South Carolina baseball commits building special bond before playing for Gamecocks
Zander Buchan and Grant Loggins have created a special bond as high school teammates during their time with the A.C. Flora baseball team.
Buchan, the team’s starting catcher, has been behind the plate for most of Loggins’ starts on the mound the past two seasons. But their relationship won’t end when their time playing for the defending Class 4A champion Falcons is up. The two will be college teammates as well when they play for the South Carolina baseball team.
Buchan has signed with USC and is part of the Gamecocks’ 2022 signing class. Loggins, a high school junior, has been committed to USC since his freshman year.
“It has created a bond,” Buchan said last week at the Forest Acres Classic. “Me coming in last year, getting to catch him and getting used to him. I love catching him. His velocity has gone up and he is easy to catch. I’m loving it and we are both comfortable with each other.”
Buchan and his family moved from Illinois to South Carolina 2020, but his first season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, Buchan has established himself as the team’s top catcher and has blended in well with the team’s pitching staff, including Loggins.
“It is good going into college with someone that has already caught me,” Loggins said. “He catches the ball and keeps people off the bases and keeps my pitch count down. He takes control of the game and I don’t have to do anything except throw the ball to him.”
Buchan and Loggins are having big seasons for Flora, which is ranked No. 1 in the Class 4A S.C. Baseball Coaches poll and is looking for the school’s eighth state championship.
Buchan is hitting .300 with a pair of homers and eight RBIs. Loggins picked up his fifth win Tuesday against Lugoff-Elgin and is 5-0 with 36 strikeouts in 27 innings. He also plays in the infield on days he’s not pitching.
“He throws strikes and locates really well,” Buchan said of Loggins. “Ball moves a lot. He is good with it.”
The two aren’t the only sets of Midlands teammates committed to the Gamecocks. River Bluff junior outfielder Thomas Powell and sophomore infielder/pitcher Beau Hollins also verbally committed to play for USC last season.
Hollins is the son of former Major League Baseball player Dave Hollins, who played for the Gamecocks from 1985-87 and had 13 seasons in the majors.
“That’s my guy right there. He has been there through struggles on the field,” Hollins said of his father. “My dad and my uncle both went to USC. It was my dream school all along. As soon as I saw the facility and coach Kingston, I wanted to go there. I just loved that place and want to stay here.”
Powell grew up a Gamecocks fan and went to church with former Gamecock Adam Matthews. When Powell committed to USC last summer, one of the photos he posted to social media was a picture with Matthews in 2010 taken after USC won the first of back-to-back national championships.
Lexington’s Reese Marcum also is a USC commit and is having a strong season for the Wildcats, who began the week in first place in the Region 5-5A standings. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA this season. He has 49 strikeouts and 31.1 innings.
In-state Gamecocks baseball signees/commits
——2022——
Zander Buchan, C, AC Flora: Senior is hitting .300 with two homers and eight RBIs and has been walked 16 times in 65 plate appearances.
Adam Serwinowski, P, Eastside: Serwinowski is 1-1 with 26 strikeouts in 13.1 innings.
——2023——
Grant Loggins, P/INF, AC Flora: Junior is 5-0 with a 1.29 ERA and 36 strikeouts and four walks in 27 innings.
Reese Marcum, P, Lexington: Marcum is 3-2 with a 2.68 ERA this season. He has 49 strikeouts and 31.1 innings and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning on Tuesday night against Dutch Fork.
Thomas Powell, OF, River Bluff: Junior is hitting .339 with 20 RBI and eight doubles. He also is a standout for the Gators football team.
Xavier Pelzer, P, Legion Collegiate
——2024——
Carson Messina, P/INF, Summerville
Beau Hollins, P/INF, River Bluff: Sophomore is hitting .329 with four homers and 27 RBIs. On the mound, he is 5-2 with a 2.32 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 34 innings pitched.
Brady Jones, P, Broome: Jones has three saves and 16 strikeouts in six innings pitched this year. At the plate, he is hitting .273 with five RBIs.
Tyler June, INF, Laurence Manning: Hitting .342 with 24 runs scored and 12 stolen bases. Also has a .603 on-base percentage.
This story was originally published April 22, 2022 at 8:57 AM.
