LEESVILLE, SC - Just two days after finishing strong at their own tournament, the TC Ezell Invitational, on Tuesday the Chesnee boys golf team backed up that performance with a runner-up finish in the Ponderosa Shootout at the Ponderosa Country Club on Thursday afternoon.
The Eagles as a team shot a score of 350 which was two shots better than third place Mid-Carolina (352) and six shots better than fourth place tournament host Gilbert who shot a team score of 356 as Chesnee only trailed tournament champions Fox Creek on Thursday afternoon. "I was proud of how our guys played today," said Chesnee head golf coach Andy Pitt. "It was a good measuring stick for us playing against the 3A, 2A, and 1A opponents that are more on our level for the playoffs." Chesnee saw their overall team score drop six strokes as they shot a team score of 356 at the TC Ezell Invitational and their scores have been trending lower as the season goes along which Pitt believes is a good sign of his team's improvement throughout the season as they head toward the playoffs. "Seeing our scores continually drop this time of year is a good sign," said Pitt. "I think this will build some momentum heading into the region tournament." The Eagles were led by Peyton Lawter who shot a score of 80 followed by Jake Hefner with a score of 88. They also got improved days from Jackson Ramsey who shot a score of 90 and Hughston Johnson who shot a score of 92. Chesnee will next participate in the region tournament on May 9th in Greenville where they hope to qualify for the state championship tournament that will be held May 16th-17th at Cheraw State Park. CHESNEE, SC - In a pregame ceremony Chesnee High School rededicated their newly renovated baseball stadium, Dean Jones Field, in honor of their long-time legendary coach Dean Jones.
"Coach Jones has been the center of the baseball community here in Chesnee for a long time," said Chesnee athletic director James Hyatt. "Now with this statue and beautiful stadium his legacy will continue." As part of the rededication, the Jones family donated a statue of the legendary coach that now sits in the stadium that Jones originally helped build. "I believe the town deserves this," said Jones' grandson David Jones. "My grandfather dedicated his life to this community, believed in this community and it's nice to see that his legacy continues. He loved coaching kids, he loved using his talents to serve kids and that is continuing to be done." David was a member of the 2010 Chesnee baseball state championship team that turned out to be the final team his grandfather coached and is currently continuing his family's legacy as a strength and conditioning coach at Chesnee High School. The stands for the rededication ceremony were packed with friends, family, and former players who all came out to honor the hometown hero and baseball legend. Coaches are often judged by their number of wins, Jones had over 700 wins, and by state championships, Jones had four state championships, but the thing that Coach Jones will forever be remembered for is the man that he was and the impact he still has on Chesnee baseball to this day. When asked what advice his grandfather would give someone today, David Jones summed it up best by saying that he would stress humility, which is a trait he was well known for having in his life. "To coach with humility," said David Jones about advice his grandfather would give to people nowadays. "There is a bigger picture at hand, and it is not about you but it is ultimately about the kids. We wouldn't be here without the kids and without the kids there would be no success. They are the reason we do what we do." Coach Jones may have retired after the 2010 season, but his impact continues to live on as several members of the current Chesnee baseball coaching staff once either played for or coached with the legendary coach. Current Chesnee head coach Scott Wease had the pleasure of doing both as he played for Coach Jones and later joined his staff as an assistant before taking the head job after Coach Jones's retirement. "Coach Jones has been Chesnee baseball for years and he will continue to be Chesnee baseball as long as I'm here," said Wease. "Having his statue up there overlooking our field is truly special and he would be truly proud of the place they built for us." As far as the game on Wednesday night, the Broome baseball team rallied from an early 10-3 deficit to defeat Chesnee 12-11 in a matchup of the Spartanburg county rivals. Broome's Dylan Ramirez got the scoring started with a three-run homerun that bounced off the top of the right centerfield wall in the top of the first. The Eagles responded with eight runs in the second inning as they sent twelve batters to the plate with nine consecutive batters reaching base. Chesnee's Tucker Johnson drew a one out walk and later scored on an error before Luke Hollifield followed with a RBI single. Jonah Epps delivered the big blow of the inning with a three RBI double. Davis Rising and Ethan Lawson each added RBI singles and Johnson drove in a run with a RBI sacrifice fly. Epps delivered another big hit with a two RBI double in the bottom of the third inning to give the Eagles a 10-3 lead. Broome grabbed a run back in the top of the fourth inning thanks to a Cameron Moore RBI sacrifice fly, but the Eagles quickly responded in the bottom half of the inning when Tucker Johnson scored on an error. The Centurions cut Chesnee's seven run lead down to two with a five run fifth inning that saw Dylan Ramirez hit his second home run of the game, this time a solo shot. Brady Jones and Dalton Crawford each scored on an error before Landen Wylie hit a RBI triple and later scored on a Cameron Moore's second RBI sacrifice fly to make the Eagles lead 11-9. Broome took the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning when Dalton Crawford hit a two RBI double and later scored on an error to make it 12-11 in favor of the Centurions. The Eagles will be back in action on Thursday to close out the regular season at Chapman with a 7:45 PM scheduled first pitch. -Andrew Eison CHESNEE, SC - On Wednesday morning in front of a large crowd of family and friends in the Chesnee basketball arena, nine Eagles athletes committed to continue their athletic careers at the college level next season.
