The baseball team held its annual picnic at Saluda Shoals Park on Sunday, May 6^th. It was a beautiful day to get together and celebrate the season that had just ended. The families enjoyed some great wings from D’s Wings and all the fixings, as they say, courtesy of the baseball families.

The coaches recapped their season and handed out their awards after lunch. The awards were as follows:

Mr. Panther:      Samuel Reed (B-Team), Chandler Yoder (Junior Varsity) and Alex McKay (Varsity)

Silver Slugger:    Ethan Hucks (B-Team), Cameron Duke (Junior Varsity) and David Hucks (Varsity)

Golden Glove:   Seth Kirby and Samuel Reed (B-Team), Josh Quill (Junior Varsity) and Avery Blevins (Varsity)

CY Young:            Zane Kirby (B-Team), Landon Gay (Junior Varsity) and Micah West (Varsity)

There were eight first time lettermen on the varsity team. They were Micah West, Connor Shealy, David Hucks, Jonathan Sarazen, Drew McKay, Micaiah Hinkle, Zach Thurber and Samuel Leslie.

The team loses four seniors in 2018.

The first is Dan Beam. Dan is a two year participant in the PAC baseball program. He was primarily a pitcher for PAC but also logged time at second and in the outfield. He helped PAC win the 2017 State Championship and the 2017 Division #2 Championship at NACA. Dan was also instrumental in helping the Panthers take their fourth consecutive state championship in 2018, pitching an absolute gem in the state semi-finals. Dan got one pitching victory at the 2018 NACA tournament in helping the team to a second place finish in Division #2. Dan plans to attend Bob Jones University in the fall.

The second senior is Caleb Green. Caleb played two years at varsity and for three years on the junior varsity team. At varsity, he played third, shortstop and pitched. Caleb helped PAC win the 2017 State Championship and the 2017 Division #2 Championship at NACA. He had two critical hits and RBI’s in the 2018 State Championship game to help PAC win its fourth straight championship while batting .372 for the year. Caleb was the 2018 second team all-conference shortstop and was second on the team with twenty-nine assists. Caleb helped PAC to a second place finish in the NACA Division #2 tournament. Caleb plans to attend Charleston Southern in the fall to study Business.

The third is Alex McKay. He participated in Panther baseball for three years – one on Junior Varsity and two on Varsity. He played outfield and served as a courtesy runner when he was not in the starting line-up. He made himself into a very smart base runner and could be counted on to get whatever bases that were there for the taking. Alex is very fast which helped him in his base running but it also helped him in the outfield on defense. He could cover large swaths of outfield real estate and tracked down numerous fly balls that coaches thought were hits when they came off of the opposition’s bats. Alex was a vocal leader on the team and made sure the outfield always knew what was expected of them before each play. Alex helped PAC win two state titles (2017 and 2018), a Division #2 championship at NACA (2017) and a Division #2 runner up trophy at NACA (2018). Alex plans on attending the University of South Carolina and hopes to go on to medical school.

The last senior is Zach Thurber. He played five years at PAC – four at Junior Varsity and one at Varsity. Zach missed the better part of two years while on Junior Varsity due to injury but never felt sorry for himself or stopped encouraging his team mates. His positive outlook on life will be missed by all that know him. He played outfield and pitched at the varsity level. He started in Right field during the 2018 state championship and helped bring the Panthers the victory. He played outfield and ran the bases during the 2018 NACA Division #2 tournament and helped the Panthers to a second place finish. Zach plans on attending the University of South Carolina in the fall.

The Panthers are also losing John Edens, who has coached with the Panthers for six years; two at Junior Varsity and four at Varsity. He coached in 2018 despite the graduation of his son in 2017. He specialized in working with the outfield and in inspiring pep talks with the players. He helped coach PAC to four state championships and two championships at NACA. I consider myself lucky to have the privilege of coaching with John and will greatly miss him next year.

The Panthers lost the NACA Division #2 championship to the Tennessee Flames by a score of 7-5. This was a well-played game that just did not go the Panthers way.

The Flames scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning. They got five hits, several of which were of the infield variety, to score their runs.

The Panthers took a short lead in the top of the third inning. Avery Blevins singled with one out. McKinley doubled to put runners at second and third. Micah West hit a sacrifice fly to score Avery from third. Caleb Green doubled to score McKinley. David Hucks then came to the plate and stroked his second home run of the tournament; a two run shot to left field.

The Flames did not back down, however, and scored two runs in the bottom of the frame to take the lead back by a score of 5-4. They had two hits and one hit batsman in their rally. They added single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to take a 7-4 lead into the last inning.

