INMAN, S.C – For the first time in 19 seasons, the Chapman Panthers baseball team was back in a position that many affiliated with the program had yearned for: playing for the state title.
Game two of the 3A state championship series between Oceanside and Chapman took place on Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, the host Panthers fell to the Landsharks 8-0 and finished as the state runners-up. Following the contest, Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro Jr. was quick to point out that this year’s team was able to accomplish something bigger. “I’m just so proud of this group, the seniors, every kid on this team, and the coaches,” Fusaro said. “For the last 10 years, we’ve been telling (the team) that we’re good enough to do this, that we’re good enough to play in games like this. We’ve had a few teams along the way that believed it. We had a team during the (2020) Covid year that I know believed it, but this group finally broke through and got to play in this game.” “I hope they are the trendsetters for the rest of the guys coming through our program because we’re going to be good for a really long time. These guys proved exactly what we’ve been telling them for years – that they're good enough to play in this game.” Before the start of the 2013 season, Fusaro was promoted to head coach and from that moment, there were visions and values put in place for the program. “For 10 years, we’ve been telling people we’re good enough to do this,” he remarked. “There were some years that people looked at us like we were crazy, but I think we’ve proved with what we do with our youth (program) to what we do here (at the high school) that we’re going to accomplish it." “For me, the wins are great – and we obviously want to win the state championship – but us being able to put out young men who are going to be great husbands, fathers, and community leaders here in town. That means more to me than any win we can have. If we ‘play the standard’, we’re going to win state championships, but we’re going to turn out men that this community is going to be proud of.” Even though the Panthers fell short of winning the championship, there is a significant sense of optimism amongst the program that this is just the beginning of what is to come. “For the last four years, we’ve been right there,” Fusaro recalled. “We got beat by Crescent (in 2019) to go to the state championship and then the Covid year, I thought we really had a shot. The next year (2021), we came back after Covid and were beaten by (eventual Upper State champion) West Oak. We’ve been here – we just needed a team to knock down the door to show that we can do it.” “Every year, we put up the number of games we were away from winning it, so this is the closest we’ve been – two games. We’re going to find a way to make up those two games, whether it’s in the weight room, classroom, in the community, or on the practice field. These guys really liked this experience and they’re going to be willing to work harder for those two games.” With the season’s end, Chapman will see six outstanding seniors graduate – Drew Settle, Walt Waddell, Ricky Montalvo, Ethan Fortenberry, Jonah Rollins, and Landon Solesbee. “I’ve told people that they are the grit and backbone of this team,” stated Fusaro. “When things got tough, these guys were the ones that always rose to the occasion and settled down the rest of the team. I can’t say enough good things about all of them. Drew and Walt were on all those teams we talked about taking (playoff) runs right to the cusp of being in the state championship. They were part of four really good teams that have had a chance to win it. The legacy they leave behind is unbelievable.” “We know what Ricky’s meant to this program the last couple of years and how he’s played for us. (Landon) Solesbee was unbelievable (with) the way he came in, competed, gave us a chance last year, and played this year, giving us a chance. Jonah is one of the most competitive dudes on this team. We were down by eight when he came in (to pitch) and for the last three innings, he held (Oceanside) right there and competed with everything he had. Ethan might be my favorite player that I’ve ever coached – he’s willing to do anything for his teammates and is the protector of us all.” “You can go to every one of those six guys and they’re second to none. Our program’s not going to be the same without them, but I look forward to continued success because of what they’ve shown our community we can do.” CHARLESTON, S.C. – From one end of Interstate 26 to the other went the Chapman Panthers as they opened the 3A baseball state championship series on Saturday on the road against the Oceanside Collegiate Academy Landsharks at Shipyard Park.
When the dust settled, the Panthers dropped a 7-3 decision to the Landsharks. Chapman leadoff hitter Jarren Metcalf wasted little time, as he sent the first pitch of the game into left field for a leadoff single, but was left stranded to end the Panthers’ opening frame. Oceanside struck first on a bases-loaded walk for a 1-0 lead after one inning. The Panthers responded in the second when Hudson Moss drilled a double to the left field wall, allowing Devin Roe to score and tie the game at one. A couple of batters later, Metcalf smacked a single to center field, plating Moss and putting Chapman ahead 2-1. Oceanside reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the inning with three runs on a pair of hits, including a two-run double, for a 4-2 advantage. The Panthers tallied a run in the third on another Metcalf RBI single to center, which cut the deficit to 4-3. The Landsharks added three more runs over the final three innings to provide the final margin. Chapman will host game two of the best-of-three series, which is scheduled for Tuesday, May 24th at 7:00 PM. HOPKINS, SC - The Chapman Panthers track and field team backed up an impressive performance at the 3A Upper State track meet with another strong performance at the 3A state track meet on Saturday as they had three different athletes win four state championships.