Chesnee softball, who just last week won their region championship, saw two members of their team commit to play college softball next season as Hannah Henderson committed to play at Erskine University and Kyleigh Thompson, who has been a four-year starter for the Eagles, committed to play at Spartanburg Methodist College. "Kyleigh and Hannah have been phenomenal leaders for us this year," said Chesnee head softball coach Tripp Fogle. "The success we've had this season has a lot to do with the contributions from these two ladies. SMC and Erskine are both getting two outstanding ladies to be parts of their program." The Eagles football team had three players sign to continue their college careers on the gridiron next season as KJ Valentine committed to play at Limestone University, Dylan Bennett committed to Brevard College, and Caleb Rentz committed to play at Presbyterian College. Bryson Thompson, a member of the Eagles 4x100 relay 2A state championship team last year, committed to continue his track career at Barton College next season. Thompson and his teammates are looking to repeat as state champions once again in 2022. Chesnee baseball player Landon Thompson, who has played shortstop for the Eagles the last four years, committed to continue his playing career at USC Sumter next season. According to Thompson's coach he has been a key hitter at the top of their lineup that has batted around the .400 mark the last two seasons. The Eagles soccer team, who just finished their regular season home schedule with a win on Monday, had one player commit on Wednesday as Ray Romero signed to continue his playing career at Spartanburg Methodist College next season. Romero has five goals and ten assists for the Eagles this year, as his assists lead the team. "We're still a young team and have won five games this year which I don't think a lot of people expected," said Chesnee head soccer coach Joel Barrington. "Our success this year has a lot to do with the contributions we've gotten from Ray and his leadership on the field." Chesnee's fishing team also had a person sign on Wednesday as Andrew Blanton signed to continue his career at Lander University next season. Blanton's team is currently ranked seventh out of 150 teams in the state. CHESNEE, SC - The Chesnee softball team used the energy from senior night to come away with a 7-5 victory over their fellow district school, Boiling Springs, on Tuesday night.
"It felt good to get the win on senior night," said senior Hannah Henderson. "Everyone just stepped up and did their jobs tonight." Fellow senior Kyleigh Thompson echoed Henderson's comments about the total team effort to pick up the win over the Bulldogs. "It felt great to see the effort by our teammates to help us gets this win," said Thompson. Boiling Springs got the first runs of the game when Bri Stanley singled home AD Raines, who had reached base on the previous at-bat, to give the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Chesnee starting pitcher Maddie Handy was able to retire the next two Boiling Springs batters to end the inning and start a string of eight straight Bulldog batters retired. The Eagles quickly rebounded as Aubrey Aparis was hit by a pitch to lead off the game before later working herself to third base and scoring on a Maddie Handy RBI sacrifice fly. Kyleigh Thompson followed with a RBI double to give the Eagles a 2-1 lead at the end of the first inning. Chesnee continued to build on their lead with a five run second inning as Jada Sellars, Emma Fogle, and Harley Grady all started the second inning with three consecutive singles. Aubrey Aparis, Hannah Henderson, and Mattie Handy followed those three with with three consecutive RBI singles of their own before Emily Pruett followed with a two RBI single to cap off the inning with the Eagles ahead 7-2 over the Bulldogs. "It felt good to be able to come through for our team when they needed us to in important situations," said Henderson about the big second inning for the Eagles. In the top of the fifth inning, Bri Stanley came through again come for the Bulldogs after she drove in a run on a single to the outfield following back-to-back singles from AD Raines and Kate Philbeck to make the Eagles lead 7-2 over Boiling Springs. The Bulldogs started a rally in the top of the seventh inning when Grace Geddes and Morgan Hammett each reached base to lead off the inning before both scored on a Bri Stanley RBI double to cut the Chesnee lead to 7-4 over the Bulldogs. Stanley later scored on a