As rain poured down off and on Friday night the Chesnee softball team fought to the very last inning but fell just short in their bid to advance to the state championship as Legion Collegiate defeated the Eagles 6-4 in the decisive third game at Broome High School.
Chesnee jumped out to the first lead of the game when Paige Scruggs worked a leadoff walk on four straight pitches before advancing to second base on a single to centerfield by Maddie Handy. The Eagles took a 1-0 lead on the very next at-bat when Scruggs raced home from second base on a single to centerfield by Shenandoah Bishop. In the bottom of the first inning Legion Collegiate took the lead at 3-1 which all started with one out in the inning. Lexi Wilkinson started the run with an infield single for the Lancers before moving to third base on a double to right field by Taylor Watson. Wilkinson tied the game at 1-1 when she came home on a single to left field by Joei Owens. Owens was followed to the plate by Gabi Wilson who reached base after being hit by a pitch to load the bases. With the bases loaded Reagan Smith hit a double to centerfield scoring both Watson and Owens to give the Lancers a 3-1 lead at the end of the first inning after the next two batters both popped up to the catcher. Chesnee responded in the top of the second inning with two outs when Eva Vaca reached base on a double to right centerfield before coming around to score on the next at-bat when Paige Scruggs hit a double over the centerfielder's head to narrow the Legion Collegiate lead to 3-2 over the Eagles. Legion Collegiate was unable to score in the bottom of the second but did strike again in the bottom of the third inning. After working a walk to start the inning and then stealing second base the Lancers Gabi Wilson made the score 4-2 on a double to left field by Reagan Smith, as she recorded the third RBI of the game. Smith along with Riley Burton, who reached base after being hit by a pitch, both scored on a single to right field by Malloree Sexton to give the Lancers a 6-2 lead in the third inning with only one out. With the bases still loaded in the third inning, Chesnee third baseman Maddie Handy made a great play with a catch on a line drive before diving to third base for a double play to get the Eagles out of the inning with no more damage. As the rain picked up over the fourth through sixth innings, including a short delay, neither team could get much traction to make a change on the scoreboard. When the game hit the top of the seventh inning the Eagles needed four runs to keep the game going and they done their best to get there. Ali Scruggs opened the inning by working a walk before moving to second base when Maddie Handy worked a walk of her own with one out in the inning. Shenandoah Bishop followed Handy with a double to left centerfield which scored both Scruggs from second base and Handy from first base to cut the Lancers lead to 6-4. Bishop moved to third base on a groundout on the next at-bat but was left there after a flyout on the next at-bat as the Eagles went down swinging but were unable to get any closer. Bishop led the Eagles bats as she recorded three RBIs on a two for four night at the plate with a double and a single. Eva Vaca also had a good night at the plate as she went three for three with a double and two singles. For seven Chesnee senior players, Sam Carver, Paige Scruggs, Ali Scruggs, Callie Burns, Mattie Martin, Eva Vaca, and Shenandoah Bishop, Friday night was their final game in an Eagles uniform as they graduated this past Thursday night. While the Eagles say goodbye to the seven seniors they will also look to bounce back next season as they return four starters from this year's team. After falling behind early in the first inning the Chesnee softball team used a fourth inning rally to push the Upper State championship series to a decisive third game with a 4-3 home victory over Legion Collegiate on Wednesday night.
