Chesterfield seeks to get over baseball hump

The Chesterfield Rams have enjoyed a lot of athletic success recently, and it doesn’t just pertain to the football field.

But the Rams on the diamond are still in search of the one thing their gridiron counterparts have — a state championship ring.

Chesterfield has been the Class A upper state representative each of the last two seasons, and with 10 returning players, the Rams appear poised for a third trip.

“I don’t really have to say too much to (the team), they know what are goals are,” first-year Rams coach Chris Lloyd said. “But we have to focus on the region first. We played 11 playoff games last year, eight at home, and I think that was a big part of our success.”

Lloyd, who takes over for Jimmy Weatherford, inherits a team that returns its top two starting pitchers.

Kelley Butler went 11-3 with a 1.75 earned run average in ’09 and had 114 strikeouts in 84 innings pitched. Seth Truesdale was 7-3 with a 2.65 ERA.

“They’re our two workhorses,” Lloyd said. “We know what they bring to the table every time out, we just have to try and not overwork them this year.

“We’ve got six pitchers we’re confident can throw strikes. They’re not going to overpower anyone, but they can make batters put the ball in play.”

Putting the ball in play will put pressure on the Rams’ young defense, however. Chesterfield has new starters at third base, shortstop, second base and right field.

“It’s just going to take time and experience,” Lloyd said. “Once the young guys get through about half the season, I think they’ll settle in and we’ll be a really competitive team.”

A team the Rams might face down the line is Johnsonville. The Flashes were a game away from playing for the state title before falling to Bamberg-Ehrhardt.

But Scott Cook’s squad returns 13 players, including 10 seniors, the most notable of which being Morning News Player of the Year Taylor Strickland.

Strickland batted .554 with 23 RBI and 16 stolen bases last season, and most notably, never struck out in 91 at bats.

“He’s our table-setter on offense, and we’ll use him as a starting pitcher this year, too,” Cook said. “He and Josh (Powell) were big bats for us last season and we’ll need them again.”

The Flashes have six returning starters, but lost their three top pitchers from last season. Johnsonville will rely on some of its top athletes to take the mound along with a few new faces.

“It’s kind of going to be pitching by committee,” Scott said. “But I think we have a lot of pitching depth, if not experience. We have eight or nine guys that can give us an inning or two.

“We’ll be solid up the middle and at the plate, so if we can get consistent pitching, we’ll be very competitive.”

In Class 2A, Marion turned some heads last year by making it into the lower state playoffs thanks in large part to stellar pitching, which the Swamp Foxes will have again this season.

In Class 3A, Lake City looks to rebound from a disappointing ’09 season. The Panthers lost key starters Reggie Weatherford and Shane Miles, but return perennial all-state candidates Shon Carson and Sheldon Robinson.

The Hartsville Red Foxes look to make another postseason run in Class 4A with returning starters Brandon Beans, Will Lucas, Adam Peterson and Seth Lowe.

But the Red Foxes will have to replace staff ace Hunter Privette and leadoff man Jent Jones.