Latta's McLeod Carmichael hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth to propel Latta to the 2A baseball state championship with a 4-3 win over Chesnee.
Chesnee's starter Nate Lamb surrendered three runs, struck out nine, and scattered just two hits across 5 1/3 innings pitched. Unfortunately, the Eagles' defense had some miscues and Latta was able to take advantage. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease was proud of his senior left-hander's performance, "if someone had told me before the game that he would only give up two hits, I would have felt pretty good about our odds. He gave us a chance and that's all you can ask" Wease said. Latta got on the board first in the bottom of the first after Deonte Stanley hit a two-out triple to score Russ Rogers and Pierce Watson. Latta tacked on another run in the third after Dylan Brewer hit a sacrifice fly to score Russ Rogers. Chesnee responded in the top of the sixth with three runs. Kobe Miller led off with a single and scored on a Dawson Williamson double. Nolan Hammett and Colin Turner followed up with back-to-back one-out singles, with Hammett collecting an RBI. Joey Foos tied it up 3-3 with a two-out single that scored Hammett. Chesnee Shortstop Luke Cash made his first start of the series after suffering an injury in practice. Cash made several nice defensive plays and helped out at the plate with a sacrifice bunt. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease was proud of his senior Shortstop for gutting it out in his last game in an Eagle uniform, "it was great to see him play in his last game" Wease said. Chesnee is losing ten seniors after the season. The senior class of 2018 has won back-to-back region titles and district championships, and an upper state championship. The seniors are: Kobe Miller, Dawson Williamson, Nate Lamb, Nolan Hammett, Colin Turner, Joey Foos, Bo Walker, Luke Cash, Johnathan Bishop, and Kip Bagwell. Chesnee is losing a huge senior class, but has a solid group returning. Chesnee will bring back: Blake Scruggs, Gabe Murabito, Chase Carver, Matthew Wood, Kyler Reagan, Austin Brown, and a good group coming up from Junior Varsity. The Eagles came home needing a win to keep their hopes alive for the 2A State Championship, and they got exactly what they needed. Austin Brown pitched a complete game only allowing 2 hits and 1 run while striking out 8, and Nate Lamb went 3-3 at the plate and drove in both runs as the Eagles won game two of the best of three State Championship Series. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease was happy to see his team respond at home, "I told them before the game you win today and you have a shot. Anything can happen in a game three." Wease said.
Latta got on the board first as Dylan Brewer hit a deep shot to the fence in left field for a triple with two outs in the bottom of the 1st to give Latta a 1-0 lead. The Eagles responsed in the bottom of the first with back-to-back-to-back singles from All-State players Dawson Williamson, Nolan Hammett, and Nate Lamb to plate a run for the Eagles. The Eagles got another run in the third inning as Bo Walker leadoff the inning with a single and stole second. He later scored on Nate Lamb's second RBI single of the night. Austin Brown was magnificent on the mound for the Eagles. The Vikings only managed to get two runners to second base including Brewer's triple. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease was pleased to see his Junior Right hander come through in a big situation, "I can't say enough good things about Austin. He never got flustered, he just did his thing. He trusted his stuff all night long, and made the pitches when he needed to." Wease said The Eagles defense was big behind Brown as Dawson Williamson, Bo Walker, Gabe Murabito, and the rest of the Chesnee defense was solid behind Brown, " I tip my cap to those guys for having my back" Brown said about his defense. Gabe Murabito has filled in the past two games at shortstop for starter Luke Cash, and has stepped up defensively for the Eagles, "it is really big, Gabe is just a sophomore and he hasn't acted like it is anything other than just a baseball game. He has fun everyday." Coach Wease said. Jonathan Bishop had a good night filling in for Murabito at second base. He went 2-3 at the plate and had several nice plays defensively. Luke Cash as well as fellow injured Eagle Kyler Reagan have both been a positive influence in the dugout for the Eagles, "it is important. It doesn't take but one guy with a bad attitude, and that can get everybody down. They can't do any they physical right now, they can only control what they can control. " Coach Wease said. Chesnee will play Latta in a winner take all game three at Lexington County Baseball Stadium on Saturday at 3:30pm. Chesnee will be seeking their 6th State Championship in school history. Latta used a three run fourth inning to down Chesnee 5-3 to take a 1-0 lead in the 2A Baseball State Championship Series.
