This week's Hometown Heroes

Following are updates and statistics through March 7 of former Columbia-area high school athletes now competing at the collegiate level:

Baseball

Charleston Southern junior first baseman Nick Chimners (Richland Northeast): Batting .356 (16-for-45) with eight runs, nine RBIs, one home run for Buccaneers (4-7).

The Citadel sophomore infielder David Greene (Richland Northeast): Batting .350 (14-for-40) with two runs, eight RBIs, one home run for Bulldogs (7-3).

The Citadel junior pitcher Matt Talley (Sumter): Has 1-1 record, 5.17 ERA with 13 strikeouts, 14 hits allowed, eight bases on balls in 15 2/3 innings, three starts.

The Citadel junior infielder Legare Jones (Blythewood): Batting .250 (6-for-24) with four runs, two RBIs, one home run.

South Carolina sophomore outfielder Adam Matthews (White Knoll): Batting .258 (8-for-31) with three runs, five RBIs, one home run for Gamecocks (6-4).

South Carolina freshman pitcher Matt Price (Sumter): Has 1-0 record, 6.00 ERA with five strikeouts, four hits allowed, one base on balls in three innings, three relief appearances.

Erskine junior catcher Shawn Glover (Richland Northeast): Batting .243 (9-for-37) with 10 runs, four RBIs, one home run for Flying Fleet (16-5, 6-2 in Conference Carolinas).

Erskine senior outfielder Bryan Fogle (Lexington): Batting .347 (26-for-75) with 29 runs, 25 RBIs, four home runs.

Francis Marion senior outfielder Alex Lee (Blythewood): Batting .326 (21-for-64) with 17 runs, 14 RBIs, three home runs for Patriots (13-4, 1-2 in Peach Belt Conference).

Francis Marion junior infielder/pitcher Tyler Cappelman (Sumter): Batting .286 (12-for-42) with 10 runs, four RBIs. Has 0-0 record, 18.00 ERA in two innings of relief.

Newberry College junior infielder-pitcher Chris Love (Richland Northeast): Batting .348 (24-for-69) with 12 runs, 16 RBIs, two home runs for Newberry (10-10, 1-5 in SAC).

Newberry junior outfielder-catcher Sanchez Gartman (Newberry): Batting .267 (19-for-69), nine runs, 12 RBIs, three home runs.

Newberry College junior outfielder Pierce Labrador (Lexington): Batting .333 (24-for-72) with 16 runs, 10 RBIs.

North Greenville sophomore pitcher/outfielder Derek Fulmer (Pelion): Batting .255 (13-for-51) with 15 runs, 10 RBIs, two home runs for Crusaders (12-2, 4-1).

Presbyterian senior pitcher/outfielder Jesse Harmon (Newberry): Has 0-2 record, 8.40 ERA with 19 strikeouts, 17 hits allowed, six bases on balls in 16 innings, five appearances, three starts for Blue Hose (2-9).

Presbyterian sophomore catcher Tony Micklon (Sumter): Batting .207 (6-for-29) with four runs, one RBI.

South Carolina-Aiken sophomore second baseman/shortstop Nick Aranas (Lexington): Batting .365 (23-for-63) with 11 runs, 18 RBIs, three home runs for Pacers (11-7, 5-1 in Peach Belt Conference).

South Carolina-Aiken freshman shortstop/second baseman Stephen Carmon (Camden): Batting. .365 (23-for-63) with 16 runs, 14 RBIs, two home runs.

South Carolina-Aiken junior pitcher Steven Spire (Swansea): Has 1-1 record, 6.62 ERA with eight strikeouts, 30 hits allowed, seven bases on balls in five starts.

Winthrop senior outfielder-pitcher Tyler McBride (Ridge View): Batting .267 (8-for-30) with six runs, four RBIs for Eagles (7-3).

Winthrop sophomore outfielder-second baseman Sean Sullivan (A.C. Flora): Batting .308 (11-for-36) with nine runs, six RBIs.

Winthrop junior pitcher Robert Lake (Mid-Carolina): Has 2-1 record with 3.12 ERA, 12 strikeouts, 15 hits allowed, five bases on balls in 17 1/3 innings, three starts.

