BOILING SPRINGS, S.C. – Determination. That’s what it took to ensure that three Boiling Springs seniors – Morgan Hammett, Bri McAbee, and Trey Copeland – played and got a win in their last regular season home game on Friday evening at Bulldog Park after a steady rain across the Upstate over the last 48 hours.
Boiling Springs also recognized Chapman’s two seniors, Sarah Byrd and Abby Gossett, during the pregame festivities. The Lady Bulldogs played host to the crosstown rival Chapman Panthers in a return game from the start of the season. One big inning proved to be the catalyst, as Boiling Springs claimed a 20-10 victory over the Panthers in five innings. “This morning, a couple of the other coaches and I were out here,” explained Boiling Springs head coach Hannah McDowell. “We were going to do whatever it took to make it happen for these seniors because they are so special to this program. We just knew that we had to have a home game to honor them.” While there was a lot of scoring throughout the game, the third inning became the difference maker for both teams. A Sam McPhail double and Alexis Floyd single put runners on the corners with one out for Chapman in the top of the third inning. Both runners came around to score on a throwing error, which put the Panthers in front. Hailey Coley scored on an Autumn Fisher base hit, while a Sarah Byrd groundout brought in Fisher and an Abby Gossett single plated Krislyn Wilder for a 10-6 Chapman lead. Boiling Springs responded in their half of the inning by sending 15 players up to bat while scoring 12 runs. Consecutive singles and a fielder’s choice loaded the bases for the Bulldogs with one out. Three straight base hits – one apiece by Copeland, Bri Stanley, and Chloe Osteen – brought home a run, while Abbie Wilson walked and later scored on a Chole Sloand bases-loaded walk for a 13-10 Bulldog lead. Sydnee Spencer also singled and plated another run, while the big hit of the frame was a two-run triple to right by Hammett, followed by a Copeland RBI groundout that made it an eight-run advantage for Boiling Springs. “That’s another lesson we’ve learned as a team is to take everything one at-bat at a time,” stated McDowell about the third inning. “We were not blasting home runs by any means, but we were getting one hit at a time and creating chaos, which is the whole philosophy of what we do. I think (this game) puts a lot of confidence in our defense that behind different pitchers, we can defend and hit behind them.” Later in the fifth inning, Sloand recorded another base hit to put a runner on with only one out. Three pitches later, Spencer sent a 2-0 offering over the wall in straightaway center to provide the final margin of victory for Boiling Springs, securing the win on Senior Night. For the Bulldogs, all three seniors – Hammett, Copeland, and McAbee – went 2-for-4 at the plate and combined for five runs batted in on the night, while six other Bulldogs recorded at least one RBI. “I think the biggest quality about our seniors is that they just have big hearts,” McDowell exclaimed. “That bleeds all throughout the team. I think that the compassion and heart they have left out on this field is going to leave a legacy for (the program) way after they graduate.” For Chapman, Gossett led the way with three hits in four at-bats and two runs batted in. Fisher, Wilder, and Whitley also tallied two hits and one RBI apiece, along with two runs driven in by Byrd. Both teams will now shift their focus towards the postseason next week as Boiling Springs (11-7) prepares for a road game to begin the 5A district playoffs while Chapman (18-5) hosts a home matchup to open the 3A district playoffs. Further information on the respective playoff matchups was not available at the time this story was published. SPARTANBURG, SC - Due to impending weather in the forecast for Wednesday, the Spartanburg County high school track community all gathered at Dorman High School for a one-day track meet on Tuesday to determine the best athletes in the county and when the event was over many of our local athletes were able to claim the title of county champion at school on Wednesday.
