SUNDAY JULY 7TH, 2019
From staff reports
Q: What was your No. 1 goal coming into spring football practice and did you achieve it?
A: Honestly, we kind of took a different approach this year. Being a small school, and having the extended year we did in basketball and baseball, and having so many kids involved in so many sports, I kind of came in Day 1 and said, 'We're going to have some fun this year.' So what we did, we came in with a different mindset, focused mainly on conditioning more than actual practice stuff. Did a lot of fun things for the kids to kind of get their minds back on football and get them motivated to do a little work, but have some fun doing it. I actually think it really kind of worked for us. We had some kids come in on Day 1, and they were just honestly burnt out. And rightfully so. They were burnt out, and they just had a fun experience. We got to see some things we needed to see as coaches, and they got to have a little fun while getting some work in and getting their minds back on football. I think it went great.
Q: Were there any individuals who stood out to you?
A: Wells Robinson was one of our top guys defensively last year. He was coming off an ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) injury last year. He's one that looks...
MONDAY JULY 8TH, 2019
By J. Scott Sewell | jscott@theitem.com
MANNING -- Rain washed away nearly the entire South Carolina American Legion Juniors lower state playoff slate on Monday evening. The Manning-Santee junior team was able to get through three and a half innings of its game against West Florence Green before a severe thunderstorm halted the action in the bottom of the fourth inning with Manning leading 4-1.
Manning scored twice in the first inning without even recording a base hit. Bryce Acord, Keaton Wildes, and Austin Geddings all drew walks...
TUESDAY JULY 9TH, 2019
From staff reports
Q: What was your No. 1 goal coming into spring football practice and did you achieve it?
A: I think our No. 1 goal this year was just to solidify depth because we did lose some seniors a year ago, but we did bring a lot of people back. Our biggest question mark is, how are we going to shore up both sides of the football? And I think that we were able to do that by finding depth from the other side. So we'll have a lot of kids that are going to help us both ways heading into the fall. So, they may not be a starter offensively, but they will still be able to provide us some depth defensively, and vice versa. That was our biggest goal, just making sure that we could get a lot of our guys that could get coached up on both sides of the football.
Q: Were there any individuals who stood out to you?
A: Our quarterback, him really stepping in, which is Jaquaze Myers. I think he was...
WEDNESDAY JULY 10TH, 2019
From staff reports
Q: What was your No. 1 goal entering spring practice and did you accomplish that?
A: I was hoping to get to know everybody's name. I did not accomplish that; I'm still learning names. You know, just to see what we're dealing with. it's a different group of guys, and just to see what they can and cannot do. You know, and as we go along with summer workouts, we're still learning those things.
Q: Who was an individual who shined for you?
A: You know, honestly, I was not looking for that. You know, the shortness, the short period we had to get to know each other, the biggest thing was to get to know each other. And when you're trying to introduce a new system...
THURSDAY JULY 11TH, 2019
By J. Scott Sewell | jscott@theitem.com
Chalk one up for the unpredictable nature of summer weather in the south.
The Sumter Junior P-15’s took game one of their American Legion playoff series over Hartsville after a rain delay, and a separate prolonged lightning delay resulted in Hartsville deciding to forfeit the game. Sumter led 10-2 in the bottom of the fourth when the game was halted for the second time.
The Junior P-15’s got off to a sloppy start, striking out four times in the first two innings. A miscue in the field ultimately gifted Hartsville the first run of the game when...
FRIDAY JULY 12TH, 2019
By Dennis Brunson | dennis@theitem.com
DALZELL – After suffering a tough loss in the opening game of its American Legion baseball first-round state playoffs series against Horry Post 111, Dalzell-Shaw Post 175 came out with the bats on fire in Game 2 on Thursday.
The Jets had multiple hits in their first five at-bats, finishing with 13 hits, and pitcher Michael Love made it stand up as they came away with a 7-4 triumph at Thomas Sumter Academy’s General Field.
“I think this was easily the best all-around game we’ve played this season,” said D-S head coach Jamey Lisenby, whose team improved to 8-14 on the season. “We hit the ball well, we got...
SATURDAY JUNE 13TH, 2019
By J. Scott Sewell | jscott@theitem.com
MANNING -- Baseball is a fickle game.
All it took was two bad innings over the course of two games to end Manning-Santee Post 68’s season. A night after surrendering a 7-3 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning to Lexington Post 7, Manning gave up four runs in the top of the second inning and fell 4-1. Lexington will now advance to the second round of the American Legion baseball playoffs to face Florence Post 1.
“It was tough. The guys played hard,” said Manning coach Matt Mays. “I can’t complain about what they did. I thought we threw the ball well, just had a couple of bad breaks.”
Manning pitchers allowed...