Men's Basketball

Auburn senior forward Lucas Hargrove (Richland Northeast): Averaging 12.9 points, 6.9 rebounds for Tigers (15-16, 6-10 in SEC).

Florida Southern College senior forward John Thompson (White Knoll): Named Sunshine State Conference Player of the Year. Averaging 16.3 points, 8.9 rebounds for Moccasins (25-4).

Armstrong Atlantic State senior forward Marquise Duvall (Spring Valley): Averaged 4.6 points, 4.6 rebounds for Pirates (12-16, 7-11 in Peach Belt Conference).

Belmont Abbey sophomore center Kyle Phillips (White Knoll): Averaged 12.5 points, 5.3 rebounds for Crusaders (13-13, 8-11 in Conference Carolinas).

Shenandoah senior guard Kenny Robertson (Fairfield Central): Named to USA South Conference All-Tournament team after 29 points, 14 rebounds in two games. Averaged 10.2 points, 5.8 rebounds with 105 assists, five 3-pointers for Hornets (12-17).

South Carolina-Aiken junior guard Byron Faison (Sumter Crestwood): Named MVP of Peach Belt Conference Tournament after scoring 19 points in 65-60 win over Monteballo in title game. Averaging 13.1 points, 2.5 rebounds with 58 3-pointers for Pacers (19-10).

South Carolina-Aiken sophomore guard Sterling Council (Camden): Averaging 7.1 points, 2.2 rebounds.

Women's Basketball

Charleston Southern sophomore forward LeChell Rush (Lee Central): SCored career-high 20 points in 53-41 win over Presbyterian College. Averaging 7.6 points, 5.3 rebounds for Buccaneers (16-12, 8-7 in Big South).

College of Charleston senior center Deidra Jones (Dutch Fork): Averaging 9.4 points, 7.1 rebounds for Cougars (19-11).

Duke senior guard/forward Keturah Jackson (Dreher): One of 16 players named to All-ACC Academic Team. Helped Blue Devils capture ACC Tournament title. Averaging 5.7 points, 3.5 rebounds for Blue Devils (27-5).

IUPUI sophomore guard Janna Eichelberger (Airport): Averaged 5.6 points, 5.1 rebounds for Jaguars (3-26, 2-16 in Summit Conference).

Miami freshman guard Morgan Stroman (Lower Richland): Named to All-ACC Academic Team. Averaging 7.3 points, 5.9 rebounds for Hurricanes (17-13, 4-10 in ACC).

Morehead State senior guard Tiffanie Stephens (Richland Northeast): Averaging 7.7 points with 47 3-pointers for Eagles (22-10, 14-4 in Ohio Valley Conference).

South Carolina State sophomore guard Whitney Wiley (Spring Valley): Averaging 14.5 points, 3.1 rebounds with 23 3 -pointers for Bulldogs (11-18, 5-11 in MEAC).

Women's Gymnastics

North Carolina junior Karli Jones (Franklin-Jones): Finished 14th in vault (9.600), 12th in floor exercise (9.600) in 197.550-194-225 loss to Florida.

Softball

South Carolina junior catcher P.J. Fulmer (Spring Valley): Batting .213 (10-for-47) with four runs, 10 RBIs for Gamecocks (9-8).

Erskine senior pitcher Lauren Gunter (Batesburg-Leesville): Has 2-3 record, 4.99 ERA with 12 strikeouts, 34 hits allowed, 11 bases on balls for Flying Fleet (7-13).

Georgia College & State University senior infielder Kayla Smith (Brookland-Cayce): Batting .269 (14-for-52) with nine runs, 12 RBIs for Bobcats (6-13, 1-1 in Peach Belt).

Lander freshman utility player Casey Corbitt (Brookland-Cayce): Batting .200 (11-for-55) with six runs, nine RBIs for Bearcats (9-13, 1-5).

Men's Track & Field

George Mason sophomore Rachaunn Ruffin (Spring Valley): Finished fourth in 60 dash at ECAC Indoor Championships in 6.37.

If you know of other former Columbia-area high school athletes competing at the collegiate level or have a comment or suggestion, please email Hometown.Heroes@ymail.com.