In the overall standings Dorman claimed the county title in both the boys and girls events. Boiling Springs saw their girls team finish fourth and the boys team finish sixth while Chapman finished fifth in boys and sixth in the girls event. Chesnee came away with an 11th and 12th place finishes in the boys and girls events respectively. Boiling Springs' senior Carmelo Martin won the Spartanburg County championship in the boys' 100m event with a time of 10.42, which was two-tenths of a second faster than the Spartanburg County record of 10.62 set by Marcus Rowland from Dorman in 2007. Senior Spencer Eison won a county championship for the Bulldogs in the triple jump as well with a distance of 45'1" which was a foot further than the second-place finisher. The Bulldogs 4x100m boys team (Barrett, Eison, Thompson, and Martin) were just edged out for the county championship by just a tenth of a second by the Byrnes relay team. Boiling Springs girls 4x100m relay team (Grate, Garner, Dawkins, and Watson) won the county championship with a time of 49.90 just defeating the Byrnes team by two thousandths of a second. The Bulldogs saw sophomore runner Sydney Watson come away with a second-place finish in the girls 100 hurdles event with a time of 16.17. The Boiling Springs girls 4x800m relay team (Panchelyuga, Steadings, Turner, and Sanchez) came away with a third-place finish with a time of 10:57.42. Mya Jackson won the girls 100m county championship for Chapman with a time of 12.65 defeating Spartanburg's A'Kyna Webster by four thousandths of a second at the line. She also won the county championship in the girls long jump with a distance of 17'10". Chapman's Chloe Hudson finished in third place of the girls' pole vault event with a height of 8'0". The Panthers saw junior Rashawn Cunningham win the boys long jump county championship with a distance of 21'10" while also coming away with a second-place finish in the high jump. The Chapman boys 4x800m relay team (Wines, Wheeler, Walters, and Chambers) came away with a third-place finish with a time of 8:31.76 while Abe Fyffe brought home a third-place finish for the Panthers in the boys' shot-put event with a distance of 44'3" which was just short of second place. Boiling Springs will next compete in the Region II-5A meet at Spartanburg on May 3rd while the Panthers will next compete in the Region III-3A meet at Broome from May 3rd-4th. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - With a coolness in the air and a large crowd in the stands, the Boiling Springs boys soccer team accomplished a feat that hasn't occured in almost thirty years with a 1-0 victory over the Byrnes Rebels on Tuesday night.
The region championship is the first one for the Bulldogs program since 1994 and the first outright region championship since 1983. Although it's his first region championship as the head coach, it's not the first time Boiling Springs head coach Jack Underwood has been a part of this feat as he was an assistant on the 1994 team and a ballboy for the 1983 team. "For various reasons Boiling Springs has struggled with region championships despite having good teams over the years," said Underwood. "It's a tough thing to do to beat everyone twice and get the points needed to win. This group is a consistent one that plays hard and don't have off nights. I put a lot of bench guys in and they play just as hard as our starters which is a trait that makes me look forward to what they can do in the playoffs." Boiling Springs senior Josh Bravo said that winning the region championship is huge for the team and when the whistle sounded to end the match he say the feeling was unreal. "I feel blessed to be able to win this championship and being with these guys the last four years," said Bravo. "We've worked hard for this championship the last four years and it paid off. When that final whistle blew, we got so hyped up and ran to celebrate with all these fans, we love seeing everyone out here supporting us and we're just blessed." The match saw both teams battle back-and-forth in the first half as the Bulldogs controlled the possession but the Rebels were able to get some shots which were all corralled by the Bulldogs defense as sophomore goalie Diego Martinez had five first half saves as both teams went into halftime tied at 0-0. In the second half Boiling Springs once again controlled the possession of the game making numerous runs at the goal and even having one goal taken away from an offsides call. Boiling Springs finally found the back of the net when they made a run down the left side of the field when junior Val Bytyai made a pass across the field that found senior Roger Ocampo who made a right footed shot that went from right to left crossing over the hands of the leaping goalie to take a 1-0 lead at the eighteen minute mark of the second half. Byrnes tried to make a run over the last seventeen minutes of the match but the Bulldogs ability to keep possession, something that Underwood preaches to his team, kept the Rebels from finding a goal in the final minutes. "I'm a soccer coach and I like to control the game and whatever team controls the midfield controls the game," said Underwood. "Traditionally I work