Chapman senior DJ Black became a state championship in two events on Saturday as he won both the long jump event with a distance of 23'06.25" and won the triple jump with a distance of 45'06," which was two feet further than his next closest opponent. Panther's senior Elijah Hall also came away with a fifth-place finish in the triple jump with a distance of 42'09". Black also finished the 200m event in fourth place with a time of 21.73 and fifth place in the 100m event. Chapman senior Emma Whitaker also came away with a state championship in the girls' 800m event with a time of 2:24.37, which was almost two seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. She also added a third-place finish in the 1600m event with a 5:14.26. Fellow senior Gabrielle Borum also won a state championship for the Panthers with a distance of 128'08" in the discus event beating out teammate junior Kaley Jackson for the title. Chapman sophomore Taylor Dunning came away with a third-place finish in the boys' pole vault with a height of 13'0". Junior Davion Marshall finished in fourth place of the boys 110m hurdles event with a time of 15.31 while sophomore Rashawn Cunningham finished in fourth place of the boys' high jump with a height of 6'0". Lane Farmer finished in seventh place in the 800m event with a time of 2:04.05 while Zander Allen finished in eighth place in the 1600m event with a time of 4:40.33 and Dylan Fortner added an eighth-place finish in the boys' javelin event with a distance of 138'10". Junior Polly Addington came away with a fifth place in the girls' 110m hurdles with a time of 16.25. The Panthers boys' team finished in fourth place just ten points behind team state champion Wren and the girls' team finished in fifth place behind the girls' state champion Seneca. INMAN, SC - The fourth matchup of the season between Chapman and Clinton proved to be quite the battle as the Panthers outslugged the Red Devils for a 9-7 victory on Saturday night. The victory now gives the Panthers home field advantage in the Upper State series as they will now have to be beaten twice on Wednesday to be kept out of the 3A state championship series.
"I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason and that God has a plan and I'm not sure how big of a baseball fan he is, but I truly feel that the loss to Clinton for the region put a lot of things in perspective for our guys," said Chapman head coach Steven Fusaro. "One of those is two out hitting along with getting better at bunting which we've really homed in on the last few weeks and our guys have bought into it. Now we're seeing the results as we've had a lot of games here in the playoffs where we're scoring eight or nine runs which didn't happen earlier in the year so I'm excited about that." Clinton took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning before the Chapman bats got to work in the bottom half of the inning. Chapman got their offense started when second baseman Jarren Metcalf crushed a double to right centerfield, to start a solid night for the Panther's leadoff hitter who was three for three at the plate on Saturday night. Three batters after Metcalf's double senior designated hitter Ricky Montalvo hit a three-run homer that sailed over the centerfield wall between the A and P in Chapman scoring both Metcalf and catcher Johan Rodriguez, who had reached on a walk, to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead. The homerun brought an energy to the Panthers team and Fusaro said it's just what they expect from Montalvo. "When Rick pitches we call him big pitch Rick and when he hits, we call him big hit Rick," said Fusaro. "Rick just comes up big for us. He's a quiet guy but he's the heart and soul of our team. When he's successful in those big situations you just see his energy and the energy of our team increase. We're a lot better team because Ricky Montalvo is on our team." The Red Devils added a score in the top of the second inning to narrow the Chapman lead to 3-2 heading into the bottom half of the inning. Chapman added two runs in the bottom of the second inning as right fielder Hudson Moss reached on a hit-by-pitch before advancing to second on a sacrifice bunt by Cason Owens. Moss pushed the lead to 4-2 when he scored on a Landon Solesbee single to right centerfield. Solesbee, who advanced to third base on a Metcalf single to leftfield, eventually stole home when Metcalf got in a rundown between first and second base to push the Panthers lead to 5-2 as both runners ended up being safe. Walt Waddell led off the bottom of the third inning with a double to right centerfield before advancing to third base on sacrifice bunt by Devin Roe. Waddell pushed the Panthers lead to 6-2 on a Clinton wild pitch on ball four to Hudson Moss. Moss later scored on a single to rightfield by Landon Solesbee to push the Chapman lead to 7-2 before Metcalf brought home Cason Owens from third base on a bunt