Blythewood Online 691

Category: Sports

  • BHS coach accused of recruiting RVHS players

    Some R2 Board Members Say
    They Were Not Told About Violations

    BLYTHEWOOD – An investigation aired last week by WIS-TV reported that Blythewood High School Head Coach Jason Seidel violated Richland School District Two’s “position on recruiting” by attempting to spirit away several football players from other Richland Two schools, including three from Ridge View High School, to play football for Blythewood High School.

    Seidel

    While numerous recruiting violations by Seidel reportedly occurred between mid-December, 2018 and the end of January, 2019, that information was not publicly acknowledged by the District until it was contacted on Aug. 14 by WIS which aired the story on Aug. 16.

    At least one Richland Two School Board member said she was not made aware of Seidel’s recruiting violations by administration until the day before the story appeared on WIS.

    In a statement issued last week after being contacted by WIS, Chief Communications Officer for the District, Libby Roof, reported that the District has since taken “appropriate personnel action with the coach for violations of the District’s position on recruiting.”

    The WIS report stated, however, that Ridge View High School officials were not satisfied with how the District handled the matter and, in March, 2019, appealed the District’s actions. While the District reported additional meetings with Ridge View officials and a meeting with the S.C. High School League, no further actions by the District were reported.

    Roof stated in an email to The Voice on Monday that, “at this time, the District considers the matter to be closed.”

    In a statement released last week, Roof gave a timeline of what the District knew about the reported recruitment violations and when they learned about them.

    “In January, 2019, Ridge View’s principal [Brenda Mack-Foxworth] reported possible recruitment of current football players by a Blythewood High football coach and a parent,” the District’s report stated.

    WIS reported last week that numerous tweets were exchanged between Seidel and Ridge View players during January, 2019.

    As reported by WIS, “In an exchange with Player A, on Jan. 13, Seidel stated, ‘The quicker you guys get here, the more I can do with you in the weight room.’ Seidel added, ‘Let the guys know that.’ ”

    The complete list of tweets is posted on the WIS website.

    A school district administrator conducted an investigation, according to the District’s statement, met with Seidel “and took appropriate personnel action with the coach for violations of the district’s position on recruiting,” according to the statement released by the District.

    The District’s Chief Administrative Services Officer met with Mack-Foxworth and Ridge View’s athletic director to explain that the District had informed the S.C. High School League of the possible recruitment violations, but that “SCHSL informed the district that due to the fact that the students who were contacted did not transfer, no violation with SCHSL occurred,” according to the District statement.

    Mack-Foxworth and Ridge View’s athletic director were also informed that the District had taken “appropriate personnel actions” against Seidel in response to the results of their its investigation.

    According to reports, however, Ridge View administrators were not satisfied with how Richland Two handled the matter and, in March, 2019, Mack-Foxworth submitted an appeal to the Richland Two Assistant Superintendent for middle schools and high schools to request the collection of evidence against Seidel be submitted to the SCHSL, and to verify that the consequences for the Blythewood High coach “reflect the time and resources spent in investigating” the possible recruitment violation.

    In response to Mack-Foxworth’s appeal, district administrators met with the SCHSL on April 12 “and shared the written evidence of the situation.” Again, the SCHSL confirmed that “since the students who were contacted did not transfer, no violation with SCHSL occurred. Any consequences to the coach would be left to the District.”

    The District officials will not disclose the specific actions taken against Seidel, saying, “personnel matters are confidential” and cannot be shared with Ridge View administrators.

    “Richland School District Two takes recruitment violations seriously and believes that everyone must abide by the spirit of the rule in order to remain fair, consistent and honorable throughout all of our schools’ athletic programs,” according to the District’s statement.

    The District Two athletics manual provides the following regarding recruiting: “Recruiting of prospective students for athletic purposes is a serious ethical violation of the philosophy and ideals of interscholastic athletics and will be treated as such. For purposes of this section, recruiting is defined as an attempt by an individual(s) or group associated with a school to entice a student to attend or to transfer to a school for athletic purposes through the exertion of undue influence or any special treatment.”

    The District disclosed that, at the beginning of each school year, all coaches in the district must review the district’s Athletic Staff Operations Manual and sign a form stating that they agree to read the manual and adhere to all rules and regulations.

    Seidel’s Blythewood Bengals face off against the Ridge View Blazers Friday night in the season opener at 7:30 in the District Two stadium that is located at Blythewood High School but shared by both schools.