The game Panthers never give up and they tried their best to comeback and spoil the Flames party. Alex McKay led off with a bunt single and advanced to second when the pitcher’s throw got away from their first baseman. Avery lined out to the Flames right fielder for the first out of the inning. Alex advanced to third on Avery’s fly ball. McKinley Proctor reached on a walk, putting runners on first and third. Micah West singled to score Alex and move McKinley to third. Caleb Green walked to load the bases and the Panthers seemed to be in business with still only one out; however, two straight fly outs by Panther batters handed the Flames their championship.

The Panthers had nine hits in the game. David Hucks had a home run and two singles. Others with hits include Avery, McKinley (double), Caleb (double), Micaiah Hinkle and Alex McKay.

Micah West (5-3) took the loss for the Panthers on the mound. He allowed six earned runs on nine hits in four innings of work.   Dan Beam pitched the final two innings allowing one unearned run.

Game Notes: The loss drops the Panthers record to 14-8 (we did not play as many games this year as we had seven rainouts). The Panthers have now won two NACA championships (Division #3 in 2015 and Division #2 in 2017). They have lost the Division two championships in 2016 and 2018.

The Panthers had three players selected to the all-tournament team. The first was David Hucks who was also selected Division #2’s best offensive player. He hit .571 and slugged two home runs while pitching and playing first base. He scored four runs and had with RBI’s. The second was Micah West who hit .357 and scored five runs and had eight RBI’s. Micah pitched the Panthers to victory against the Landmark White team and started the championship game for PAC on the mound, helping keep us in the game until we just ran out of innings. The third was Avery Blevins. Avery played second base for the Panthers and served as our lead-off batter. Avery hit .461 for the tournament with four RBI’s and led the team in runs scored (8). He also played excellent defense leading the team with seven assists.

Other Games at NACA

Panthers – 22                     Cross Roads Academy (TN) – 7

The Panthers started play in the 2018 NACA Tournament (Division #2) by taking on the Stallions from Cross Roads Academy in Tennessee. The Panthers scored five in the first inning due to two big blows. The first was a two run rbi triple by Micah West. The second was a three run homerun by David Hucks (his first of the year).

The Panthers led comfortably until the fifth inning and then the wheels really came off for Cross Roads. The Panthers scored 16 runs on six hits as Stallion pitching helped the Panthers along by giving us ten free passes to first (by walks or hit by pitch). The Stallions scored four runs in their half of the fifth but it was way too little too late.

David Hucks had the aforementioned homerun and a double, knocking in five runs. Micah West and Drew McKay both had four rbi’s; Micah with his triple, a hit by pitch and a walk, and, Drew with a single and a fielder’s choice. Avery Blevins and McKinley Proctor both had two RBI’s and two singles.

Dan Beam was the starting pitcher for PAC. He pitched four innings in earning the win (5-1). He struck out five and allowed five hits. He gave up three runs, two of which were earned. Josh Quill and Caleb Green closed out the game for PAC on the mound.

Game Notes: The Panthers tied or set several records in this game. Tied records: runs scored (22) and RBI’s by a single batter (David Hucks (5)). New record: RBI’s in a game (20). The win improves the Panther’s record to 13-6.

Panthers – 3                       Providence Academy (TN) – 7

The Panthers lost the second game at the 2018 NACA tournament. This game was across brackets so the game was not as important in the tournament format, so the coaches decided going in that they were going to conserve pitching as much as possible, even if that decision led to a loss.

The Panthers took the lead in the third inning when Avery Blevins and McKinley Proctor both singled with one out. Caleb Green doubled to score both runners. They added their third run in the fifth inning when Caleb singled and later scored on a single by Connor Shealy.

The Knights from Providence Academy scored a single run in the third; five runs in the sixth inning and one in the seventh to put the game away.

David Hucks started and pitched four innings, allowing one earned run on four hits. Samuel Leslie followed him to the mound and allowed five earned runs on five hits. Samuel (1-2) took the loss for the game.

Game Notes: As stated earlier, this game was not as important as the Panthers could lose this game and still advance to the championship if they won their next game. The Panthers had eleven hits and were led by Avery Blevins with three singles; Caleb Green with a double and a single; David Hucks with two singles: and Alex McKay with two singles. The loss dropped the Panthers record to 13-7.

Panthers – 16                     Landmark White (OH) – 3

The Panthers advanced to the NACA Division #2 championship game with a convincing 16-3 victory over Landmark from Cincinnati, Ohio. Micah West (5-2) pitched the Panthers to victory with four solid innings. He allowed three earned runs on four hits while striking out three. Caleb Green pitched the final inning allowing just one hit.

The Panthers scored one run in the first; two in the second; six in the third; two in the fourth; and, five in the fifth. They were led by Avery Blevins who scored four runs and had two RBI’s on a double to center field. McKinley Proctor knocked in four runs and had a triple. Micah West had two singles and knocked in three runs. Others with hits include Caleb Green, David Hucks, Connor Shealy (double) and Drew McKay.

Game Notes: The victory improves the Panthers to 14-7 and sends them into the NACA Division #2 championship.