Both teams hit the ball well. Unfortunately for the Eagles they hit them right at the Vikings, "unfortunately that's baseball you just try to barrel the ball up. In the 1st inning it just kind of fell for us and we got out to a 2-0 lead. Then we hit what we call the At-em balls , which is right at them." Chesnee stole the moment in the first inning as Kobe Miller was hit with the first pitch of the game and promptly stole 2nd. Williamson followed with a single to plate Miller. A stolen base and a balk later Williamson scored on a Nate Lamb sacrifice fly. Latta got a run back on a two out RBI double from John Malcolm George in the bottom of the 2nd that plated Pierce Watson. Latta scored three runs in the bottom of the 3rd that proved to be the deciding factor. Dylan Brewer, Pierce Watson, and Deonte Stanley had consecutive RBIs for the Vikings. Chesnee scratched across a run in the top of the 5th to pull within a run. Joey Foos lead off the inning with a double, and later scored as Dawson Williamson beat out a double play. Latta extended their lead back to two in the bottom of the 6th as John Malcolm George collected his 2nd RBI of the game. The Eagles battled hard all night and Head Coach Scott Wease was pleased with his teams fight, "that is what we expect from this group. They have battled all year long. They fought and they fought, unfortunately we did some things uncharacteristic of us this year." Chesnee starter Nate Lamb scattered 7 hits over 6 innings of work and struck out 10. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease was pleased with his senior starter, "other than that one inning Nate threw well. He didn't surrender much after that, and gave us a chance to win." "I tried to preach to the kids before and after the game that nobody got a trophy tonight. The State Championship wasn't won tonight. We have as good of a shot as anbody, and we are playing at home were we play really well. I like our odds at home, and if we get to game three everybody has a shot". Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease spoke about the importance of this being game one of a possible three game series. Game two will be at Chesnee on Tuesday night at 7pm. Austin Brown scored on a walkoff walk by Dawson Williamson to give Chesnee the 7-6 win over Ninety-Six and the school's 7th Upper State Championship. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease was happy with his team's performance, and that the Eagles were able to win game one, "that was the goal to win game one from when we first knew we had to be beat twice. Anything can happen in that second."
Chesnee scored 3 in the bottom of the 1st. Blake Scruggs was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score Dawson Williamson. Austin Brown hit a two RBI single to plate Nate Lamb and Nolan Hammett. Brown went 2-3 at the plate with 2 RBIs and two runs scored, including the game winning run. Brown also collected the win on the mound after pitching a scoreless top of the 8th. Brown earned his 2nd consecutive win after collecting the win on Saturday against Cheraw. The Wildcats answered back with four runs in the top of the 4th. Tyler Warrick hit a two out two RBI single to plate two. Andrew Gossett followed with a RBI single to tie it. Ninety-Six plated another run to take a 4-3 lead after the top of the 4th. The Eagles answered back with two in the bottom half of the inning. Joey Foos got things started with a two out walk and later scored on a Luke Cash RBI double. Kobe Miller followed with a RBI double of his own to plate Cash as the Eagles regained the lead 5-4 after the 4th. The Eagles would tack on another run in the bottom of the 6th. Joey Foos hit a one out double and was advanced to third on a Kobe Miller single. Foos stole home as Kobe Miller distracted the Wildcat defenders with an attempted steal of 2nd. Senior Joey Foos had his best game of the season as he went 2-3 with a double and a walk and two runs scored. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease was happy to see his senior have a great game, "Joey had been hitting the ball really well in batting practice, and we knew they had a right handed pitcher on the mound and decided to give him a shot. He took advantage of his opportunity, I am proud of him". Wease said. Wildcats answered back with two runs in the top of the 7th to the game at 6 behind a two RBI single by Evan Keller. Austin Brown pitched a scoreless top of the 8th and would lead off the bottom of the 8th with a single. Joey Foos followed with a single of his own. Kobe Miller was intentionally walked to load the bases for Dawson Williamson. Williamson was confident going into his at-bat, "as soon as they put Kobe on I knew that was their first mistake because I have been hitting the ball well." Williamson said. Williamson watched the first three pitches go by for balls, "the first three were wild not even close, and Coach Byers came up and said he is going to throw you three straight to get you out and I let the next to go and the second one was a ball." Williamson said. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease was confident in his Senior Outfielder at the plate in a crucial situation, "when they walked Kobe I felt confident in Dawson being up there. If they would have threw something to hit I feel confident he would've gotten a hit." Wease said. Chesnee will travel to Latta in Saturday in the opening round of the 2A State Championship Series. The Eagles will host the Panthers in game two on Wednesday at Dean Jones Stadium. Behind a RBI single from Luke Cash and solid start from Austin Brown, Chesnee downs Cheraw 2-1 to advance to the Upper State Championship game on Wednesday.
