the team have been lucky with the support they get from the leadership at the school and the district. "I understand the difficulties of finding when in the school year to schedule the season as well as funding the sport and finding coaches," said Elliot. "I've been very thankful with our district from our superintendent, principal, and athletic director that they've all been very supportive in making it work for the kids. I don't think anyone doesn't want it to work but it's all about making it work in the big picture of the sports world." In the match the Boiling Springs boys' volleyball team not only hosted their first playoff match but also came away with their first ever playoff victory as they defeated Lake Pointe 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-16). After the victory the team says they feel good about their chances going forward throughout the rest of the playoffs. "We've seen Woodmont twice this year and our first time we hung with them pretty well," said Hyatt. "It was a close match that went to four sets and could have went either way. I think we have good chances if we play our best and work hard." The Boiling Springs team had 36 players on their team this season and while they're down some players this week Coach Elliot says seeing the number of players they have participating in the playoffs this week despite the school being in the middle of their spring break shows how dedicated these kids are to the sport. "We're in the middle of spring break this week and just having these kids committed enough to come play speaks volumes," said Elliot. "Our guys haven't been swept by any team this season and they know that they can beat anyone they come across in the playoffs. We keep seeing the talent improve over the last four years and our guys are now play club volleyball. I think people seeing this team being successful will only help the sport grow especially here at the school." Boiling Springs will continue their journey in the boys' volleyball playoffs when they travel to Woodmont on Wednesday for the second-round game that begins at 6:00 PM. KINGSPORT, TN - Just before the Bulldogs program went into their spring break, the Boiling Springs softball competed in the Eastman Invitational over the weekend in Kingsport, TN where the Bulldogs finished the tournament with a 3-2 record.
The Bulldogs started off their tournament on Friday with a 4-3 victory over Claiborne High School (New Tazwell, TN) as Boiling Springs started their tournament with three straight runs in the first inning. AD Raines started the game with a single to centerfield before advancing to third base on single to centerfield by Bri Stanley. Raines gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead when she scored on a groundout to first base by Kate Philbeck that also allowed Bri McAbee, who was running for Stanley, to advance to third base. McAbee made the Bulldogs lead 2-0 when she scored on a hit by Gracen Bennett that fell in between the second baseman and right fielder for a single. Bennett made the Bulldogs lead 3-0 when she later scored on a groundball past the third baseman by Sarah Ezell. In the top of the second inning the Bulldogs got a double to centerfield from Sayde Parris with two outs before Emma Wilkins, who was running for Parris, came around to score on a single to rightfield by Kate Philbeck. Clairborne added two runs in the bottom of the second inning and another run in the bottom of the third inning closed the Bulldogs lead to 4-3 but that was as close as they would get in the game. In the game the Bulldogs got six innings from pitcher Bri Stanley who struck out six batters in the victory. In their second game on Friday, Boiling Springs fell to Morristown-Hamblen West Trojans 4-3 as the Bulldogs fell in eight innings. The Bulldogs fell behind 2-0 in the bottom of the third inning as the Trojans were able to get one earned run while also adding another unearned run that came off a Bulldogs error. In the top of the seventh inning the Bulldogs started off the inning with Jacie Ross and Leaha Rushing both getting singles to put runners at first and second with no outs. After back-to-back strikeouts by the Bulldogs, Bri Stanley crushed a double to right field bringing home both Ross and Rushing to tie the game at 2-2. Bulldogs pitcher Hayden O'Neal forced Morristown to ground out into three straight outs in the bottom of the seventh inning as O'Neal pitched a strong game for the Bulldogs going seven innings while striking out two and allowing only one earned run. In the top of the eighth inning the game went into the international tiebreaker rule and the Bulldogs Bri McAbee advanced to third base on a sacrifice bunt by Kate Philbeck before taking a 3-2 lead when McAbee scored on a groundout to first base by Gracen Bennett. The bottom of the eighth inning saw Morristown score the international tiebreaker runner on a triple to centerfield to tie the game at 3-3 before winning the game 4-3 on a single to leftfield. On Saturday the Bulldogs were able to get a 6-3 win over