"I knew at practice yesterday they were ready to play," said Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle. "I shook Coach Cooke's hand after the game and we both agreed these were two excellent teams and we're just blessed to be the one to come out on top tonight." Legion Collegiate jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning after Aleah Roy singled to the outfield before coming around to score on a Morgan Langley double giving the Lancers the first lead of the game at 1-0. Two batters later Reagan Smith blasted a two run home run to left centerfield to put the Lancers up 3-0 after the top of the first inning. In the top of the second the Lancers were attempting to add to their lead but a beautiful diving catch by Chesnee's Skylar Barrett robbed them of that opportunity. "Tonight was such a big night but you never know what's going to happen," said Barrett. "You just have to be prepared when the moment comes to make a play. I'm glad I was able to step up in a pressure situation for my team." After a pair of singles in the third inning, the second coming with two outs, Eagles pitcher Sam Carver was able to strike out the next batter to strand a runner in scoring position holding the deficit at three midway through three innings of play. The Eagle's bats finally came alive in the bottom of the fourth inning as Kyleigh Thompson worked a lead off walk followed by Eva Vaca who reached base on an attempted fielder's choice, as the Lancers tried to get Thompson at second base but she reached base before the throw arrived. Vaca was inserted into the lineup after not starting the previous two games but the senior stepped up when the Eagles needed her as she reached base in both plate appearances while also scoring a run. "She has done this all season," said Fogle. "She has kept working in the cage and took advantage of her opportunity tonight. She is a team first player and did what she needed to do." Paige Scruggs followed Vaca with a single while an error on the play allowed Thompson to plate the Eagles first run of the game. Sam Carver helped her own cause with a single to drive home Vaca as Maddie Handy followed with a double to score Scruggs tying the game at 3-3. Shenandoah Bishop gave the Eagles their first lead of the game on a single to left field that scored Carver giving Chesnee a 4-3 lead. "The characteristic I love the most about this team is there is no panic," said Fogle. "Our focus was to get outs defensively and get on base offensively." After giving up consecutive one out singles in the top of the fourth inning Carver was able to get a liner to third baseman Maddie Handy and followed that up with a strikeout to escape the inning unscathed. Carver continued her strong work in the top of the fifth and sixth innings as she worked around a leadoff single in the fifth while she sent the Lancers down in order in the sixth inning. The Lancers started the top of the seventh inning with back to back singles to give themselves some early momentum. The momentum seemed to stall with the next batter as a Lancer attempted to bunt the runners over but the ball was ruled to have hit the batter once she had left the box for the first out. Hannah Henderson recorded out number two as she drifted out to shallow left field to catch a pop up before Maddie Handy recorded the final out when she fielded a grounder cleanly and dove to touch third base ahead of the runner coming from second base for the force out. The Eagles played a tremendous game defensively as they weren't charged with an error and got great plays from both Maddie Handy and Skylar Barrett. "I'm extremely pleased with Maddie and Skylar's defense tonight," said Fogle. "They are two of our younger players as Skylar is a freshman and Maddie is a sophomore. These underclassmen are playing hard on both sides of the ball." Sam Carver had an excellent performance in the circle as she allowed three runs, with none coming over her final six innings of work, as she picked up the win while striking out five batters. "I was a little worried after the first inning but I knew I had to regroup and buckle down for all the seniors out here," said Carver. "I knew my teammates would have my back at the plate and behind me defensively." Chesnee will face the Lancers again on Friday in the final game of the Upper State championship series at Broome High School at 7:00 PM. The Eagles will be the designated road team based on a coin flip after game two. "Anytime you're in a situation like this you have to show up and be ready," said Carver. "It's a fifty-fifty game that anyone can win." In the first game of the 2A Upper State series playoff game the Chesnee softball team fell 8-7 to Legion Academy in a road game that was a back and forth contest.
In the bottom of the first inning, after a pair of back to back singles along with a stolen base led to runners at second and third base with no outs, Paige Scruggs slammed the door on the Lancers as she struck out the next batter and got two harmless infield pop ups to end the frame. Legion Academy went back to work in the second inning as they loaded the bases and Malloree Sexton took advantage with a two RBI single. An additional run scored on a error to make it 3-0 after two innings of play. Chesnee responded in the top of the fifth inning with five runs which started when Ali Scruggs lined a double to the left center field gap to clear the bases by scoring all three runners on base. Sam Carver and Shenandoah Bishop each added RBI singles to make the score 5-3 after four and a half innings of play. The Eagles got a highlight reel diving grab to help send the Lancers down in order in the bottom of the fourth inning as Skylar Barrett caught a liner over the shoulder on a dive in left field with her back to home plate that robbed what was looking to be a double for Legion Academy. Malloree Sexton struck again for the Lancers in the bottom of the fifth inning as she hit her second two RBI single of the game to tie the game. Shenandoah Bishop and Maddie Handy each got two out singles in the top of the seventh inning before Bishop later scored on a single from Hannah Henderson for the Eagles to retake a 6-5 lead. Legion's Gabi Wilson drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 6-6 and send the game to extra innings. Ali Scruggs delivered for the Eagles in the top of the eighth inning with a home run to grab a 7-6 lead despite a Lancer outfielder almost making an amazing catch at the outfield wall. Trinity Gibson tied the game for the Lancers in the bottom of the eighth inning on a wild pitch before Legion's Morgan Langley drove in Malloree Sexton to score the winning run. The two teams will meet again on Wednesday as the Eagles look to even the series at home with the first pitch scheduled for 7:00 PM. On Monday morning, two days after winning her second state championship this year, Jessa Beach one of the most decorated Chesnee athletes signed to continue her athletic career at USC-Upstate next season.