on defense and work my way forward but this year I wanted to score more goals and control the midfield every time we stepped on the field. A great deal of our early season work was on the midfield and I now have a good rotational group that can really change things up in the game." While it's a special victory for Underwood as a coach, it's also a little bit more special for him because he also is an alumni of the school. "I grew up and lived in Boiling Springs my whole life and it's a place near and dear to my heart," said Underwood. "Being an alumni it allows me to take a bigger picture of the situation and I wanted to bring more of my style, which is a college type style of play, to the high school level. Coming from many years of watching Boiling Springs struggle when I got asked to take on the job I gladly accepted." Underwood said that the recent success of his program along with the success of the girls' team is part of him and Coach Kerr trying to make soccer success a tradition around Boiling Springs. "We want soccer to be a tradition and a culture here at Boiling Springs," said Underwood. "Winning a region championship and going deep into the playoffs, we want that to be a common occurrence and not something we do every couple of years just because we just so happen to have some decent players." After winning the region championship, Boiling Springs now assures themselves of two home games as long as they keep winning and Underwood said that the playoff style fits his team while being at home will be a benefit to his team because it means no long road trips. "With the playoffs it's a clean slate as nobody really knows your team," said Underwood. "I like that style because I put my guys on the field and let them control the game and we go from there. Getting to play at home means we don't have to travel as that's big because going on the road two hours is a tough ask of a team." Boiling Springs will start their playoff road at home on Monday (May 1st) where they will host the number five seed from Region III-5A, which looked to be Spring Valley. GIRLS SOCCER - Boiling Springs 4 Byrnes 2 While the boys' soccer team was at home winning the region championship, the Bulldogs girls soccer team went on the road to defeat the Byrnes Rebels 4-2 to lock up the number two seed from Region II-5A. The victory means that both the boys and girls soccer teams will be hosting first round playoff games as the girls team will host their matchup on Tuesday night (May 2nd) against the number three seed from Region III-5A, which appears to be Fort Mill. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - In front of a large collection of cameras, family, and friends the Boiling Springs community saw 14 student athletes sign to continue their careers at the college level next season.
The Boiling Springs baseball team, who just won the region championship this past Friday night, had three players sign on Monday morning. The first player to sign was Bulldogs pitcher Jackson Cole, who has been a member of the varsity team since being a ninth grader, signed to continue his career with Clemson University. Cole this season has gone 6-0 on the mound with a 0.94 ERA to go along with 86 strikeouts. He said that the opportunity to play baseball for Clemson was a lifelong goal, where he plans on majoring in Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management. "It has always been a dream of mine to play at Clemson and when the opportunity came it was a no-brainer," said Cole. "Whether baseball was part of the deal or not I always wanted to go to Clemson because I just love the campus but to get the opportunity to play baseball as well it just made the choice obvious." Another member of the baseball team that signed at the ceremony was his battery mate, catcher Hudson Wilson who signed to play baseball for Anderson University next season. Wilson this season is batting .362 this season and has been a member of the Bulldogs varsity since ninth grade where he has played outfield, shortstop, and catcher in the four years. Wilson plans on majoring in business management at Anderson and says he made the choice because of the closeness to home as well as his desire to play for the coaches there. "I really like it there because it's close to home and I like all the coaches down there," said Wilson. "It's a great campus with a small community feel which I really like." Luke Compton, the third member of the baseball team to sign on Monday has also played for the Bulldogs since being a ninth grader and signed to play ball next year at Newberry University. Compton, who is batting .377 and 11.steals this year with only five strikeouts, said that he is signing with the Wolves, where he plans on majoring in business financing, because of the closeness of the campus and how it feels like family. "I'm super excited about getting down there because it's close to home and has a great atmosphere around it," said Compton. "The atmosphere is great because it's a small campus so it's like a family and you just know everybody." Boiling Springs girls soccer also had three players sign on Monday as Kenturah Meadows, Dreyhana Nesbitt, and Emily Vargas all signed to continue