  • Back to Back Champs

    WINNSBORO – Fairfield County Council recognized the Fairfield County Parks and Recreation Department’s 12U and 8U SC RBI State Champion baseball teams at Monday night’s meeting. Russell Price, far right, Director of the Recreation Department, introduced the 12U team and Head Coach Chuck Raley, Asst. Coaches Jerry Douglas and Eric White and the 8U team and Head Coach Tro Hazen and Asst. Coaches Ab Hazen and Larry Johnson. This is the second year in a row the two teams have won state championships. Representing the department with Russell were Athletic Coordinator Lucas Vance, back left, and Athletic Specialist Larry Perry, left of Russell.

  • Bengals fall to Dutch Fork in title game

    Blythewood Principal Matthew Sherman accepts the SCHSL 5A State Runner Up trophy as the Bengals, Athletic Director Barry Mizzell and R2 Superintendent Dr. Baron Davis look on.

    COLUMBIA – For the better part of a season, the Blythewood baseball team made a living out of guts and pulling victory from defeat.

    In the deciding game of the best-of-3 5A state championship series Friday night at the Columbia Fireflies’ Segra Park, the Bengals fell one round of the bases short of clinching a state title.

    John Lanier (21) tries to ignite a rally in the bottom of the seventh.

    With Blythewood down 2-1 with two out in the bottom of the seventh, John Lanier caught hold of a Sam Hatcher fastball and drove it deep into rightfield. Dutch Fork’s Brice Alexander was in a position to end the game right then, but Blythewood stayed alive when the ball ricocheted off the top of the webbing on the outfielder’s glove.

    Lanier raced for second and easily made it.

    Brady Beasley stepped in the batter’s box, and worked up a 2-2 count. When Hatcher delivered another offspeed pitch, Beasley swung on with the intent of driving a ball far enough to get the tying run across the plate.

    He missed, and so too did the Bengals, who fell 2-1.

    “We did a good job managing it, keeping within striking distance,” said Blythewood head coach Banks Faulkner, whose team excels at bunting and base running, with an occasional reach for extra bases. “We did have a lot of opportunities and the things we pride ourselves on we weren’t very good at tonight, and it’s a hard lesson.”

    Brady Beasley (11)

    In the three games against the Silver Foxes (24-10), Blythewood accounted for just four runs to Dutch Fork’s nine. Even so, the Bengals (25-10) stayed close. Only once—in the ninth inning of the first game of the series they won 2-1 on May 11—could they find a game-winning base-running and hitting combination.

    Blythewood fell 6-1 at Dutch Fork Wednesday to force Friday night’s game. Bengals and Silver Foxes fans filled the bowl of the 9,000-plus capacity stadium and lounged in the picnic areas, hanging onto strikeouts and a couple of pushes home.

    While Blythewood came up short in its final game of the season, Faulkner said the younger players who came up a circle of the bases short of winning a state title will have the resolve to work toward that end—if they can be leaders.

    “We’ve got a really good group coming back but we graduate some key leaders, Faulkner said. “The key to next year’s team will be to find leadership. We’ve got some really good players, but that’s a lot more, and that was what was so special about this team.”

    Added Faulkner, “Their resolve and their leadership and the way they bounced back, they were a pleasure to coach, probably my favorite team I’ve ever coached.”

    For Dutch Fork, which had to bounce back from the losers’ bracket in its district tournament and in the lower state tournament, the moment was as sweet as it was bitter for the Bengals.

    “We’re living the dream tonight,” Silver Foxes head coach Casey Waites said. “You got two teams who are known for hitting a baseball. We’re living the dream with these guys right here. We’d expected to do this a long time ago. Our guys bringing a state championship to Dutch Fork baseball love it, love it.”

    Harrison Lambert (13) scores to tie the game at 1 in the bottom of the second.

    Dutch Fork took a 1-0 lead in the second when Noah Jackson scored on a Lucas’ 2-out wild pitch to Brice Alexander. Alexander later singled, but Jalon McDuffie grounded out to end the inning.

    Blythewood got that run back in the bottom of the second. Harrison Lambert legged out an infield hit and Nate Hinson reached on an error, and Zach Bailes walked to load the bases with two out. As Lucas batted, Lambert scored on a botched pickoff attempt with the bases loaded.