single to make the Panthers lead 8-2 over Clinton. Clinton had their biggest offensive inning of the game in the top of the fourth inning as they scored three runs with two runs coming off a Chapman error that allowed both Zane McLendon and Zach Fortman to score. The Red Devils added another run in the inning to put the Chapman lead at 8-5 when Luke White scored from third base on a sacrifice fly to rightfield by Davidson Pitts. In the top of the fourth inning Chapman added another run when Ricky Montalvo, who reached base on a five pitch walk, scored on a double to left centerfield by Carson Owens to give the Panthers a 9-5 lead. Clinton added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to narrow the Chapman lead to 9-7 but that's as close as the Red Devils would get in the game. Chapman senior Drew Settle came into pitch the final two innings for the Panthers as he limited Clinton to one hit and one walk over eight batters while striking out two batters. Fusaro said having someone like Settle with his experience to be able to stabilize games out of the bullpen is a great resource to have especially in the playoffs. "There isn't a higher character guy in this place than Drew Settle," said Fusaro. "We haven't asked him to pitch much in previous years because he threw so much with football and this year we've just kind of worked him into it. He's kind of become our defacto closer and to have a guy like that you can lean on to get six outs is unbelievable." Chapman's baseball field was packed with fans from both teams as both stands had no seats left and chairs went four rows deep along the fence lines which Fusaro said was part of his dream when he took over the program. "When I was named the head coach in 2013 this was my vision," said Fusaro. "This is the place that made me and is near and dear to my heart. I told every team I've coached here that this community will support you because they love baseball. We've had pillars like Mr. Metcalf and Mr. Everhart that built the love of baseball in this community. To see it like it was tonight, I had to take a moment during one of the inning breaks to soak it all in because to see the vision I started with ten years ago starting to come to fruition is exciting." The Panthers will now wait for the winner of the Clinton and Powdersville game on Monday before facing the winner at Chapman on Wednesday. SENECA, SC - The Chapman track and field team went on the road to Seneca on Saturday to compete in the 3A Upper State meet and came back with a second-place finish in the boys' overall and a fifth place in the girls' overall along with multiple Upper State championships.
"I'm pleased with the performances by the team today," said Chapman head track coach Robert Gray. "We had a lot of athletes step up when we needed them to, and they handled adversity well. This group of athletes we have can compete with any region within the state." The Panthers' DJ Black came with an Upper State championship in both the long jump and the triple jump. Black won the long jump with a distance of 23'08" while Rashawn Cunningham also qualified for the state meet finishing in third place with a distance of 22'06". Black won the triple jump with a distance of 45'07" while fellow Panther Elijah Hall also qualified for the state meet with a fourth-place finish with a distance of 42'10". Black also qualified for state in the 100m event finishing in third place with a time of 10.70, less than three-hundredths of a second behind first place Damarion Alexander from Seneca. He also qualified in the 200m event with a second-place finish in a time of 22.08. Emma Whitaker was the Upper State champion in the girls' 800 meters event with a time of 2:25.18 which was two seconds ahead of second place. She also qualified in the 1600m event with a third-place finish in a time of 5:33.94, less than six seconds behind first place. Gabrielle Borum won the Upper State championships in both the shot-put and discus events on Saturday. She won the discuss championship with a distance of 122'08" just ahead of junior teammate Kaley Jackson who also qualified for the state meet with a distance of 119'07". Borum won the shot-put event with a distance of 37'10" which was two feet further than the second place finisher. The Chapman girls' 4x800m relay team also qualified for the state meet with a time of 10:27.02 which was less than two seconds behind first place Pendleton. Sophomore Tayloe Dunning qualified for the state meet in the boys' pole vault event with a second-place finish with a height of 13'0". Jaquel Pearson qualified in the boys' discuss final with a distance of 127'01". The Chapman athletes will now turn their attention to the SC 3A state championship meet that will be held at Lower Richland High School on Saturday May 21st. SENECA, SC - On Thursday evening, the Chapman Panthers opened the 3A Upper State baseball playoffs on the road against the Seneca Bobcats.