Beach will be continuing her success with track and field just a few miles down the road with the Spartans next season. She said that the location of the school along with a connection with the coach were key factors in making it the place for her but that finally making the decision of where to go was a relief off her shoulders. "Being able to sign these papers today takes a load off my shoulders," said Beach. "The competitiveness of the athletes there and the connection with the coach that I have along with it just being close to home were key factors in my decision. The coach from the start told me he didn't care where I went, even though he preferred Upstate, but he was supportive of wherever I chose to go and gave me a non-bias opinion of what I should be looking for at schools. It felt like having a conversation with my grandfather." Beach ends her career at Chesnee with a pretty impressive resume as she walks away with many postseason awards this year. She was named All-Region in volleyball, basketball, and track this past season along with being named All-State in track. She also was a key part of the state championship volleyball team this fall while also winning a state championship in discuss at the state championship meet on Saturday. While Beach is looking forward to her next step she also says that she will miss her Chesnee family. "I'm going to miss this place," said Beach. "I'm going to miss my coaches and teammates. It's home and I'll miss it but I'll be back." Beach becomes the fifth Chesnee athlete in the last week to sign to continue their athletic careers at the college level next season. Last Monday four more Eagles signed to with four different colleges as Nyquille O'Fair signed with Newberry College for basketball, Brayden Sprinkle signed with Gardner-Webb University for football, Cole Davis signed with Limestone College for baseball, and Kymiah Blair signed with Berea College for track and field. From early on in the day at the 2A state track meet it was apparent it was going to be a pretty good day for the Eagles as they won two state championships within the first hour of the meet,
The Chesnee girls started the day off coming in third place of the 4x100m relay event just over a second behind first and second place teams Woodland and Batesburg-Leesville. The Eagles first state championship of the day came in the 4x100m boys relay as the team of Bryson Thompson, Kijymie Valentine, Malikhi Franklin, and Ian Harris. Jesse Beach delivered the schools second state championship in the girls discuss with a distance of 116’ to defeat Landrum’s Hannah Mabry who finished second and Liberty’s Savannah Welborn. Beach also finished in third place in the shot put to eventual state champion Savannah Welborn. With the victory in discuss that gives Beach her second state championship in her senior season, to go along with her volleyball state championship in November, and she says she couldn’t think of a better way to finish out her final year with the Eagles. ”It feels good to be a state champion,” said Beach. “I definitely didn’t throw like I wanted to today but I’m very grateful I could come here and have this be my last meet. It’s been a great senior year and I’m very grateful for our programs at Chesnee that carried me through this thing.” Kymiah Blair came home with a time of 26.01 to finish third in the 200m girls event while picking up fourth place finishes in both the 100m and 400m events. Corey Seay finished in fifth place of the boys discuss with a distance of 123’11” while also coming home with an eighth place finish in the shot put event. The Chesnee girls finished sixth out of twenty-six teams while the boys team finished in fourteenth out of twenty-eight teams. Shenandoah Bishop dropped a single into right field to bring home Paige Scruggs on Friday night to give the Chesnee softball team a 5-4 win over Crescent sending the Eagles to the AA Upper State championship series on Monday.
"This feels amazing,” said Chesnee coach Tripp Fogle. “I'm happy for our girls, our coaches, and very happy for our community as they gave us a lot of support tonight. We wanted this one really bad." Prior to the game winning hit, Bishop made an outstanding plays in the field as well that started in the first inning when Crescent's Jenna Davis hit a one out single before later advancing to third base with still one out. The Tigers got a pop up but a beautiful diving grab by Bishop followed by a quick throw in held the runner allowing the Eagles to escape unscathed. "I think it was a big momentum swing for us early in the game,” said Bishop. “It allowed us to keep them from scoring a run." Paige Scruggs hit a leadoff double in the bottom of the first inning before later scoring on a single from Sam Carver to give the Eagles an early 1-0 lead. Carver followed that up with a shutdown inning in the circle in the top of the second. A pair of back to back two out hits led to Crescent's first run in the top of the third inning to tie it up at 1-1 off a Jenna Davis single. The Tigers added two more runs in the their half of the sixth inning off the bats of Emma Johnson and Jaylin Hart to put the Tigers up 3-1. After some miscues on the base paths by the Eagles, they were looking for a spark to get them back in the game and that came off the bat of Kyleigh Thompson who delivered a thunderous three run homer to centerfield to put Eagles in front 4-3. "It felt like a hit I've never had before coming off the bat,” said Thompson. “After I hit it, it was a great feeling seeing all my teammates there at home plate to celebrate." "We knew it was coming,” said Fogle. “She was destroying the ball in the cage before the game. She’s really starting to get in a rhythm." After another hit by Davis put a Crescent runner on with one out, she later scored on a single by Emma