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 Comments are closed.
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