PDA's Lady Golden Eagles have their eyes focused on state championship

By Chris Lane

Correspondent

In softball, Wes Daniels’ squad will try to have a repeat performance of it’s run to a third place finish state championship tournament finish ... but with one difference.

“Their goal is to win it all this year,” Daniels said.

Not too lofty a goal for a team rich in talent and experience, but also laden with youth.

The team sports only two seniors in catcher Alex Pittman and shortstop Alex Powers. Three of the team’s four juniors will see time in the infield with Rachel Hester at first base, Katherine Rogers at second, and Christen Bucy splitting time between pitcher and third base.

Junior  Kelsey Dozier will patrol right field.

Splitting time at third and pitcher with Bucy will be sophomore Summer Collins  along with fellow 10th grader Caroline Shelley in center.

Freshmen Jeffre Rogers and Kelsey Rogers will divide time in left field and Daleigh Huggins, another ninth grader, will see time in the outfield and at first base.

The lone eighth grader on the team is Lee Pittman, who will play catcher behind her sister and also play outfield.

Coach Daniels and assistant Eddie Pittman have to be pleased with what they have seen so far as the Golden Eagles have broken out of the gate with a 6-1 record, including a runner-up finish at a very competitive Colleton Prep Tournament.

 The wins included a 9-0 shutout of Thomas Heyward, with Bucy pitching a no-hitter and Hester leading the offense with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI.

After a loss to Colleton Prep, the team got an extra inning win, 9-8, over Academic Magnet, as Hester went 4 for 5 at the plate and Powers was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI. Jeffre Rogers, Collins and Shelley also had two hits apiece.

 Pee Dee also scored a 6-3 win over defending state champion, Carolina, as Collins got the win. They would avenge the Colleton Prep loss with a 5-4 win over the Warhawks.

The girls will play today at Williamsburg, starting at 6 p.m. and then will host Thomas Sumter Thursday with first pitch scheduled for 5 p.m.

PDA Baseball Preview:

Golden Eagles rotation key to playoff push

By Chris Lane

Correspondent

In his second year as head coach, Hugh Collins finally got Pee Dee Academy baseball over the hump.

After missing out on the playoffs for 16 consecutive seasons, the Golden Eagles won their way into the tournament in dramatic fashion a year ago.

Collins’ team finished in second place in the region this past year.

Although their exit was a fast one, Collins and his squad are looking  forward to building on the experience.

“We are very excited,” Collins said after this past week’s game against Florence Christian. “We are pretty deep in pitching with 4 solid arms starting.”

The four starters are juniors Kevin Thomas, Dennis Moore, and Charlie Fincannon, along with senior Jimmy Sanders.

“Where the key lies, is in our hitting,” Collins added. “We are very sporadic with our bats. If those can pick up and we can cut down on the strikeouts and put it in play, we can do something.”

With so many players returning from a successful squad, Collins and Pee Dee faithful are hopeful for a bright future. Chris Jackson, catcher Rand Waller and Ed Stephens round out the seniors on the squad depended upon for leadership.

The team is loaded with nine juniors. Moore, Thomas and Fincannon will be on the mound or playing infield, while Jamie Estes, Brett Hester, Ethan Jacobs and Cole Thomas will also see time between the bases. Cody Gibson and Matthew Gleason will be in the outfield.

The squad is rounded out by freshmen, Storm Page, who came up big for the Golden Eagles at the end of last year as they made their run to the playoffs.

The head coach maintains a focus on defense, where the pitchers will need support from the fielders as much as generating runs.

This past week, Pee Dee took out Trinity 13-3 behind Thomas' 3-hit pitching performance. Also during the week in  a double-header against Florence Christian, the Golden Eagles suffered an 8-1 setback. However, they rebounded strong, tying the nightcap, 6-6, in a game suspended by darkness.

In the second game, Estes came up with 2 hits and 2 RBI’s  as the bats finally came around.

Pee Dee's record stands at 1-1-1 as they head into a big week against two  of the top AA teams in the state in Williamsburg and Carolina.