    Dutch Fork got another run in the fourth inning when Jackson hit a 1-out double into the left centerfield gap and moved to third on a passed ball. Crosby Jones plated Jackson with a single to right.

    That run turned out to be all the Silver Foxes needed.

    Lucas walked Lance Fuhr to put runners at first and second with one out, but he recovered and struck out Alexander and got McDuffie to ground out to John Lanier at first.

    The Blythewood bats lay silent for the next three innings, as Webb and the Silver Foxes retired nine straight batters from the second to the fifth innings. Lucas reached on a walk and Lanier singled with two out in the bottom of the fifth, which signaled the end of Webb’s night.

    When Sam Hatcher came on the mound in relief, he went up 0-2 on Michael Gregory, then got him to hit a short grounder that second baseman Noah Jackson scooped up and fired to Ryan Helms at first for the third out.

    Josh Cowan (6) took the mound in the seventh.

    Blythewood finally caught a break when Brady Beasley led off the sixth with a single, Jansen Stokes bunted him over to second, and Lambert’s one-out single to right put runners at first and third.

    A go-ahead inning was not to be for the Bengals, as Nate Hinson struck out and Josh Cowan ended the inning on an infield pop-up.

    “Ice in his veins, his pitches,” Waites said of Henry, who with the Silver Foxes defense snuffed out three potential rallies. “He doesn’t try to overpower people, he throws his curveball, his changeup, threw a couple of fastballs, awesome job.”

    Thus, Dutch Fork came into the seventh with its 2-1 lead intact. In the top of that inning Bengals catcher Josh Cowan took over on the mound for reliever Kevin Steelman. Cowan got Jay Metts and Ty Olenchuk to fly out. He hit Hugh Ryan, but Ryan Helms grounded out to set up Blythewood’s last effort.

    “They fought till the last out,” Faulkner said. “I told them I was proud of them and I love them. Sometimes the game is cruel and the pain will take a while, but we’ve gotten the program back the way it should be. We’ll win a state championship at Blythewood, and when we do, it’s gonna be because of this game.”

    DUTCH FORK 2, BLYTHEWOOD 1

    DUTCH FORK – 0-1-0-1-0-0-0 – 2, 4, 1

    BLYTHEWOOD – 0-1-0-0-0-0-0 – 1, 6, 0

    WP: Doug Webb LP: Landon Lucas

    HITTERS: Dutch Fork – Noah Jackson 2-3, 2B. Blythewood – John Lanier 2-4, 2B.

  • Blythewood claims Game 1 of the 5A championship series

    Michael Gregory (12) scores from Zach Bailes’ walk-off single to give the Bengals the 2-1 win in the ninth. | Photos: Martha Ladd

    BLYTHEWOOD – Zach Bailes’ last hit in his home ballpark was a bouncer up the middle that barely made it to the outfield.

    For the Bengals, that little hit Bailes cracked with two out in the bottom of the ninth was the shot heard ’round the Midlands.

    Zach Bailes (7) was 2-5 on the night.

    Bailes hit a 1-0 pitch hard back to the mound, but neither relief pitcher Andrew Fulmer nor second baseman Noah Jackson could get a handle on it. As the ball bounced beyond second base, Michael Gregory easily made his way home to clinch a 2-1 Game One victory in the best-of-three series in the last game of the season at Bengals Field.

    “It was the ninth inning and rain was coming, I just figured we may as well go home,” Bailes said. “Rain was coming, I heard the thunder. I just did everything to get a hit there.”

    The play happened as Blythewood head coach Banks Faulkner signaled Gregory to go for home and for courtesy runner Mulukan Hass to break for second.

    “We were grasping for it there,” Faulkner said. “Michael Gregory does what he’s done all season. He comes up with a huge hit with two outs and we took a chance there—sort of who we are—we took a chance running them there, and it was just an incredible job by our guys finding a way to win.”

    The walk-off win erased a strong performance from Dutch Fork left-hander Sam Hatcher. Hatcher worked eight full innings, scattered six hits and struck out four. He threw 101 pitches and picked off or stranded eight Blythewood baserunners from the second through the sixth inning.

    “Hats off to their kid, I thought he competed,” Faulkner said. “He did a good job keeping us off balance. We just could not scratch a run there in the middle innings. It was almost a relief to get him off the mound and see a different arm.”

    Blythewood (26-8) travels to Dutch Fork (22-11) Tuesday at 7 for the second game. Winning Saturday obviously was advantageous for the Bengals, but the team knows the season isn’t finished.