Alcoa High School and a 7-0 win over Volunteer High School. In the Bulldogs victory over Alcoa, they registered ten hits as Bri Stanley, Sayde Parris, and AD Raines all collected multiple hits. Boiling Springs got a 3-0 lead in the first inning as AD Raines scored on a single to centerfield by Sayde Parris before both Chloe Osteen and Emma Wilkins added two more runs on a single to centerfield by Jacie Ross. In the top of the fourth inning Bri Stanley hit a single to centerfield that scored Sarah Ezell, who had earlier reached base on a walk and later stole second base, to push the Boiling Springs lead to 4-2. Kate Philbeck made the Bulldogs lead 6-2 over Alcoa when she singled past the second baseman scoring both AD Raines and Emma Wilkins. Against Volunteer High School, the Bulldogs saw pitcher Bri Stanley keep the Falcons scoreless over five innings while striking out five batters and only allowing four hits. The Bulldogs got on the board in the third inning, all with two outs, as Sayde Parris singled to centerfield bringing home Bri McAbee to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead. Chloe Osteen, who was running for Parris, advanced to second base on a single by Kate Philbeck before stealing third base and later scoring on a Jacie Ross hit past the shortstop. Philbeck made the Bulldogs lead 3-0 in the third inning when she scored from second base on a single to centerfield by Leaha Rushing. Bri Stanley led off the fifth inning with a single to centerfield before Emma Wilkins, who was running for Stanley, scored from first base on a double to left field by Sayde Parris. Chole Osteen, running for Parris, scored from second base on a single to centerfield by Kate Philbeck to push the Boiling Springs lead to 5-0 over the Falcons. Philbeck later scored from third base on a single to right field by Gracen Bennett before Leaha Rushing, who had reached base on a single, scored from third base on a sacrifice fly to leftfield by Bri McAbee to make the Boiling Springs lead 7-0 over the Falcons. In their final game of the tournament Boiling Springs saw the same Volunteer High School team get redemption over the Bulldogs as the Falcons defeated the Bulldogs 7-0 in bracket play of the tournament. Boiling Springs will now return their focus to region play, after spring break, as they'll travel to Gaffney on April 12th for a key region matchup against the Indians. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - On Saturday the Boiling Springs track and field team held the first ever Bulldog Invitational which saw strong competition from all over the upstate while also seeing the Bulldogs break at least one school record.
On the boy's side of the event the Bulldogs got some strong performances that included three first place finishes and a school record. Bulldogs' junior Spencer Eison broke an eight-year-old school record in the triple jump on Saturday with a distance of 45'6.75" which not only gave him first place in the event but beat the distance of 44'11.5" set by Tim Crosby in 2014. Eison also had a strong performance in the boy's 400m hurdles finishing in second place with a time of 1:01.17 just under two seconds behind Eastside's Jack Stevenson. Boiling Springs junior Carmelo Martin had another big day on Saturday as he won the boy's 100m sprint in a time of 10.79 while also winning the boy's 200m event in a time of 22.39. Both Eison and Martin were part of the Bulldogs boy's 4x200m relay team that came away with a fourth-place finish with a time of 1:34.59, just three seconds behind first place Spartanburg. On the girl's side of the meet the Bulldog's Sydney Watson came away with a second-place finish in the 400m hurdles which was just three-tenths of a second behind Eastside's Sharonda Priester while the Bulldogs Amiah Ellis also came away with a fifth-place finish in the same event with a time of 1:13.13. Ellis added a seventh-place finish in the girl's long jump event with a distance of 15'0". The Bulldogs' Calayah Davis came away with a fourth-place finish in the 100m hurdles with a time of 17.25 seconds while Katelyn Grate finished sixth in the same event in a time of 18.74 seconds. The Bulldogs girl's 4x100m relay team grabbed a fourth place as they were just under two seconds behind first-place Byrnes while the girls 4x200m relay team grabbed a third-place finish with a time of 1:57.21. Boiling Springs will next take to the track on April 13th at home for senior night against Gaffney. The next local events for the team after senior night will be the Spartanburg County meet which will take place from April 26-27 at Broome High School before the Bulldogs host the Region III-5A meet on May 5th. The Boiling Springs administration has made their selection for their open boys’ basketball job by naming former Myrtle Beach coach Craig Martin as the new leader of the Bulldogs program. Martin said that the opportunity to take over the Boiling Springs basketball job was ideal timing for his family as well as being a great opportunity to reunite with a familiar face in the Upstate.