RBI single by Jacie Ross to cut the lead to 7-5 but that was as close as the Bulldogs rally would get as the Eagles came away with the 7-5 victory. In a pregame ceremony, the Eagles honored four seniors in Hannah Henderson, Emma Fogle, Kyleigh Thompson, and Brie Smith for they're contributions to Chesnee softball over the last few years. "Those four are four young ladies who each bring something to the table that makes this team special," said Chesnee coach Tripp Fogle. "I told them before the game how amazing this group has been and how they've made Chesnee proud." Kyleigh Thompson said she's thankful for her time with the Eagles program and will look forward to coming back and seeing her team in future years. "This program means everything to me," said Thompson. "It has been my home for the past six years and I have loved seeing the program grow. I'm sad that I have to leave the program, but excited for when I'm going to come watch them in the future." The Eagles defense gave a solid performance behind their pitcher Maddie Handy on Tuesday night, including an excellent play in the second inning to help Handy send the Bulldogs down in order. "We have full confidence in Maddie Handy," said senior Emma Fogle. "Our goal as a defense is for her to have confidence in us." The win gives the Eagles their second consecutive win of the final week of the regular season, as the Eagles look to finish strong and build momentum for the playoffs which was Coach Fogle's message to his team before the game. "At the beginning of the game Coach Fogle told us to finish this week strong and build momentum for a brand-new season next week," said Emma Fogle. Chesnee will be back in action on Wednesday when they travel to Chapman to play a double header against the Panthers with a 5:30 PM start time for game one. Boiling Springs will play their last game of the regular season on Friday at Clover in a pivotal matchup for their playoff chances. -Andrew Eison CHESNEE, SC - Chesnee soccer closed out the home schedule of their regular season with a 6-0 victory over High Point Academy on Monday night.
Adrian Mata-Rangel led the Eagles with two goals while senior Ian Harris continued his hot streak on Monday night as he added a goal to make that seven goals in his last three games. Austin Padgett, Ray Romero, and Mark Bishop each added a goal for the Eagles in their win over the Grizzlies. Caleb Rentz recorded a clean sheet in goal for the Eagles. The Eagles will travel to Brashier Middle Collge on Thursday night for their final match of the regular season as kickoff is scheduled for 6:00 PM. WOODRUFF, SC - The Chesnee softball team made the trek to the other end of Highway 221 in Spartanburg County and came away with a 13-10 victory over Woodruff on Monday night.
In their first game since claiming the Region II-2A Championship, the Eagles used a huge ten run third inning to build a 12-3 lead over Woodruff after three innings of play. Hannah Henderson had a huge game for the Eagles as she drove in a pair of runs, scored three runs, reached on a hit and a walk while also stealing a pair of bases. Emma Fogle and Jada Sellars each collected two hits for the Eagles with Sellars driving in a pair of runs. Aubrey Aparis, Maddie Handy, and Harley Grady each scored a pair of runs for the Eagles. Emily Pruett picked up the win in the pitching circle for the Eagles. Chesnee will be back in action on Tuesday when they host fellow district school, Boiling Springs, at 7:30 PM where they will honor their seniors in a pregame ceremony. CHESNEE, SC - The Chesnee soccer team honored their seniors on Friday night with an impressive 7-1 win over region for Landrum, the Eagles soccer team's second win of the week.
Senior Goalie Caleb Rentz had a strong performance in goal as he only gave up one goal while coming away with over twenty saves. Senior Ian Harris scored four goals to lead the Eagles and it brings Harris's total up to six goals this week, as he had two goals against Greer Middle College earlier this week. Chesnee also got goals from Leo De La Cruz, Adrian Mata-Rangel, and Ray Romero in their victory over the Cardinals on Friday night. The Eagles will be back in action on Monday as they host High Point with a 6:00 PM scheduled kickoff and will finish region play on April 28th when they travel to Brashier Middle College. CHESNEE, SC - The Chesnee softball team used a couple of big innings late to defeat region rival Landrum 6-3 on Thursday night to claim their second straight Region II-2A championship.