    “It’s big,” Faulkner said about Saturday. “Anytime you win the first one, it’s huge. We like our position, but we know we’re going to go into a hornets’ nest Tuesday night against a really good team. We’ll face a really, really good arm and we’ve got our work cut out for us.”

    Bailes’ hit gave the win to closer Josh Cowan, his first of the year. Cowan came on in relief of starting pitcher Landon Lucas, who worked 7 1/3 innings and pitched five innings of no-hit ball after giving up Dutch Fork’s only run in the second. Cowan also no-hit the Silver Foxes over his 1 2/3 innings on the mound.

    Lucas and Cowan frustrated the Dutch Fork bats after the Silver Foxes got a run on Jay Metts’ sacrifice fly that scored Brice Alexander. After that play, the pitchers retired the next 22 batters.

    Landon Lucas (4) worked 7.2 innings on the mound in Game One, allowing only two hits and one run.

    “Landon kept it tight, pitched great the whole game, Josh came in and shut it down,” Bailes said about the pitchers holding off. “It was a great team effort, Mulukan running to second hard helped us, everyone before me getting on base helped.”

    Dutch Fork actually got to Lucas early, getting its first three batters, Ty Olenchuk, Hugh Ryan, and Brian Holmes to reach base with a walk, a single and an error, respectively.

    From there, Lucas stuck out Noah Jackson and Crosby Jones, then tossed Lance Fuhr’s shot back to the mound to first baseman John Lanier to get the third out.

    After putting Blythewood on the scoreboard with a solo home run in his team’s half of the first, Lucas gave up a hit to Alexander and saw Jaylen McDuffie reach on an error with nobody out. Metts drove a long fly ball out to centerfield for Nate Hinson to glove, and that enabled Alexander to tie the game at 1.

    Lucas then got Olenchuk to pop out and Ryan to ground out to retire the side.

    “It goes to my teammates making the plays,” Lucas said about his mound performance. “I didn’t make as many strikeouts as I would’ve liked, but they just hung in there and made the plays for me.”

    From the second inning onward, Dutch Fork had just one baserunner, Jones. Jones reached base on a catcher’s interference call with two out in the ninth.

    Cowan got Fuhr to hit into a fielder’s choice to retire the side in the ninth and set up Blythewood’s last offensive effort.

    With Fulmer on the mound to start the ninth, Dutch Fork got Brady Beasley and Jansen Stokes out in infield grounders. Gregory’s single to left gave the Bengals life though, and they leapt at their chance to clinch Game One.

    Cowan reached base on an infield error that brought Gregory over to third. With Hass taking the place of Cowan at first, the Bengals had the table set for Bailes, who delivered.

    “You know, the bats had to break eventually,” Faulkner said. “Thankfully for us we hit it in just the right spot and found a way to win.”

    Blythewood 2, Dutch Fork 1, 9 Innings

    Dutch Fork – 0-1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0 – 1, 2, 2

    Blythewood – 1-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-1 – 2, 8, 2

    WP: Josh Cowan (1-0) LP: Andrew Fulmer

    Hitters: Blythewood – Zach Bailes 2-5, GWRBI. Landon Lucas HR (7).

  • Eagles on the hunt for state title

    Cam Bass (18), Tyler Tanner (6), Luke Martin and assistant Coach Brent Silvia celebrate Monday’s walk-off win at the plate. | Photos: Martha Ladd

    WINNSBORO/EHRHARDT – Monday night’s matchup against Andrew Jackson Academy was one for the storybooks. Trailing the Confederates for almost the entire game, it looked to be a bleak ending for the Eagles in game one of the three-game SCISA 1A Semifinal series. In true hero fashion, sophomore Zack Taylor drove in the winning run with a walk-off double to give the Eagles the 4-3 win.

    It was a pitcher’s duel kind of night. After three scoreless innings, the Confederates took control of the game in the fourth on some key Eagle fielding errors, scoring two on passed ball. With a 2-0 lead, the Confederates looked to be in the driver’s seat.

    Luke Martin led off the bottom of the fourth with a single to right and scored off of Confederate fielding errors. The Eagles added two more base runners, but couldn’t plate any runs before ending the inning.