Johnson to tie the game at 4-4. Paige Scruggs ripped her third double of the night to lead off the Eagle's half of the seventh inning. After walks by Ali Scruggs and Mattie Martin loaded the bases with one out the biggest swing of the night came off the bat of Shenandoah Bishop who hit a deep fly to right field that fell in for a single to plate the winning run. "It was a pressure situation and I knew I had to come through for my team,” said Bishop. “It felt great to see the ball hit the grass as I knew we were going to Upper State." Paige Scruggs not only had a big night at the plate with three doubles but she also picked up the win in the circle as she pitched the final three innings for the Eagles. Mattie Martin had an outstanding night at the plate as she was one for one but reached all four times thanks to a trio of walks. Coach Fogle was quick to give credit to his assistants for the accomplishments of the team this season. He is assisted by Chris Stacey, Billy Steadman, Chase Carver, and Billy Cash along with Pennie Stacey who is the team's administrator. "They help us all over the field,” said Fogle. “They never complain and make sure we are all on the same page. They hold our girls accountable and our girls love each and every one of them. I'm extremely blessed to have them." The Eagles will travel to Cherry Park in Rock Hill, SC to take on Legion Collegiate on Monday in the opening round of the Upper State championship series with a 7:00 PM first pitch. Chesnee Basketball Summer CampDates: June 1-4, 2021 Location: Chesnee High School Time: 9:00 AM- 12:00 Noon Open To: Girls & Boys; Rising 2nd -9th grade; Open to all kids in the area, not just kids in the District 2 area More Info: Camp is for all skill levels and will aim to work on the fundamentals. There will be various contests and awards. For questions or more information, Coach Andy Pitt [email protected] or 864-426-4035. You can also download the camp brochure below.
Chesnee Volleyball CampDate: June 21-24, 2021 Location: Chesnee High School Time: 9 AM - 12:00 Noon Open To: Boys and Girls; Rising 3rd - 8th graders Price: Before June 14: $50; After June 14: $60; Sibling Discount $80 for both More Info: The four days of camp will cater to kids just starting to learn the game of volleyball and the kids are more advanced. The camp will stress sportsmanship, fundamentals, team play, and doing well in school. There will be many drills run each day with a HEAVY emphasis on fundamentals. There will be breaks during the day, campers need to bring a snack and water bottle each day.
The Chesnee softball team used a solid pitching performance along with a red hot offense to defeat Abbeville 10-0 in six innings to advance to the District I-AA championship game on Friday.
"I'm pleased and glad to see their effort be rewarded," said Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle. "We had some hard hit balls early but Abbeville made the plays. I kept hoping some would fall and eventually they did." Paige Scruggs controlled the Panthers bats as she had a strong performance from the pitching circle striking out eleven in the game including nine of the first eleven batters. With the six shutout innings on Monday night, the Eagles have pitched thirty-two consecutive shutout innings and four consecutive shutout games. "My rise ball was working well tonight," said Scruggs. "I'd get ahead in the count and throw it up in the zone where they would chase it." "She was hitting her spots and throwing strikes," said Fogle about Scruggs performance. "She got there and battled while doing what she was supposed to do. Hannah (Henderson) did a good job calling the game behind the plate." The Eagles for the second game in a row got a first inning triple that led to the game's first run, this time coming off the bat of Paige Scruggs who later scored on an Ali Scruggs single. Chesnee started to pull away in the third inning as Sam Carver started the rally with a two out double before scoring on a Mattie Martin double. Martin scored soon after coming home when Shenandoah Bishop blasted her second home run of the season, this one a two run shot to make it 4-0 after three innings of play. "When it left my bat it felt good," said Bishop. "We knew going into the inning that we needed to score more runs and those three runs helped us to start to pull away." After both Kyleigh Thompson and Emily Pruett reached to lead off the bottom of the fourth inning, Paige Scruggs drove in a run on a single before Ali Scruggs followed with her second RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly giving the Eagles a 6-0 lead. In the bottom of the fifth inning, the Eagles added on three more runs as Emily Pruett drove in a run with a single while Paige Scruggs followed with a bases loaded walk and Ali Scruggs drove in a run on a fielder's choice to push the lead to 9-0. It took just two batters in the bottom half of the sixth inning to end the game as Mattie Martin hit a leadoff single before scoring on Shenandoah Bishop's game ending single. The Eagles had four players reach base three times as Mattie Handy was a perfect two for two with a pair of singles and a walk while Paige Scruggs was two for three with a triple and walk to go along with two RBIs. Sam Carver went two of three with a double and a walk while Shenandoah Bishop went three for four with a homerun and three RBIs. Chesnee will be back at home on Friday against an opponent to be determined as the game time is scheduled for 5:00 PM. If the Eagles win once they advance to the Upper State Championship Series and they must lose twice to be eliminated. On Saturday the Chesnee track and field team had an impressive day at the Upper State track championships held at Liberty High School as the Eagles qualified for the State Championship in eleven different events.