their college careers at local schools next year. Kenturah Meadows signed to continue her career at Spartanburg Methodist College next season where she plans to major in accounting and financial management. She said that a familiarity with the coaching staff and the location were big factors in her decision. "I like that it's a smaller school that is close to home," said Meadows. "I also really love the coach, as he was a coach of mine last year, and I knew it was a good opportunity. I also get the opportunity to play with some former teammates there from here next year." Dreyhana Nesbitt and Emily Vargas both signed to continue their college careers at Converse University next year. Nesbitt said she is still undecided on a major while Vargas plans on majoring in physical therapy. Both players said the campus drew them to make the decision while also the chance to continue their playing careers together. Nesbitt said that the closeness to home along with a familiarity of other freshmen joining the team next year helped her make her decision. "I knew the coach from years before but the campus just felt like home almost like a community of its own as everyone seemed so welcoming," said Nesbitt. "I also know a lot of the incoming freshman from my club soccer years so it was easy to connect with that and I feel like going there will be a good learning experience for me. I also like that it's close to home." Vargas said that her decision to attend Converse came down to her love of the campus and while she committed before knowing her teammate would be going there too, it'll be nice to continue her career with someone she's played soccer with since the third grade. "I like the school as I used to take swimming lessons there and when I went to take a tour with coaches I liked how beautiful and peaceful the campus was on that trip," said Vargas. "I also liked how welcoming the students were when I went to visit and it's going to be nice to get to play with Drey for another four years since we've played on the same teams since third grade." The back-to-back state championship winning boy's golf team also had two members sign on Monday morning as Andrew Gregory signed to play at Liberty University and Will Waddell signed to play at Spartanburg Methodist College next year. Gregory said that the views at Liberty, where he plans on majoring in sports management, made the campus a hard one to turn down. "Liberty is pretty nice," said Gregory. "The campus is awesome with some great views and it makes it a hard campus not to pick. It's a Christian school which will help me and their golf team is pretty good too." Waddell said that the closeness to home for Spartanburg Methodist College, where he plans to major in business, was the big factor in his decision. "It's tiny and close to home which is all I need," said Waddell. "The big factor was being able to stay close to my mom and dad because they're my number one crew." Josh Bravo and Will Poplawski, two members of the Boiling Springs boys soccer team, signed to continue their college careers at Spartanburg Methodist College next season. The pair have helped position the Bulldogs in their senior season to play for the first region championship for the team since 1994. Bravo, who plans on majoring in marketing, said that the campus felt like home but that the attitude of the coaches was a huge factor in his decision. "I was still deciding if I wanted to play college soccer but at the end of the day SMC just felt like home," said Bravo. "The coaches were really nice and came to watch me play a few times and it just felt like a great community there." Poplawski, who plans on majoring in sports management, said the opportunity to play on the same team with a current teammate so close to home was a key factor in his decision. "I'm excited to get to play soccer with Josh in college as its been fun in high school," said Poplawski. "I like that it's close to home and the coaches are just great." Kam'ron Williams, a member of the Boiling Springs football and basketball teams, signed to continue his football career at Limestone University next season. Williams as a junior ran for 785 yards along with five touchdowns and had started on a strong foot as a senior before suffering an injury in game five of the season but still finished the season with over 300 yards of offense. He said that his decision to attend Limestone was because of the family feel that he felt around the program. "I knew once I got the offer that I was going to go there," said Williams. "I knew it was the right place for me and it just felt like home and having that connection with Coach Furrey just made the decision an automatic one." The Boiling Springs basketball team also saw starting point guard Tre Locklear sign to play at Limestone University next season. Locklear led the Bulldogs from the point guard position the last two seasons and especially in his senior season where he averaged 17 points, four rebounds, and three assists per game. He said that the atmosphere led him to Limestone along with some words from his former assistant coach. "Limestone is a great place along with a great community and I look forward to being there next year