"We have worked incredibly hard since the end of last season," said Chesnee's Harley Grady. "For us to now be able to say we accomplished one of our goals is awesome." Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle echoed the sentiments of Grady and said he was proud of his team's accomplishments. "I'm proud of this team," said Fogle. "We accomplished one of our goals and we still have things to do to get better as we keep trying to get better each day." Sydney Price led off the game for the Cardinals with a double before later scoring on a sacrifice fly from Abby Hammer to put the Cardinals up 1-0 over the Eagles. Chesnee's Maddie Handy then retired the next eight consecutive Cardinal's hitters, including four strikeouts, before a two out double by Sydney Price in her next at-bat. Price later scored on a close play at home that saw her just sneak under the tag of Chesnee's Hannah Henderson to put the Cardinals up 2-0 after three innings of play. Henderson led the Chesnee response in the bottom of the fourth inning as she was hit by a pitch before stealing second and later scoring on Skylar Barrett's RBI single to cut the Landrum lead in half with the score sitting at 2-1 in favor of the Cardinals. The Eagles took the lead in the bottom of the fifth inning as their seventh-place hitter Aubrey Aparis led off the inning with a single before later stealing second base and scoring on a Harley Grady RBI single. Grady used her heads-up base running to work her way to third base before late scoring on Katie Faith Watson's RBI single. "My speed gives me an advantage," said Aparis. "I'm just happy I was able to use that to benefit our team tonight." Landrum's Sydney Price ended the Eagles streak of seven straight Cardinals retired by Handy in the top of the sixth inning with a single, as she also advanced to second base on a Chesnee error before later tying the game at 3-3 on a Abby Hammer RBI double. Handy led off the bottom of the sixth inning for the Eagles with a single before scoring the go-ahead run on an Emily Pruett RBI double. Chesnee tacked on extra runs thanks again to the duo of Aparis and Grady as Aparis used her speed to plate a run with a RBI single. Grady drove in a run on a line drive to the outfield that was caught with an amazing diving catch by Landrum's Sydney Price but on the play Chesnee's Skylar Barrett made a heads up base running decision to tag up as Price was falling to the ground after the catch and scored giving Grady her second RBI of the game. "We saw how they were adjusting to us in the field and in the circle and were able to take advantage of the opportunities," said Grady. In the final two innings, the bottom third of the Eagle's order went four of five with four RBIs and two runs scored. "It doesn't matter who we run out there, everybody in that dugout has complete confidence in their teammates," said Fogle about the bottom third of his lineup. "I'm just proud of them for having good at bats and making things happen." "We have all worked hard for our opportunities," said Aparis. "We were able to take advantage of the opportunities we had when we had the chance." Handy struck out the first two batters she faced in the seventh inning for the Eagles and the final out was recorded thanks to a groundout to Emily Pruett and as she received the ball at first and recorded the out the Eagles players began to celebrate their region championship on the field. Handy finished the game with eleven strikeouts while only giving up five hits in a complete game victory as she had several streaks of multiple batters being retired in a row which she gave credit to her defense for that accomplishment. "I was throwing strikes and making my pitches I needed to make because of the confidence I had in the great defense," said Handy. "Behind me the defense was making the plays when we needed them." While the 2021 version of the Eagles had a lot of success, the 2022 version featured a bunch a new faces and familiar faces in new places as the Eagles returned only one player from last year's region championship team at the same position. "We have worked hard all year," said Fogle. "We are not perfect but we kind of like the fact that some people thought we were a little down from last year. Each team does some things better than the other, but I told the girls tonight I'd gladly play a game with them any day of the week. They have grit and they have fight and I have faith in those girls." The Eagles dominated region play with a perfect 8-0 record as they scored one hundred and sixteen runs for an average of fourteen and a half runs per game. They recorded five shutouts as a staff and only allowed eight runs with a thirteen and a half run average margin of victory. "I think it shows our focus has been where it has needed to be," said Handy. "Our grit and determination allowed us to have such a strong performance in region play this year." The playoffs are scheduled to start on Wednesday May 4th where the Eagles will host the fourth seed from Region I-2A but before the playoffs begin the Eagles will be back in action on Monday when they travel to Woodruff with a 6:00 PM scheduled first pitch. CHESNEE, SC- The Chesnee softball team defeated St Joseph’s 14-0 on Wednesday night as they continued their quest to defend their region championship from last year by improving to 6-0 in region play this year.