    The 2-1 score remained until the Eagles took the field for the top of the seventh. Richard Winn quickly got the first two Andrew Jackson batters out. Then, a Confederate runner reached first on a dropped third strike. A fielding error on the next at bat scored a run to put Andrew Jackson ahead 3-1 heading into the bottom of the frame.

    With one out looming, Hudson Wade singled on a ground ball to short that ignited the Eagles’ rally. Then, a strikeout left the Eagles with no outs to spare.

    Taylor’s seventh inning double was his 13th of the season.

    Martin reached first on an error by the shortstop, advancing Wade to second. Dru Caldwell reached base on an error from a fly to center that scored Wade and put Martin in scoring position. Brandon Miller followed with a line-drive single to center to plate Martin and tie the game at 3. Then Taylor blasted his sole hit of the night, a game-winning, walk-off double to left.

    Taylor picked up the win on the mound for the Eagles, facing 29 batters in seven innings of work. He struck out eleven, allowing only one hit and three runs.

    The Eagles took the 1-0 series advantage into Tuesday night’s rematch in Ehrhardt. The Eagles looked to be championship-ready. They took a decisive 5-1 win, punching their ticket to the title game and eliminating the Confederates from playoff contention.

    Game two started off in similar fashion with three scoreless innings, but this time the Eagles took the lead and never relinquished it.

    Austin Lancaster led off the fourth with a line drive double to right. Will Carvalho, courtesy runner for Lancaster, advanced to third when the Confederates made a fielding error from Jimmy McKeown’s ground to third. The Eagles loaded the bases with no outs when Hudson Wade was hit by a pitch. The next two Eagle batters followed with outs. Richard Winn looked to end the inning scoreless again until a shortstop error from Dru Caldwell’s grounder plated the Eagles’ first run of the night.

    The Eagles struck again in the top of the sixth. McKeown led off with a walk. Wade put McKeown on second with a fielder’s choice, and John Russell followed with a single, putting runners on first and third. Martin plated McKeown on a line-drive double to right and landed Russell in scoring position at third. Brandon Miller gave the Eagles a 4-0 advantage with a two-out single to left, scoring Russell and Martin.

    Andrew Jackson got on the board in the bottom of the sixth with a solo homerun to left, but a solid Richard Winn defense would not allow any more Confederate runs.

    The Eagles added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Cam Bass doubled to left, stole third and scored on a sacrifice fly to center from McKeown.

    Wade picked up his fifth win on the mound for the Eagles with the 5-1 victory. He pitched a complete game, allowing only three hits and one run against 25 batters.

    Martin and Lancaster each went 2-4 at the plate with a double.

    Richard Winn’s sweep of the Confederates places them in the SCISA 1A State Championship series against Dorchester beginning Monday. Game one of the three-game series will be played at Dorchester, and the Eagles will host game two at Billy Ladd field on Tuesday. The third game, if needed, will be played on Thursday at a neutral site to be determined.

    The Eagles look to repeat history as the baseball program claimed the SCISA 2A State Title in 2007 with a 2-0 sweep of Dorchester.

    MONDAY: RICHARD WINN 4, ANDREW JACKSON 3

    AJA – 0-0-0-2-0-0-1 – 3, 1, 6

    RWA – 0-0-0-1-0-0-3 – 4, 4, 4

    HITTING: RWA – 1B: Martin, Miller, Wade. 2B: Taylor. RBI: Miller, Taylor. AJA – 1B: Chen (1-3).

    WP – Taylor 7.0 IP, 1H, 3R, 0ER, 11K, 1BB (RWA). LP – Bryce 6.2 IP, 4H, 4R, 0ER, 6K, 3BB (AJA).

    TUESDAY: RICHARD WINN 5, ANDREW JACKSON 1

    RWA – 0-0-0-1-0-3-1 – 5, 8, 0

    AJA – 0-0-0-0-0-1-0 – 1, 3, 2

    HITTING: RWA – 1B: Martin, Miller, Lancaster, Wade, Russell. 2: Lancaster, Bass, Martin. RBIs: Martin, McKe- own, Miller(2). AJA – 1B: Bryce, Colyn. HR: Brunson. RBI: Brunson.

    WP – Wade 7.0 IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 1K, 1BB, 1HR (RWA). LP – Brunson 7.0 IP, 8H, 5R, 4ER, 3K, 1BB.