playing under Coach Perry," said Locklear. "They were one of the first schools to give me an opportunity and I just loved it when I visited there. Coach Baldinelli, who played there, told me a lot about the school and it just seemed like a great fit for me." In a little bit of history making signing, the first ever member of the Boiling Springs volleyball team signed to play at Erskine College next season. Tucker Walters, a member of the first ever Boiling Springs volleyball team as an eighth grader, signed to continue his career at Erskine College next season where he plans to major in business administration. He said the opportunity to play volleyball at a program in his home state was a big factor in his decision. "Erskine was the first school to contact me and the coaches have been really good to me so that's why I decided to go there," said Walters. "Being one of the schools in the state to have men's volleyball helped with my decision as well as they also are the only school in the state with beach volleyball which I may participate in as well." He also added that the opportunity to be part of history, as the program at Erskine is still young and their beach volleyball team is two years old, also helped his decision. "Their beach program will only be in it's second year when I go down there and the opportunity to start a new program is intriguing," said Walters. "The chance to be a part of history feels good as I was on one of the youngest club teams in South Carolina and the first team here at Boiling Springs, it feels good to help start something." Boiling Springs cross country and track runner Sophia Lebrun also signed to continue her career at Mars Hill next season where she will enter as undecided but looking to pursue a degree in either business or zoology. Lebrun will be continuing a career that just started this season as she ran cross country for the first time as a senior this year and has made the most of it as she is currently ranked in the top 40 in the mile according to head coach Drew Thomas. Lebrun said that she chose Mars Hill because it felt like home but also gave her a chance to grow both athletically and academically. "I visited a lot of colleges but when I went there it just felt like home," said Lebrun. "The team was really welcoming and the coach really wanted me to be there so I felt like it would be a great fit for me. which isn't too far from home but still far enough away to get some independence to grow as a person and an athlete." With the signing of the 14 athletes on Monday morning that now puts the Boiling Springs class of 2023 at 23 athletes continuing their athletic careers at the college level next season. GREENVILLE, SC - For the second straight season the Boiling Springs boys lacrosse season came to an end with a road trip to JL Mann as the Patriots defeated the Bulldogs 12-4 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the 5A Upper State title game.
The first half was filled with a lot of action as the Patriots took the first lead at the 6:56 mark in the first quarter when Ryan found the back of the net for a 1-0 lead. The Bulldogs responded pretty quickly as Marty Carmona fired a shot that found the back of the net to tie the game at the two-minute mark and a score that carried into the first quarter break. Over a two-minute period in the second quarter between the seven-minute mark and the five-minute mark of the quarter, JL Mann scored three straight goals to take a 4-1 lead over the Bulldogs. Boiling Springs responded with a goal from Lincoln Huskey at the four-minute mark to cut the Patriots lead to 4-2 going into the halftime break. In the second half the Patriots took over in the match as they outscored the Bulldogs 5-1 in the third quarter with the Bulldogs only goal coming from Elijah Smith as he made a diving left-handed shot that found the bottom of the Patriots net. JL Mann outscored the Bulldogs 3-1 in the fourth quarter as Lincoln Huskey was able to grab a goal for Boiling Springs with just over a minute to go in the match to make the score 12-4 in favor of the Patriots. While the end of the season result for the Bulldogs was disappointing, the future for the program is bright as they only graduate nine seniors off this year's team that finished the season with an 11-6 record. The Bulldogs will also be bringing back the main core of their team back next season. In related news, Boiling Springs senior midfielder Chase Miller was recently named to the SC Athletic Coaches Association North-South All-Star game. SPARTANBURG, SC - It took the Boiling Springs baseball team two days longer than they originally planned but they defeated the Spartanburg Vikings 7-6 at legendary Duncan Park to clinch the Region II-5A championship on Friday night.