"It was a good day for our team," said Chesnee head track coach James Davis. "KJ Valentine and Kymiah Blair had good days and my relay teams really impressed me today. Jessa had another impressive day as well and I'm just proud of all of them." On the girls side of the meet the Chesnee 4x100 relay team (NyNy Proctor, Kymiah Blair, Bethany Cheeks, Tracy Taylor, and Aleiyha Crittenden) finished in second place just a second behind Batesburg-Leesville who won the event. Kymiah Blair qualified for the state championship in three separate individual events with a second place finish in the 200m along with third place finishes in both the 100m and 400m events. Jessa Beach was named Upper State champion in the discuss event with a distance of 128'10" as she was the only person to throw over 100' in the competition, including breaking her own personal record twice in the event. "Upper State champion has a good ring to it," said Beach. "It means my hard work is paying off and now we have one more competition so hopefully we can finish it with a bang." She also finished second in the shot put event with a distance of 35'10" finishing only behind Liberty's Savannah Welborn who won with a distance of 40'05." On the boys side of the competition the 4x100 relay team (Bryson Thompson, Kijymie Valentine, Malikhi Franklin, and Ian Harris) won the Upper State championship with a time of 43.41, five tenths of a second ahead of second place. The 4x400 relay team (Bryson Thompson, Malikhi Franklin, Ian Harris, Kijymie Valentine, Andrew Chisholm, and Terrell Kesler) also qualified for the state championship after coming home with a third place finish at upper state. Kijymie Valentine also won another Upper State championship of his own in the 400m event with a time of 51.70, finishing a tenth of a second ahead of second place. The Eagles Corey Seay qualified for the state championship in two separate events as well taking a second place finish in discuss and a fourth place finish in the shot put. "I told our kids coming in today we wanted to just focus and give everything we have," said Davis. "This was a step to go to the big dance and I want them to leave it all out on the track. Now our kids are going to get a chance to go and compete for a ring and I'm really excited for them." The Eagles will now compete in the state championship events from May 21-22 at Lower Richland High School in Columbia, SC. Sometimes all it takes is one run and that was the case for the Chesnee softball team on Friday night as they used that one run along with an excellent pitching performance in the circle from Sam Carver to pull out a 1-0 win over the Saluda Tigers in the opening round of the 2A playoffs.
"Our defense was a ten tonight and Sam did a tremendous job in the circle," said Chesnee head coach Tripp Fogle. "Shenandoah and Skylar had two good defensive plays in the outfield and the infield was solid." Sam Carver pitched a gem from the circle as she struck out twelve Tigers hitters while allowing just two hits. "I had several pitches working and my coaches did a good job of mixing up the pitches to keep them off balance," said Carver. "It also feels good to know even if I made a mistake that my defense is backing me up and will get the out." Carver's pitching and solid defense from her outfield and infield helped preserve the shutout while the Eagles didn't allow a runner to reach second base on Friday night. Shenandoah Bishop came up with a big play in top of the sixth inning as a Saluda hitter hit what appeared to be a double to the fence but hustle along with a strong arm allowed Bishop to throw out the batter before she could reach second base. "It was a tight game and I knew we couldn't allow a runner to reach scoring position," said Bishop. "When we got the out it gave us the momentum to finish off the game." The Eagles scored their lone run in the bottom of the first inning when Ali Scruggs hit a triple and later scored on a Sam Carver single to put Chesnee up 1-0 after one inning. Chesnee will host Abbeville on Monday with a scheduled first pitch at 6:00 PM. "I'm excited for our girls to play another one at home," said Fogle about his team's opportunity to host another playoff game. "I think it's good for the community along with the little girls who want to play softball to come up here and be able watch our girls play in big games." |
Our Sponsors
. If you would like to join us as a sponsor please contact us at: [email protected]
Archives
October 2023
Categories |