  • Bengals punch ticket to State

    Blythewood claims Upper State Championship with 3-0 shutout of J.L. Mann

    Michael Gregory went 2-2 at the plate with a double and triple. | Photos: Martha Ladd

    BLYTHEWOOD – Two freshman pitchers and two big hits from Michael Gregory and Landon Lucas were just what Blythewood needed Wednesday night.

    Davis Wright and Kevin Steelman combined for seven innings of shutout ball, Gregory tripled in a run in the third and Lucas hit a solo home run in the sixth, and the Bengals clinched their first upper state championship with a 3-0 victory over J.L. Mann.

    “Unbelievable,” head coach Banks Faulkner said of Wright and Steelman’s 4-hitter. “They’ve got unbelievable poise and composure. They’re very mature beyond their years and we’ve got all the confidence in the world in them.”

    Blythewood (25-8) will play Dutch Fork for the 5A state championship in a best-of-3 series. Game one will be at Blythewood Saturday at 7. Game two will be on the road for the Bengals Tuesday night. If necessary, the deciding game will be set at a neutral site Saturday.

    “This just another step in the journey,” Faulkner said. “One of our goals in the offseason was to win the last game we played, and to do that, it’s going to take an unbelievable effort.”

    “It’s been three long years”, Faulkner, who came to coach the program from Summerville in 2016, said. “When I got here this was such a young program that looked nothing like what I left. To see them get to this point has been a process, and we’ve had some guys that have been really committed to being great. It’s been gratifying to see them accomplish this after their hard work and dedication.”

    Freshman Davis Wright picked up the win for the Bengals.

    Wright, third in the team’s rotation, had six starts on the year, but he was still a little nervous in starting the upper state title game.

    “A little bit but once I got through the first inning I was good to go,” Wright said. “It means a lot, all the work we put in, my dad, my mom supported me, all my coaches believed in me. They called the pitches and I executed, and it worked out for us.”

    Gregory provided the run support in the second inning.

    Nate Hinson led off the inning with a double and moved to third after Josh Cowan walked.

    With two out, Gregory got to the plate and took a passed ball that enabled Hinson to score the first run. Gregory then lashed out a triple that easily scored Colton Harman, Cowan’s courtesy runner.

    “It’s crazy, Gregory said. “The top of our order wasn’t performing very well at the beginning of the game and I knew I had to get something started. I went up, not worried, just trying to get the job done. I got a runner in scoring position and found a way to make it work.”

    With two runs on the board, and later Lucas’ sixth-inning shot, Wright and Steelman made it work for them, too.

    “That’s huge,” Gregory said. “They are both so talented, just being freshman and being able to have the poise to go out and combine for seven innings and that’s a huge stage for them.”

    Wright worked a clean first inning. He gave up two hits in the second with one out before striking out two straight Patriots to get out of the jam. He got into trouble in the fourth inning but escaped a bases-loaded jam when Cody Nichols grounded into a fielder’s choice.

    “Throughout the season I’ve been put out for about four innings,” Wright said. “Coach knows what he’s doing and he made the right move.”

    Freshman Kevin Steelman (24)

    Steelman found out he would take the mound last weekend, when assistant coach Trey Dyson was playing in a local golf tournament with Steelman’s dad.

    “I was working there, and I went up to him and (Dyson) tossed me a baseball and told me to change my grips and stuff,” Steelman said. “He just told me to be ready because I would be playing on Wednesday.”

    When Davis finished up, he set the stage for Steelman.

    J.L. Mann’s Tomas Frick got on board with an error to lead off the inning, but Steelman got Reed Morrissey to hit into a 6-4-3 double play on the next at-bat. Ben Lumsden flied out in centerfield to end the inning.

    The right-hander struck out two in the sixth and two more in the seventh innings—generally the territory for closer Josh Cowan, the team’s starting catcher. Because High School League rules wouldn’t allow Cowan to catch in the nightcap of a doubleheader if he pitched in the first game, Faulkner opted for Steelman to stay on the mound for as long as possible.

    “The rule makes it difficult,” Faulkner said. “If we bring in Josh, and then things don’t happen to go our way, and we can’t use him (for the deciding game). It’s a really tough rule. We were prepared to go to Landon, not an ideal situation, but I felt like Kevin was in control of the game. We were gonna give him a base runner and just let him go.”

    Steelman’s three innings of no-hit ball evaporated Mann’s chance of a comeback.

    “It was crazy. It was scary.” Steelman said. “But I believed in my stuff and just went out there and did my job, threw strikes. My coaches are always building me up. Coach Dyson and Coach Faulkner they always believed in my stuff. I’ve been working on my changeup with Coach Dyson and it really paid off today.”