The Bulldogs are finished in region play and the best that any other team could do is tie them next week but the Bulldogs hold the tiebreaker over Byrnes, which is the only team that could catch them in the region standings. With the region championship on the line, the Bulldogs and Vikings were tied at 6-6 in the top of the sixth inning, Boiling Springs senior Luke Compton dropped down a bunt before beating it out at first plate to put a runner at first base with no outs. Compton advanced to second base on a bunt by Hudson Wilson before coming around to score with two outs on a single by Jackson Reel to give the Bulldogs a 7-6 lead. After a strong outing from senior Corben Childers that saw him go four innings, Josh Kanipe came off in relief for the Bulldogs to finish out the final three innings for the final nine outs to seal the championship for the Bulldogs. Boiling Springs got the offense going in the top of the first inning to take an early 3-0 lead when Corben Childers hit a towering home run to leftfield to bring home Luke Compton and Jackson Reel. Spartanburg tied the game in the bottom half of the first inning to put the score at 3-3 heading into the second inning. The game went back and forth with the teams exchanging the lead before Spartanburg took a 6-5 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning. Jackson Reel, after working a walk in the top of the fifth inning later scored on a wild pitch by the Vikings to tie the game again at 6-6. With the victory the Bulldogs locked up the region championship in their first season back in Region II-5A. They will now await who their opponent will be in the 5A playoffs but next week will be on a bye for region play as they'll play a home and home series against a tough 3A team in Blue Ridge. BOYS SOCCER - Boiling Springs 2 Dorman 0 The Boiling Springs boys soccer team got one step closer to a possible region championship of their own with a 2-0 road victory over Dorman. The Bulldogs will now face Byrnes at home on Tuesday in what will be their first chance to win the Region II-5A championship for the school. SOFTBALL - Byrnes 4 Boiling Springs 2 The Boiling Springs softball team went on the road in a region matchup and were competitive but fell 4-2 to the home standing Byrnes Rebels on Friday night. Byrnes was able to get two runs each in both the second and fourth innings to take a 4-0 lead in large part to Boiling Springs mistakes in the field. In the top of the seventh inning, pitcher Bri Stanley reached base on a double to the right field wall before catcher Sayde Parris hit a towering homerun to straight centerfield to cut the Rebels lead to 4-2 over the Bulldogs. Bri Stanley pitched a complete game for the Bulldogs striking out 11 batters in six innings. Byrnes pitcher Sierra Maness pitched a complete seven innings herself while striking out 12 batters of her own. Boiling Springs will return to action on Tuesday night as they travel to Gaffney to finish out region play before holding senior night on Thursday at home against Chapman. CLOVER, SC - The Boiling Springs boys lacrosse team went on the road for the first round of the 5A playoffs on Wednesday night and when the night came to an end they returned with a 9-8 victory over Clover along with a ticket to the second round of the playoffs.
The matchup wasn’t an unfamiliar one for the Bulldogs as last year they were region foes with Clover and now they advance to the final eight of the 5A playoffs for the second straight year. Boiling Springs got their night started when Javen Chhim scored the first goal for the Bulldogs at the two-minute mark of the first quarter. It was the first of four goals in the first half for the Bulldogs as they got two goals from Elijah Smith and a goal from Chase Miller in the second quarter. Smith started the second half with goal at the 6:58 mark of the third quarter as Miller added another goal at the two-minute mark of the third quarter. Chase Miller added two more goals in the fourth quarter for his fourth goal of the game before Elijah Smith scored the deciding goal of the match at the 1:29 mark of the fourth quarter for an unassisted goal to take the 9-8 lead and the win. The game wining goal was the fourth of the match for Smith as well. Miller and Smith tied to lead the Bulldogs offense with four goals each while Javin Chhim led the Bulldogs with 10 groundballs. Chhim also won 15 of the 19 faceoffs in the match. The Bulldogs defense also held strong in the playoff matchup as goalie Parker Lamb recorded 12 saves in the match. Boiling Springs will now advance to the second round of the 5A playoffs where they'll either travel to JL Mann or host Spartanburg on Saturday. BASEBALL - Spartanburg 7 Boiling Springs 5 The Boiling Springs baseball team honored their ten seniors on Wednesday night and hoped to clinch a region championship in front of the home crowd but fell 7-5 to Spartanburg on Friday night. The Bulldogs got an early lead thanks to four RBIs from Jackson Cole that included a three-run homer to deep right centerfield for a 4-0 lead. Spartanburg rallied in the final four innings as they capitalized on Boiling Springs mistakes to outscore the Bulldogs 7-1 over the final innings. The two teams will meet again at Duncan Park on Friday in what will be the last region game of the season for the Bulldogs as the game is scheduled to begin at 6:30 PM. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - As the Boiling Springs softball team enters a critical week for region play, they started their week extending their current winning streak to three games by defeating the Gray Collegiate Academy Eagles 3-2 on Monday night.
