BUNDY: Top 10 sports stories in Pee Dee

Each year, we here in the Morning News sports department put our heads together to come up with what we believe are the Pee Dee’s top 10 sports stories from the previous year.

We use simple criteria: Nominations must consist of a story that takes place in the Pee Dee or involves a person directly tied to the Pee Dee. From there, we compile a list and rank it.

Like every year, the past 12 months had plenty of significant stories, which makes the task of putting together a Top 10 challenging.

Here’s what we’ve come up with for 2011: 

10. Palmetto Tennis Center opens.

The Dr. Eddie Floyd Florence Tennis Center opens off North Cashua Drive in July. The $6 million, 30-court complex is open to the public and can accommodate tournaments in one location that had to be spread over multiple locations in the past.

City officials estimate the complex will host 6-10 tournaments a year, bringing in upward of $2 million. The complex hosts the USTA-SC Mixed Doubles State Championships in the adult and senior divisions in 2011 and is slated to host that tournament through 2013. 

9. Regan Smith wins at Darlington.

A relatively unknown Regan Smith holds off Carl Edwards to win the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway in May. The night ends with a post-race fight between Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick.

Smith doesn’t win again in 2011 and finishes 26th in the points standings. 

8. Coastal Carolina reassigns David Bennett.

Following a 7-4 season, Coastal Carolina reassigns football coach David Bennett to another position inside the school’s athletic department.

Bennett, a Cheraw native, posts a 63-39 record in nine seasons at Coastal, but is 29-28 the last five seasons.

In December, Coastal replaces Bennett with Joe Moglia, a 62-year-old former CEO of TD Ameritrade who last held a paid college football coaching position in 1983 as a defensive coordinator at Dartmouth. 

7. Clemson wins ACC football championship.

With eight Pee Dee players on its roster, the Clemson Tigers claim their first Atlantic Coast Conference football championship since 1991 with a 38-10 over Virginia Tech in Charlotte in December.

Pee Dee players on Clemson’s roster include Jaron Brown (Cheraw), Malliciah Goodman (West Florence), Quandon Christian (Lake View), Phillip Price (Dillon Christian), B.J. Goodson (Lamar), Lateek Townsend (Marlboro County), Mansa Joseph (C.E. Murray) and Mario Marshall (Chesterfield).

The Tigers will play West Virginia in the Orange Bowl in Miami on Wednesday. 

6. USC wins college World Series.

With Florence’s John Taylor being a big cog in the USC bullpen, the Gamecocks win their second straight college baseball World Series.

Taylor, a right-hander, sets a single-season USC record for appearances with 50 and posts an 8-1 record with a 1.41 earned run average. In 71 2/3 innings, Taylor gives up 45 hits, walks 28 and strikes out 63. In June, Taylor is drafted by the Seattle Mariners in the 22nd round of the Major League Baseball draft. 

5. FMU baseball has stellar season.

The Francis Marion Patriots baseball team goes 41-16, equaling a school record for wins. The Patriots also win the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship with an 18-6 mark and are ranked ninth in the final NCAA Division II poll.

The Patriots will open a new stadium Feb. 4 against Limestone and will host a game with the USC Gamecocks on April 11. 

4. West Florence football wins region.

The West Florence Knights fight through multiple injuries at quarterback to win the Region 6-4A championship. The region title is the Knights’ first in 4A and first since winning the region 6-3A title in 2003.

The Knights go 7-5 overall, 4-1 in region play and lose in the first round of the state playoffs. West Florence coach Trey Woodberry is named Morning News coach of the year and Class 4A lower state coach of the year. 

3. Yarborough, Hanburger, DeBerry elected to Halls.

Former NASCAR driver Cale Yarborough, former Washington Redskins linebacker Chris Hanburger and former college football coach Fisher DeBerry are elected to their respective sport’s hall of fames.

Yarborough, a Sardis native, won 83 races and was the first driver to win three straight NASCAR championships when he won three in a row from 1976-78. In 1977, he was the first NASCAR driver to appear on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

In a 14-year NFL career from 1965-1978, Hanburger — who was born in Fort Bragg, N.C., and now lives in Darlington — was named to nine pro bowls and played in the 1972 Super Bowl against the Miami Dolphins.

DeBerry, a native of Cheraw who coached at Bennettsville and McCleneghan high schools, is the all-time winningest coach at a service academy. In 23 seasons at Air Force from 1984-2006, he won 169 games and had 17 winning seasons.

Florence native Pearl Moore was also inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011. Her election to that hall was No. 5 on our Top 10 list in 2010. 

2. Dillon, Lamar football endure deaths.

Within an eight-month span from March through November, Lamar assistant football coach Clint Boyd, Lamar football player Tyquan Brantley and Dillon football player Jake David die.

In March, Boyd — son of Lamar coach J.R. Boyd — dies in a single-car crash. In July, Brantley dies from sickle cell crisis. In November, David dies in a single-car crash.

Dillon posts a 12-1 record and reaches the Class 2A lower state championship game, while Lamar goes 5-6 and loses in the first round of the Class A playoffs. 

1. Lyles reaches major leagues.

Hartsville native Jordan Lyles, a right-handed pitcher, makes his major-league debut with the Houston Astros against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

In seven innings, Lyles gives up five hits, two runs, walks none and strikes out four while getting a no decision.

Lyles finishes the season with a 2-8 record and a 5.36 earned run average. In 20 games, he makes 15 starts, works 94 innings, gives up 107 hits, walks 26 and strikes out 67.

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So there you have it. The Top 10 Pee Dee sports stories from 2011. Thanks for taking us into your homes each day. We wish you all the best in sports and in life in 2012.