Sometimes a small moment can affect the entire outcome of a ball. Chesnee's Austin Brown had allowed 5 hits through the 1st two innings. In the top of the 3rd, Chesnee's Colin Turner fielded a groundball off the bat of Cheraw's McKenny Goodale, the throw pulled first baseman Nolan Hammett off the bag. Hammett made a great play to recover and tag the runner. After the tag was applied Hammett dropped the ball throwing it back to Brown. Cheraw's Head Coach argued the call, that time allowed Brown time to regroup and retire a string of 10 straight batters. Austin Brown did a great job working out of jams in the 1st and 2nd innings. This was Brown's second win of the playoffs, and Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease is pleased to see Brown peaking at the right time, "it is big, has thrown two great games in a row, and he wiggled out of jams in the 1st and 2nd innings. They had the bases loaded, and get just kept pitching, and made the pitches to get out of it. I can't say enough good things about him." Bo Walker came in the bottom of the 6th with a runner on 3rd and 2 outs. Walker got Lawton Harris to pop up to 2nd baseman Gabe Murabito to end the threat and maintain the Eagles' lead. Walker possibly had the play of the game fielding a high hopper off the bat of Chandler Hunter that Walker had to leap and field over his head to make the throw to first to record the out of the 7th inning. Walker sent the Braves down in order in the 7th to record his 3rd save of the playoffs, Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease is pleased to have such a reliable option out of the bullpen, "he has been the guy. I think the play of the game is the bouncer up the middle that he makes a heck of a play on to keep the leadoff guy off in the 7th. That guy can run a little bit, and that could've been a game changer. I'm definitely proud of him. He is another senior that I can't say enough about." Luke Cash was a bright spot for the Eagles both offensively and defensively. Cash went 1-1 with a RBI single in the 3th that scored Colin Turner. Turner's run turned out to be the difference maker. Cash made several nice stops defensively at shortstop, and Nolan Hammett made several nice plays at 1st. Dawson Williamson ended the game with a nice running grab in shallow left field to end the game. The Chesnee defense was big behind Brown and Walker, Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease thought that the Eagles pitchers settle in, "It is big. When your defense makes the plays it gives your pitcher extra confidence to throw it in there. He (Brown) goes after batters and in turn keeps the fielders in their toes." Chesnee will host the winner of Ninety-Six at Cheraw on Wednesday in the Upper State Championship. Chesnee's Colin Turner is playing some of his best baseball of the season at the perfect time for the Eagles. On Thursday, he went 2-3 with 3 RBIs and scored a run to help the Chesnee Eagles defeat the Ninety-Six Wildcats 6-0 in the opening game of the Upper State Tournament. In his last three games Turner has went 6-9 at the plate with two doubles and 7 RBIs. Chesnee Head Coach Scott Wease couldn't be more pleased with his senior third baseman, "you like to see that from a senior. He has been with us for three years now, and it makes you happy to see him have some success in key situations like that." Coach Wease said.