The Bulldogs victory over the Eagles gave them a little bit of redemption after a tough loss in Columbia to the same team earlier this season, which is something that Bulldogs head coach Hannah McDowell has said is part of the team's plans for the second half of the season. "We talked in our post-game huddle that a lot of our games we have lost by one including to this team last time and as a team we're over that feeling of being the team on the losing side of that," said McDowell. "We feel like we've put all the elements together now to feel like we should be the team on the winning side of games like that every single time." After shutting down the Eagles in the top of the first inning, the Bulldogs got the bats going in the bottom of the first inning as with one out as Morgan Hammett doubled to right field. She came around to score on the next batter when Bri Stanley hit a single to right field to score Hammett and put the Bulldogs up 1-0 over the Eagles. "I saw Morgan advance to third base on a steal after getting that double and knew if I went to the backside we could get a run," said Stanley. "So I put a single down to the right side giving us a run and putting us a runner at first to get some early momentum." Boiling Springs started the bottom of the second inning in a very similar way to the first inning as they kept their bats going. Emma Wilkins started the inning with a slap hit single down the third base line before coming around to score on the next at-bat when Bulldogs catcher Saydie Parris crushed a home run over the left field wall to put the Boiling Springs lead at 3-0 over the Eagles. Parris said that she came to the plate looking for a certain pitch and got that exact pitch. "It felt great when the ball left the bat," said Parris. "When I went to the plate I saw she was throwing a lot of changeups and I wanted to lay off those and wait for the screwball which is what I ended up seeing on the homerun, I wanted to make sure if I got that pitch though that I hit it hard and when I did, I made sure to get a good swing on it and it got out of here." McDowell said having Stanley and Parris separated in the lineup has done nothing but help them as it puts pressures on the opposing pitchers. "Having bats like Bri and Sayde spread out in the lineup has worked well for us," said McDowell. "It makes the pitchers have to face two powerful bats either in one inning or in back-to-back innings which makes it tough on the other team." In the top of the fourth inning, Grey Collegiate were able to get runners at first and second base but three great plays from the Bulldogs middle infield of Gracen Bennet and Chloe Osteen got the Bulldogs out of the inning. The top of the sixth inning saw the Eagles cut into the Bulldogs lead when M Stradinger hit a two-run homer to left field to narrow the Boiling Springs lead to 3-2. After giving up a run in the sixth, Bulldogs pitcher Bri Stanley was able to get three outs in the next inning that also included a great rundown by the Bulldogs infield that ended with Bennett making a great diving tag on an Eagles runner in between second and third bases. "I think Bri has gotten better every single time she's been faced with adversity this season," said McDowell. "She's able to bounce back quickly which we talk a lot about not having back-to-back mistakes. So if you give up a home run, don't walk the next batter and make things worse which I think has given her more confidence and given her team behind her more confidence." Emma Wilkins led the Bulldogs at the plate going two for three with run scored while Saydie Parris led the Bulldogs with two RBIs. Bri Stanley led the Bulldogs in the pitching circle as she pitched all seven innings while recording 10 strikeouts and only two runs on three hits. The Bulldogs will return to play on Wednesday when they travel to Dorman for a key region matchup against the Cavaliers with a game slated to begin at 7:30 PM. SPARTANBURG, SC - The Boiling Springs baseball team started their final week of region play in impressive fashion as senior pitcher Jackson Cole pitched a no-hitter in the Bulldogs 6-1 victory over Spartanburg in region play on Monday night.
Cole pitched all seven innings for the Bulldogs as he didn't allow an earned run while striking out 13 Spartanburg batters and walking three as the only run scored via a walk and an error that happened in the bottom of the first inning. While Cole was excelling on the mound he also had a good night at the plate as he gave the Bulldogs an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when he singled to drive in Andrew Coley from second base, who was courtesy running for catcher Hudson Wilson who had reached base on a walk. After tied the game in the bottom of the first inning, Boiling Springs retook the lead in the top of the fourth inning when Hudson Wilson drove a ball to centerfield to drive in Rylee Douglas for a 2-1 lead over the Vikings. Boiling Springs broke the game open in the top of the sixth inning with two outs when they scored four runs to push their lead to 6-1 over the Vikings. With two outs in the inning, Rylee Douglas was at second base before coming around to score on a single to left field by Luke Compton before Cole stepped to the plate and doubled bringing home another Bulldog run to push their lead to 4-1. After Cole's double, it put him at second and Compton at third base before Jackson Reel brought both runners home with a single between the third baseman and shortstop to make the Bulldogs lead 6-1 over the Vikings. Jackson Cole and Jackson Reel led the Bulldogs at the plate with two RBIs each as both of them as well as Luke Compton all had two hits each in the game. Boiling Springs will return to play on Wednesday night at home as they host Spartanburg for senior night and possibly allow the Bulldogs to unofficially clinch a region championship as the game will begin at 6:30 PM. BOILING SPRINGS, SC - With the weather dampening some of the celebration plans, the Boiling Springs softball team honored their predecessors, the 2013 4A state championship team, with an impressive 18-4 win over the visiting Spartanburg Vikings in region play on Friday night.