    Now the Bengals set their sights on winning their last game of the season. The team knows all about Coach Faulkner’s ups and downs with the team over the last three years, and Gregory said Blythewood will do all it can to go one series further.

    “He’s our coach,” Gregory said. “It doesn’t matter what happens, we all love him. It’s been three rough years, but we’re here.”

    Blythewood 3, J.L. Mann 0

    JLM – 0-0-0-0-0-0-0 – 0, 4, 0

    BHS – 0-2-0-0-0-1-X – 3, 4, 2

    WP: Davis Wright (6-2) LP: Freeman S: Kevin Steelman

    Hitters: J.L. Mann – Blythewood – Michael Gregory 2-2, 3B, 2B. Landon Lucas HR (6). Nate Hinson 2B.

  • Diamond Invitational underway

    Let The Games Begin – Blythewood Town Councilman Larry Griffin threw out the ceremonial first pitch of the South Carolina Diamond Invitational at BHS on Wednesday. | Martha Ladd

    BLYTHEWOOD – The Blythewood baseball team finished the Region 4-5A slate of games in strong fashion, with series sweeps over Irmo, Sumter, and Spring Valley, and taking two out of three games against Lugoff-Elgin.

    Now the Bengals set their sights on the South Carolina Diamond Invitational, which opened Wednesday.

    “We’re going to have some really good competition that’ll prepare us for what we see in the playoffs,” Blythewood head coach Banks Faulkner said. “We’ve got four games to keep figuring some things out, but we like our team. We’ve got some depth.”

    Blythewood (17-5, 11-1) is ranked third among the state’s 5A teams by the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association. The Bengals will meet No.1 Dorman,  Wren, and  Spartanburg, along with T.L. Hanna, along with area teams No.5 Chapin , No.9 Dutch Fork, , and Lexington.

    Landon Lucas leads the way for the Bengals at the plate with a .439 batting average, four home runs, seven doubles and 24 runs batted in.

    “It’s gonna be a good chance for us to see some new people, see some new competition,” Lucas said about the spring break tournament. “We’re looking forward to it.”

    John Lanier leads the team in homers with six, also has 24RBI, and has a team-high .570 on-base percentage. Zach Bailes is batting .419 with three doubles. Nate Hinson is batting .410 with seven doubles and 18 RBI.

    Lanier also is tops on the mound in wins with six, on top of a 0.36 earned-run average and 47 strikeouts. Lucas and Davis Wright have four wins apiece as pitchers.

    First pitch in the tournament comes at 11:30 a.m., when T.L. Hanna takes on Lexington Wednesday. Blythewood opens the invitational against Wren at 4 p.m. that day and will play Dorman at 8:30 that night.

    SC Diamond Invitational

    (Game times have been adjusted noting the possibility of inclement weather Friday.)

    Wednesday

    11:30 a.m.  – T.L. Hanna vs. LHS

    1:45 p.m. – Dutch Fork vs. Wren

    4:00 p.m. – Blythewood vs. Wren

    6:15 p.m.– Spartanburg vs. Chapin

    8:30 p.m. – Dorman vs. BHS

    10:45 p.m. – Dorman vs. Dutch Fork

    Thursday

    9:00 a.m. – LHS vs. Spartanburg

    11:15 a.m. – Lexington vs. Chapin

    1:30 p.m. – Chapin vs. T.L. Hanna,

    3:45 p.m. – Spartanburg vs. T.L. Hanna

    6:00 p.m. – Wren vs. Dorman

    8:15 p.m. – Dutch Fork vs. BHS

    Saturday

    10:00 a.m.– Fourth-place game (five innings)

    12:00 p.m.– Third-place game (five innings)

    2:00 p.m. – Consolation game (five innings)

    4:00 p.m. – Championship game

  • Bengals retire Sydney Burnsed’s Jersey

    BLYTHEWOOD – Sydney Burnsed’s softball sisters, friends and family came together at Blythewood High School on Friday to retire the former Bengal’s #6 softball jersey.

    The 2016 graduate of Blythewod High School died in a car accident in March 2018. As her parents unveiled a memorial sign to be hung on the fence of the softball field, there were hugs, tears and smiles of remembrance.

    Sydney was a four-year member of Blythewood’s softball team.