“It was a good time to make the move for my family as I have one kid graduating high school, one kid going into middle school, and one kid going into kindergarten,” said Martin. “There is a great group of leadership at Boiling Springs, including Mr. McQuigg who I worked with at Myrtle Beach, who are eager to put in the work to be successful. The facilities are amazing and you can see the desire to be successful all over the place when you just look around. I’m just excited for the opportunity to get up there and get things started and get things moving in the right direction.” Martin, who takes over for former Boiling Springs basketball coach Curtis Nash, has been the head coach at Myrtle Beach High School since 2009. During his time at Myrtle Beach, Martin has taken his teams to twelve playoff appearances including two trips to the Lower State championship game and a trip to the 4A state championship game in the 2019-2020 season. He has coached over 50 All-Region players and has many former players currently playing at different levels of college basketball. While Martin is happy with the success of his former players, he says it was their hard work that got them there and that he just put them in the right position to succeed. “All of our kids that have gotten a chance at the next level have been guys that have put in the work and done the extra things on their own before and after practice,” said Martin. “In our system we just try to put the kids in the best position to showcase their talents and with that combination those guys have gotten the opportunities to play at the next level. Our attention to detail in practices I believe has helped those guys when they go to the next level and I’m so proud of those guys but one of the biggest things I’ve been proud of is that this past years three of our guys were named team captains of their college teams. I’ve never heard of anything like that before but when I found out those guys weren’t just playing on the college level but were leaders of their college teams it was one of the biggest gifts I could ever receive.” Martin’s teams at Myrtle Beach have been known for having hard-nosed defenses that give great effort and he says that he’s going to bring that same approach to his team’s at Boiling Springs. “We’ve always instilled in our kids that success starts on the defensive end,” said Martin. “We want to be a team that has a team first mentality along with being a tough group that gives great effort while being great communicators on the court. We don’t want teams putting us on the schedule because they think it’s going to be an easy win but instead we want teams knowing that when we’re on the schedule you’re going to have a game that you’ll have tough competition and fight on your hand, whether it’s win or lose, we’re going to be a tough team to face.” He said that as a coach he believes in scheduling a very tough schedule because it prepares his team to be its best when it means the most, when the playoffs arrive. “We’ve had good years and bad years at Myrtle Beach but the one thing we’ve always done every season is that we’ve maximized our potential and gotten the most out of each kid in the program which is our goal,” said Martin. “We’ve played a very demanding schedule as we usually rank in the top five of toughest schedules each year as we’ve played a lot of great teams in holiday tournaments that also included the Beach Ball Classic where we’ve played the number one team in the nation and other great teams each year. Whoever shows up we want our team to get after it each game.” The practice of playing a tough schedule is only going to prepare Martin and his team for the Bulldogs return to Region II-5A next season. He said he’s very familiar with those teams and is looking forward to the opportunity to compete against teams with a history of success as it’s the only way to make your team one of those type programs. “I have nothing but respect for those other guys as we’ve played a few of them over the years during the summers and they’re all well coached groups,” said Martin. “I’m excited for the challenge and the opportunity to get to face off against some of those well-established programs that carry with them a lot of tradition. The way we schedule our non-region games we believe in only scheduling teams that will get us ready for the teams we’ll face in the region and in the playoffs, as we don’t want to face teams that won’t prepare us for those games. If you want your program to be an elite program, you have to play those type of teams and prepare for those type of teams.” While Martin has been a very successful basketball coach, he’s also been very successful in the classroom as a US History teacher, where he also wants the kids to compete to be the best. He says he also loves being in the classroom because it gives his students another view of him than just the basketball coach. “We, as a social studies department at Myrtle Beach, have taken it personal to be the best department in the state and I treat the classroom no different than I do basketball practice,” said Martin. “We want to win and have higher scores in our yearly testing than the other schools around us. I also love the side of teaching that gives students the opportunity to see me more than just a coach but also as a teacher and a father.” He said that he uses some of his US History lessons when it comes to the court as well and he’s big into using famous quotes to motivate. “I’m a quotes guy and lots of times I bring lessons from US History into the locker room and sometimes we take things from the locker room into US History,” said Martin with a laugh. “I like the Teddy Roosevelt quote about stepping out of your comfort zone and not worrying about what your critics have to say about you but knowing that you’ve done everything you can do to be successful. I hear these other coaches talk about going to war when you’re going on the court and I just think ‘No, you’re not going to war’ as the worst thing on a basketball court is you may lose or get hurt but you’re not going to war. You have to have perspective and I think my time as a US History teacher has given me that.” Martin, who is originally from Michigan, will be joined in the Upstate by his wife Kate and their three children: Xavier, Cass, and Sadie. He said that his whole family is looking forward to the move and that they’re a family that will be all-in when it comes to being part of the Bulldogs community. “When you talk about all-in, my family is a group that is all-in as we’re going to be a group that’s bleeding red and black,” said Martin. “We’ll be at all the games and develop those relationships to make sure the kids are successful at both basketball and at life. At the end of the day for me it’s about seeing our kids being successful and eventually becoming great husbands, fathers, and just good people. It’s something that’s very important to both me and to my family. I’m just ready to get started and we’re excited about being a part of the community.” |
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