"I think in the past week we had a lot of lessons learned that will help carry us through the next week as we face some tougher competition," said Bulldogs head coach Hannah McDowell. "It's great starting off the second half of region play with a win and we want to keep that momentum rolling the rest of the season." McDowell said that it was special for her girls to play in front of the former state championship team because it's the girls they used to look up to and it shows them the impact they can have on the young girls that look up to them now. "I believe it humbles our girls seeing the former team coming back because it puts them back to the days of them being those younger girls looking up to those players," said McDowell. "I think they now understand that there are a lot of younger girls looking up to them now and I think it made them step up their play." Prior to the game, Bulldogs announcer Todd Waddell announced the names that were a part of the 2013 state championship team which included Taylor Cabe, Miranda Dills, Brooke Palmer, Olivia Matsuda, Katie Jacoby, Bailey Mabry, McKenna Quinn, Shay Reynolds, Taylor Tschapt, Callie Richards, and Logan Webb along with coaches Sandy Martin, Randy Piazza, and Doug Dills. Boiling Springs pitcher Bri Stanley retired the Vikings in order to start the game including striking out the first two batters before the Bulldogs offense got to work in the bottom half of the inning. Sydnee Spencer got the bottom of the inning started when she hit a double over the left fielder's head to put the Bulldogs in scoring position one batter into the inning. Bri Stanley reached base on a walk two batters later before both Spencer and Myah Salters, who ran for Stanley, both came around to score when Emma Wilkins reached base on an infield error to put the Bulldogs up 2-0. Boiling Springs had two outs over the first four batters but were able to score 10 runs before the inning came to an end. Wilkins scored on an error before Leaha Rushing and Sayde Parris, who reached base on a walk, both came around to score on a single to right field by Bri McAbee to push the Bulldogs lead to 5-0 over the Vikings. Chloe Osteen reached base on a Vikings error that allowed her to advance to second base while also allowing McAbee to score to push the lead to 6-0. Osteen and Sydnee Spencer came around to score on a Vikings error to push the lead to 8-0 before Morgan Hammett and Myah Salters both came around to score on a Gracen Bennett single and another Vikings error to push the lead to 10-0 after one inning. Spencer and Salters both scored twice in the first inning as the Bulldogs went through 15 batters in the inning. After keeping the Vikings off the scoreboard again in the second inning, the Bulldogs kept their bats going in the bottom half of the inning as they scored seven more runs in the inning. Leaha Rushing started the inning with a walk before coming around to score on a triple to the left field wall by Bri McAbee to make the lead 11-0 in favor of the Bulldogs. Chloe Osteen brought home McAbee with a double to right centerfield to push the lead to 12-0. Osteen scored on a double to centerfield by Sydnee Spencer before Spencer also scored on a double to left field by Morgan Hammett to put the lead at 14-0 over the Vikings. Hammett scored on a double to right field by Bri Stanley before Salters, who ran for Stanley, scored on a sacrifice bunt by Emma Wilkins to make the lead 16-0. Gracen Bennett made the score 17-0 in favor of Boiling Springs when she scored from third base on a single to left field by Sayde Parris. In the fourth inning, Emma Wilkins added another run after taking a walk and then scoring on a wild pitch to make the score 18-0 in favor of Boiling Springs. Sydnee Spencer and Bri Stanley each had three hits in the game for the Bulldogs on Friday night as every spot in the Boiling Springs lineup scored at least one run in the game. Boiling Springs pitcher Bri Stanley pitched four and a third innings allowing no runs while striking out six Spartanburg batters. The Bulldogs will return to action on Monday as they host Gray Collegiate Academy before traveling to Dorman on Wednesday and Byrnes on Friday for key region matchups. |
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