Nate Lamb had another solid night on the mound for the Eagles as he pitched 5 1/3 innings scattering two hits and striking out 7. Coach Wease was pleased to see his senior keep battling throughout the game, "Nate had to battle tonight. He didn't have his good stuff, but still he got out there and competed and made pitches when he needed to make pitches. I'm proud of the way he didn't give in, and fought the whole night." Coach Wease said. Chesnee's Bo Walker came on in relief of Lamb in the 6th and helped the Eagles seal a win for the 4th consecutive game. Walker has been a reliable relief option for Eagles and is playing some of his best baseball at the right time, "it feels good to have Walker in the pen. He came in and he battled, and he got the outs and kept them from scoring." Coach Wease said. Chesnee's offense got rolling early by scoring three runs in the top of the 1st, and all with two outs. Nolan Hammett hit a sharp single to score Joey Foos (courtesy runner for Lamb). Colin Turner hit a RBI double that plated Hammett, and Blake Scruggs followed with a double to plate Turner. It was big for Chesnee to score three runs in the 1st, "it is always good to score early in the playoffs. I think it takes a little pressure off defensively" Coach Wease said. Chesnee added three more runs in the 5th. Nate Lamb helped his own cause with a RBI sac fly to deep centerfield that also advanced runners to 2nd and 3rd. Two batters later Colin Turner ripped a two RBI double for his 2nd and 3rd RBIs of the game to score Kobe Miller and Dawson Williamson. Chesnee will host Cheraw on Saturday evening at 7pm. Cheraw defeated Blacksburg on Thursday by a score of 11-1. The winner advances to the Upper State Championship game. Chesnee Golf won the Region I-2A Golf Championship on Tuesday after at The Link O'Tryon in Landrum. The Eagles finished two strokes ahead of defending 2A State Champions Christ Church and finished 15 strokes ahead of 2017 Region Champions St Josephs. The win qualifies the Eagles for the State Tournament on May 14th and 15th at the Mount Vintage Plantation in North Augusta.
Spencer Addley was named the Region I-2A Player of the Year. Spencer shot a 68 overall to lead the way for the Eagles and won Player of the Year after defeating St Joseph's Been Loudermilk in a playoff. Chesnee trailed by one stroke at the turn and had to shot a team 145 on the back nine to win, Coach Pitt was please to see his team have a solid back nine "The back 9 was key. Spencer was good all day. Garrett had to grind, he didn’t have his best day, but found a way to post a nice score. Coleton played the last 4 holes -2 and Jake Vaughan did the same. That was the difference." Pitt said. Coleton Bridges and Garrett Cooper each shot a 75 to earn All-Region honors. Chesnee had 3 players make the All-Region team with Addley leading the way as Player of the Year. Coach Pitt was please to have three players make All-Region including the Region Player of the Year " Nice to have 3 All-Region and Spencer won Player of the Year in a playoff. I think it was a huge boost for our team." Pitt said. This was Chesnee's first region title since 2002. Region I-2A is arguably the toughest golf region in the state and this is a huge accomplishment for the Eagles, "Toughest thing about Region is that Christ Church was ranked #1, we were #2, and St. Joe’s was #4. It’s a shame one of us had to be at home. It was us last year, we know the feeling." Pitt said. Jake Vaughn and Casey Britt had solid days for the Eagles. Vaughn finished two strokes shy of making All-Region. The Eagles are hoping to carry this momentum into the State Tournament after defeating the five time defending State Champions Christ Church, "It’s huge, giving us confidence going into State knowing we can play with and beat Christ Church. It’s going to take two days of strong golf to come away with the title, but I know we are capable." Coach Pitt said. The Chesnee Lady Eagles used a three run 4th inning and a great performance in the circle from Paige Scruggs to down the Gray Collegiate Lady War Eagles 3-2 to advance to the District III Championship game.
Paige Scruggs retired 14 consecutive batters to open the game. Scruggs scattered 4 hits over 7 innings of work and surrender two runs, one was unearned. Chesnee Head Coach Ashley Height was pleased with her young freshman, "those are some strong girls and we knew if they got the bat on the ball it was going to go. Paige did a good job of keeping the ball down, and hitting her spots. She did an incredible job keeping them off balance." Coach Height said. In the 4th inning, it was one of the youngest Lady Eagles starting things as off as 8th grader Hannah Henderson was hit by a pitch to start the inning and eventually came around to score on a Becca Watson RBI single. Two batters later Shenandoah Bishop added two more runs for the Lady Eagles with a two-out two RBI single to give the Lady Eagles a 3-0 lead through four innings of play. The momentum of the big inning was huge for the Lady Eagles, "it was really nice to start off ahead, the last couple of games we have had to battle back and forth so it was nice to have a three run lead to play under." Coach Height said. Gray Collegiate managed to get within a run in the bottom of the 7th, but Paige Scruggs struck out Dallas Singleton to end the game. The Lady Eagles will travel to Cheraw on Wednesday at 5pm in the District Championship. The Lady Eagles must win twice to advance. |
Our Sponsors
. If you would like to join us as a sponsor please contact us at: [email protected]
Archives
October 2023
Categories |