  • Yow wins March Madness cash

    BLYTHEWOOD – Joshua Yow, 15, of Blythewood has been named the winner of The Voice’s $200 March Madness Bracket Challenge. While no contest entry chose Virginia to win the Championship, Yow and one other entry, Yow’s neighbor Bobby Armentrout, placed Virginia in the Championship game.  To break the tie, Yow got 43 picks right and Armentrout was one pick short with 42.

    This was not Yow’s only Bracket Challenge win this year. He also won the Challenge at his dad’s place of business which he won last year as well.

    Asked if his picks were guided by his basketball expertise, Yow, a 6’ 3’’ Blythewood High School freshman, said he doesn’t play basketball. He attributes his win, instead, to “dumb luck” and a few bracket predictions he viewed online. So far those skills have paid off, winning three out of three Bracket Challenges.

    Yow said the $200 will come in handy.

    “I’ll probably pay off my cell phone with it,” he said.

    Aside from Yow and Armentrout, only four entries chose Virginia to play in the Final Four, and only one picked Texas Tech to make it to the semifinal round. No other entries chose Texas Tech or Virginia for the Championship bout.

    But never fear, March Madness maniacs, there’s always next year and the hope of an unbusted bracket.

  • Local Boykins shine

    John Beckworth’s Boykin, Riley, took the blue ribbon.

    CAMDEN – Blythewood and Winnsboro area dogs made a big splash in the Boykin Spaniel Society Retriever National Championship in Camden the next to last weekend in March, winning the Novice Championship, top Junior Handler and several Judges Awards of Merit (JAMs).

    Penny with the JAM win.

    John Beckworth of Blythewood won the Novice title in a field of 68 entries with his 5-year-old Boykin, Riley, and earned a JAM with his 2-year-old Boykin, Pennie.

    “I was as proud of her as I was of Riley,” Beckworth said. “She is a young dog that is showing a lot of promise. I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds for her.”

    The Novice event was a two-day elimination process with several land series and finishing with a water series held in a pond featuring a lot of overgrown brush and trees for the dogs to contend with during a retrieve, Beckworth said.

    “Ideally, you want the dog to swim to the bird, pick it up and swim directly back to you,” he said. “Riley was the only dog that actually swam to the bird and swam straight back to me.”

    Beckworth admitted he was somewhat surprised at Riley’s performance because he has not had extensive training.

    “He is a great dog, though. He loves to work and he has good marking skills. The only thing holding him back is me. I just don’t have the expertise to take him to the next level. But maybe one day I will try to get a little more formal training with him,” he said.

    “I guess that was just my day,” said Beckworth who has owned Boykins for more than 30 years.

    Nan Gaddy with her Boykin, Tucker

    One of the JAMs in the Novice Class was earned by Nan Gaddy’s Boykin, Tucker, despite some unexpected interference with his retrieve.

    “There were decoys in the water and the dogs had to swim through the decoys. My dog got tangled in one of the decoys and was pulling it. He got up on land, shook off the decoy, got back in the water and found the bird. He had a traveling companion,” Mrs. Gaddy said with a laugh, “but I was really proud of him.”

    Tucker has competed in two other trials so far and has already earned the Started Retriever Title, said Mrs. Gaddy, whose family has had Boykins since the 1960s.

    “My husband (Dr. Roger Gaddy, mayor of Winnsboro) had three Boykins when we met and Tucker is the second puppy I have got since then. I would like to get him to the point that I can compete with him up to the higher levels,” she said.

    “I think he is going to be a really nice dog. He has a lot of heart and he is a ball of fire.”

    Bill Crites, Junior Handler Blake Wooten, Dawn Crites with Hal

    Tucker came from a litter produced by Bill and Dawn Crites who have Lily Pad Boykins in Blythewood. Four from that litter earned JAMs at the national trial.

    “One of our dogs, Hal, a seven-year-old male, made it all the way through Novice with a Junior Handler,” Crites said. “At the end of the show Blake Wooten was awarded the Chairman’s Club for the highest scoring handler under 16. Blake’s dad is Allen Wooten, who operates Palmetto Gun Dogs in Rembert.”

    Crites, a member of the Boykin Spaniel Society Board of Directors and chairman of the National Championship for the past 15 years, said this year’s event had a record turnout with nearly 300 handlers from 14 states, some from as far away as Texas and Washington State.

    From left, Branch, Story and Ever