Gray Collegiate soccer to play for state title. Midlands baseball teams win districts
Kevin Heise will get another shot to win a state championship.
Heise’s Gray Collegiate boys soccer team dominated its way to a 6-0 win over Greer Middle College on Monday in the Class 2A Upper State championship.
The War Eagles will face sister school Oceanside Collegiate in the title game on Saturday afternoon at Irmo High School. Kickoff will be around 2 p.m.
This is Gray’s second straight championship game appearance. The War Eagles lost to Christ Church 2-0 last year.
Heise, one of the state’s winningest coaches with more than 500 victories, is still searching for his first state title. This will be his fifth time coaching in the championship.
Senior Jonathan Coonce had a hat trick for the War Eagles, who led 3-0 at halftime. Zachary Hart, Ethan Mohundro and Mason Bohn also had goals for Gray.
Hart and Mohundro each had an assist and Brendan Marks had two.
James Island 2, AC Flora 0
Gray Dangerfield and Ben McQueen had goals in the first 25 minutes to help James Island past the Falcons in the Class 4A Lower State championship.
James Island will play Riverside for the 4A title on Friday at Irmo High School. The Falcons end the season at 17-3. A.C. Flora was looking for its third championship appearance.
Baseball
A roundup of Monday’s high school baseball playoff action:
——Class 5A——
Lexington 9, Clover 3: Landon Knight homered and drove in four runs as the Wildcats won the District 2 championship. Lexington is at TL Hanna on Thursday. Patrick Evans also homered and had three RBIs.
River Bluff 6, Stratford 4: Beau Hollins and Weston Grant each had two RBIs as the Gators won the District 6 championship. River Bluff is at Wando in the first round of Lower State playoffs on Thursday.
Blythewood 3, Spartanburg 2: The Bengals scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth and held on to win the District 4 championship. Landon Penfield was 2-for-3 with an RBI and also picked up the save in relief of Harrison Collins. Blythewood hosts Boiling Springs in the Upper State playoffs on Thursday.
Berkeley 2-3, Chapin 1-2: The defending state champions defeated Chapin twice to win the District 7 championship. Jackson Proctor hit the go-ahead homer in the top of the seventh for Berkeley.
TL Hanna 6, Dutch Fork 3: TL Hanna used a five-run sixth inning to win the District 1 title.
——Class 4A——
West Florence 6, A.C. Flora 3: The Knights scored 6 runs over the final three innings to eliminate the Falcons.
——Class 3A——
Brookland-Cayce 3, Waccamaw 2: The Bearcats won their second straight game in their final at-bat as Dylan McInchok had a walk-off single to win the District 5 title. B-C hosts Dreher in the Lower State playoffs on Thursday. BJ Etheredge pitched a complete-game for B-C.
Dreher 4, Georgetown 3: Matt Moore had the go-ahead double in the bottom of the fifth to help the Blue Devils win the District 8 championship. Moore also got the win in relief and Nolan Cook had the save. Jack Painter added two RBI for Dreher.
Beaufort 7, Gilbert 6: Mason Connelly had a two-run walk-off single to help the Eagles win the District 6 championship.
——Class 2A——
Gray Collegiate 6, Batesburg-Leesville 4: The War Eagles scored five runs in the fifth inning to win the District 4 championship. Gray will face Strom Thurmond on Thursday in the Upper State playoffs. Kendrick Wright drove in two runs.
Pelion 2, Abbeville 1: Noah Pegues pitched a complete game and struck out 10 as the Panthers won the District 1 championship. Pelion hosts Mid-Carolina in the Upper State playoffs on Thursday.
Mid-Carolina 5, Fox Creek 0: Jace Martin struck out 10 over six innings as the Rebels won the District 2 championship. Michael Lindler homered and CJ Turner had three hits for M-C.
North Central 4, Woodland 2: The Knights captured their first district championship and will travel to top-ranked Oceanside Collegiate in the Lower State playoffs on Thursday.
——SCISA Class 4A——
Pinewood Prep 5, Cardinal Newman 4: Pinewood rallied from a 3-0 deficit to eliminate the Cardinals in the SCISA 4A playoffs. Pinewood is at Hammond on Wednesday.
Wilson Hall 10, Ben Lippen 7: Mikah Conner hit a 3-run homer as Ben Lippen’s season ended.
——SCISA Class A——
Richard Winn 13, WW King 0: Mason Struck threw a five-inning no-hitter and had four RBI as the Eagles won Game 1 of their best-of-three semifinal series. Rob Wilson homered and added four RBI for RW.
Softball
——Class 5A——
Blythewood 9, Boiling Springs 4: Lauren Hardy pitched a complete-game and also homered as the Bengals advanced to the District 2 championship game and will travel to Lexington on Wednesday.
Dutch Fork 7, TL Hanna 2: Layla Peppers picked up the win and drove in two as the Silver Foxes advanced to the District 1 championship game and will play at Dorman on Wednesday.
Conway 7, White Knoll 3: The Timberwolves’ season ended on the road at Conway.
——Class 3A——
Gilbert 3, Darlington 2: Izabella Adams pitched a complete game and Indians moved on to the District 5 championship game at Loris.
Camden 6, Hanahan 2: The Bulldogs moved on to the District 7 championship game against Dillon.
Swansea 11, Crestwood 1: The Tigers stayed alive in the postseason and will play Aynor for the District 8 title on Wednesday.
High School Golf
A roundup of Monday’s qualifying tournaments:
Class 5A Lower State: Lexington shot a 298 and won the Lower State championship by three shots over West Ashley. Lexington’s Dylan Leicht (-3) was the medalist and River Bluff finished third to qualify for next week’s state championship.
Class 5A Upper State: Chapin’s Chase Cline and Nation Ford’s Ben Mills each shot 68s to earn co-medalist honors. Chapin finished third as a team to qualify for the state tournament. Boiling Springs finished first. John Thompson and Zeke Spivey of Spring Valley, and Grant Paolucci of Blythewood qualified as individuals.
Class 4A Lower State: Defending state champion AC Flora rolled to the Lower State championship by 43 shots on Monday. ACF’s Thomas Lamar and Adam Hunt co-medalists with 67s.
Class 3A Lower State: Camden, Gilbert, Dreher and Brookland-Cayce finished in the top eight to qualify for the state tournament. Beaufort finished first. Swansea’s James Pollard qualified as an individual.
Girls Soccer
——SCISA 4A——
Hammond 6, Ashley Hall 1: Logan Rivers scored three goals and Briana Pinasco had two as the Skyhawks advanced to the semifinals.
Cardinal Newman 3, First Baptist 2: The Cardinals scored twice in the second half to advance in the SCISA playoffs.
This story was originally published May 9, 2023 at 1:05 AM.