“It feels good to have a strong team win,” said Chesnee’s Emily Pruett. “We are one step closer to accomplishing one of our goals of being region champions.” The Eagles got off to a solid start as Emily Pruett limited the Knights to one hit in the top of the first inning. Pruett had a strong performance as she struck out eight batters while allowing one hit in a five inning complete game shutout. "It felt great to get in the circle and be able to lead our team,” said Pruett. “I had my pitches working and had a solid defense behind me." The Eagles offense got off to a strong start as they sent twelve batters to the plate as eight of the nine batters in the lineup recorded a hit. Maddie Handy got the scoring started with a two RBI double while Emma Fogle also hit a two RBI double in the inning before later scoring on an error. Skylar Barrett and Emily Pruett each had RBI singles before Kyleigh Thompson rounded out the scoring with a RBI double of her own. Chesnee tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the second inning as Harley Grady and Aubrey Aparis each hit RBI singles. The Eagles added three more in the third inning as Maddie Handy picked up her third RBI of the game with a RBI double before Emma Fogle also picked up her third RBI of the game with a RBI single. Emily Pruett added her second RBI later in the inning with a RBI double. Heaven Kinnison rounded out the scoring for the Eagles with a RBI single. "It feels great to have success at the plate and be able to help my team,” said Chesnee’s Heaven Kinnison. “We all work hard and it feels good to have success at the plate." It was a total team effort for the Eagles as ten total batters each collected a hit while eight different players each drove in a run. "It feels great that we were all able to contribute,” said Kinnison. “It says a lot about our team that no matter who it is we love to celebrate their success." Chesnee’s Hannah Henderson had an excellent game as she went 3-4 with a single, double, a triple, and three runs scored. "We went out there and knew we had a job to do,” said Henderson. “It stinks we had to play them after what happened following the last game we played but we knew we had to take care of business and we did." The Eagles had downed the Knights 18-0 earlier in the season and the seniors knew coming into the game that focus was going to be key to the game. "We’ve had a few games where we lost our focus a little bit this year and as a senior class we know we can't take any game for granted if we want to reach our goal of winning state,” said Henderson. The Eagles will be back in action on Thursday as they travel to Broome with a 7:30 PM first pitch. CHESNEE, SC - The Chesnee Eagles used excellence performances on both sides of the plate to down the Brashier Middle College 20-0 to improve to 5-0 in region play on Monday night.
"Tonight, we showed we have full confidence in each other as we each took care of what we needed to take care of to pick up the win," said Chesnee's Emily Pruett. After allowing Emma Bryant to reach base on a leadoff single, Chesnee's Maddie Handy struck out the next six Bengals batters and struck out twelve overall while only allowing a fifth inning single by Ella Barton the rest of the game. "When I get in a groove my mechanics feel right and I just feel great on the mound," said Handy. The Eagles offense started off the scoring with a bang as Emily Pruett drilled a solo homerun over the left field fence, her second homerun of the season. "It really got us going," said Pruett. "It's always good to start the game off on a good note." Skylar Barrett followed Pruett with a homerun of her own and flew around the bases as she celebrated her first career homer. "It felt so good," said Barrett about her homerun. "When you hit your first one out the excitement from your teammates makes you feel so good." The homers not only put the Eagles on the board it also sparked an eight-run inning for the team. "We really felt good as a team after Emily hit hers and my teammates kept the momentum going," added Barrett. Emma Fogle drew a walk and later scored on an error as Kyleigh Thompson, Jada Sellars, and Skylar Barrett each add RBI singles as well. Handy helped her own cause with a two RBI triple, her second triple of the game. Handy said not only did the big inning spark the offense, it also got her motivated in the circle. "It made me want to get us back in the dugout as fast as I could so we could keep the bats going," said Handy about the Eagles' offense motivated her pitching performance. Chesnee busted the game open in the bottom of the fourth inning as they plated twelve runs while sending sixteen batters to the plate. Jada Sellars started the scoring with a RBI single as Emma Fogle followed a few batters later with a two RBI double. Aubrey Aparis and Harley Grady each added RBI singles while Kyleigh Thompson added a RBI double of her own. Hannah Henderson drilled a two RBI double that nearly cleared the left field fence. Sellars, Pruett, Katie Faith Watson, and Skylar Barrett each added RBI singles later in the inning. The Eagles will be back in action on Wednesday as they host St Joseph's with a 5:30 PM scheduled first pitch. |
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