A strong pitching performance and some timely hitting propelled the Panthers to an 8-2 victory. Consecutive singles by Ricky Montalvo and Walt Waddell opened the second inning for Chapman, putting runners on the corners. Two batters later, a Hudson Moss RBI sacrifice bunt drove in Ethan Fortenberry (courtesy runner for Montalvo) and broke the scoreless tie. In the third inning, Jarren Metcalf drew a leadoff walk, advanced to second on an error, and scored on a Montalvo single, which staked Chapman to a 2-0 lead. Later in the fifth, a Johann Rodriguez RBI double drove in Metcalf and another Montalvo base knock scored JJ Highducheck (courtesy runner for Rodriguez) and built a four-run advantage. Seneca plated a pair of runs in their half of the frame, making it a 4-2 game. The Panthers tacked on four runs in their final two at-bats on a Landon Solesbee two-out RBI single, a Rodriguez two-run home run, and a Montalvo opposite-field solo home run to provide the final margin of 8-2. Not only did Montalvo contribute at the plate, but he and the defense also did their part as well. The senior tossed a complete game for Chapman and struck out seven Bobcat batters, while also seeing the infield turn a pair of key double plays during the contest. With the victory, the Panthers advance in the upper state round and will host Clinton on Saturday evening at 7 PM. INMAN, SC - It may have taken one more game than they wanted it to, but the Chapman softball team claimed the district championship with a 4-1 victory over Seneca on Wednesday night.
The district clinching victory came in the second game on Wednesday night as the Panthers fell in a tough one 2-1 in the first game to the Bobcats. "There was no cushion there in that second game, so you have to get the win," said Chapman head coach Casey Green. "I'm super proud of the team." Both teams started out the second game keeping each other off the base paths as only three batters reached base over the first two and a half innings of play. In the bottom of the third inning, the Panthers Rylan Sneed reached base on an infield single before being able to advance to third base on a sacrifice bunt down the third base line from Hailey Coley. Sneed gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead when she scored on a sacrifice fly to leftfield by Abbey Gossett that was just feet short of being a two run homerun. With two outs in the top of the fifth inning, Seneca was able to tie the game at 1-1 before Chapman pitcher Reagan Garrett struck out the final batter of the inning with runners at second and first base to put a stop to the Bobcats rally. Chapman didn't take long to respond as the Panthers scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to retake the lead over the Bobcats. Dixie Frady and Lexie Krivicich led off the inning with back-to-back singles to put runners at second and first base for the Panthers. The next two Panthers batters saw two back-to-back outs before Abby Gossett was walked to load the bases for the Panthers. With the bases full of Panthers, Krislyn Britt-Wilder hit a single to right centerfield scoring both Frady and Krivicich to put the Panthers ahead 3-1 over the Bobcats. Wilder was followed by Sarah Byrd who also singled to right centerfield scoring Gossett from third base to push the Chapman lead to 4-1 over Seneca. Seneca was able to get a runner on in the seventh inning but a line drive to shortstop Sarah Byrd allowed her to get a double play after making the catch and then throwing out a Bobcats runner who had broke for second on the play. With two outs the Bobcats were able to get another runner on base but on the next at-bat Panther's catcher Hailey Coley made a beautiful pickoff throw to first base to nab the Bobcats runner and send the Panthers to the Upper State championship series. Chapman got a great start in the pitching circle from Reagan Garrett as she only allowed one run over seven innings while striking out three Seneca batters. In the first game the two teams battled as well until Seneca was able to get the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth inning when Kylie Kalchthaler scored from second base on an infield single by Georgia Jones. The Panthers will now host Union County on Friday to start the 3A Upper State championship series. Broome will face Palmetto on the other side of the Upper State championship bracket. INMAN, S.C. – On Monday evening, the Chapman Panthers faced the Mid-Carolina Rebels for the 3A District IV baseball championship and a berth in the Upper State round. A late spark ignited a rally, as the Panthers edged the Rebels by a 3-2 tally.
Jack Settle got the start on the mound for Chapman and held Mid-Carolina to two runs in five and one-third innings of work. Settle and the Panther defense thwarted an early threat by the Rebels in the first inning by getting a pair of fly-outs to retire the side. Mid-Carolina took a 2-0 lead midway through the fifth inning, but then the Panthers’ bats came alive. Devin Roe notched a one-out triple in the bottom of the inning for Chapman and came in to score on a Hudson Moss sacrifice fly, which made it a 2-1 game. Dalton Mahaffey entered the game with one out in the sixth and recorded two outs, helping the Panthers work their way out of a bases-loaded jam. Landon Solesbee led off the Panthers' sixth inning with a single and scored from second base on a two-out base knock by Johann Rodriguez, tying the game at two. Ethan Fortenberry entered the game as Rodriguez’s courtesy runner and scored the go-ahead run on an error, putting Chapman ahead 3-2. Drew Settle closed out the contest in the seventh inning and earned the save for Chapman. With the victory, the Panthers move on to the upper state round in the 3A baseball playoffs and will travel to face Seneca on Thursday evening. |
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