Panthers – 7                       Upstate Eagles – 1

The Panthers won their fourth straight state championship at Bray Park on Saturday night besting the Upstate Eagles by a score of 7-1.

The Panthers batted first as they were the visiting team (the Eagles were the number one overall seed in the tournament). After one quick out, the Panthers went to work. McKinley Proctor singled to right center field. He advanced to second on a passed ball. Micah West was hit by a pitch and Caleb Green singled to left field to score McKinley and advance Micah to second. The Eagle pitcher hit David Hucks to load the bases. Micaiah Hinkle came to the plate with the two outs and the bases still loaded and slapped a single to center field to score Micah and Caleb. David advanced to third on the play and Micaiah was able to get to second on the Eagle throw home. Drew McKay was now at bat and came up big for the Panthers once more. He hit a line drive to left field allowing David and Micaiah to both score. The Eagles finally got out of the first inning on a strikeout but significant damage had been done.

The Eagles got a runner on in the bottom of the first on an error by the Panther starting pitcher, Micah West. Micah, however quickly atoned for his error, picking that runner off at second. Micah spun and threw behind the runner to Avery Blevins at second. Avery gave chase to the Eagle runner and was able to get him in a run down and tag him out. A strikeout ended the Eagles half of the first.

The Panthers were retired in the order in the top of the second and the Eagles came to bat and put together their biggest threat of the game. Ian Moore led off with a single. Reynolds and Graham received back to back walks to load the bases for the Eagles with one out. Micah quickly regained his control and struck out the eighth and ninth Eagle batters to close out the inning and preserve the Panthers five run lead.

The top of the third inning saw the Panthers retired in order for the second straight inning. The Eagles got their lead-off hitter on with a single. Their next batter lined out to McKinley Proctor in center field for the first out of the inning. Another single put Eagle runners at first and second. Ian Moore was next to the plate and he hit a line drive towards shortstop that Caleb Green was able to glove and throw to second doubling off the lead Eagle runner. The Panthers continued to lead 5-0 after three innings.

The Panthers added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning. Drew McKay singled again for his third hit of the day and second in the game. Samuel Leslie laid down a nice bunt advancing Drew to second. The Eagle fielders had all converged on the bunt leaving third base open. Drew, seeing this, took off for third but was tagged out when the Eagle first baseman threw to their shortstop who was racing Drew to the bag. Samuel advanced to second on an error by the Eagle catcher and then to third when Avery Blevins grounded out. McKinley Proctor knocked his second hit of the game to score Samuel and advanced to second when Micah West was able to reach on an infield error. Caleb Green then came up with a clutch two out hit to score McKinley from second. A strikeout ended the Panthers threat but they now led 7-0. The Eagles got a runner to third in the bottom of the fourth, but could not break through for their first run as the inning ended on a fly out to center field.

The Panthers threatened in the top of the fifth, but Micaiah, who had reached on his second hit of the game, was stranded at third. The Eagles scored their lone run in the bottom of the fifth. They got things going after two innocent ground outs to Avery at second. The third batter of the inning was hit by a pitch and stole second base. They scored on a single by Ian Moore who would eventually be stranded at third. The Panthers led 7-1 after five innings.

The Panthers went quietly in the top of the sixth. The Eagles threatened in the bottom of the sixth when their first two runners reached base on a hit and an error. The third batter of the inning popped out to Panther catcher, Connor Shealy, in foul territory. The next Eagle batter, Colson Lancaster, hit a sharp grounder up the middle. Panther second baseman, Avery Blevins, slid over and fielded the ball cleanly, stepped on second base for one out and threw on to first base to complete the double play. This seemed to take a lot of air out of the Eagle sails and they grew more resigned that this game was not going to end in their favor. The Panthers continued to lead 7-1 after six innings.

The Panthers got one runner on in the top of the seventh but never seriously threatened. The Eagles then came up to in the bottom of the seventh inning for their last chance at bat. Their first batter reached on a single. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then to third when the second batter of the inning grounded out to David Hucks at first base. The Eagle runner then tried to score on a wild pitch but was called out on a close play at home when the runner decided to go in standing up instead of sliding. Micah then recorded his eighth strike out of the game to close it out for the Panthers and their fourth state championship.

Micah pitched a complete game gem for the Panthers. He allowed one earned run while scattering seven hits. He struck out eight and walked or hit four batters. Micah improved his pitching record to 4-1 with the victory.

McKinley Proctor, Caleb Green. Micaiah Hinkle and Drew McKay all had two singles. McKinley scored two runs and had one RBI. Caleb had two RBI’s and scored on run. Micaiah and Drew both had two big RBI’s in the first inning to help the Panthers get out of the gate quickly. David Hucks, Connor Shealy and Samuel Leslie all chipped in one hit.

This is not the end of the Panther’s season as they will continue to practice this week and then leave on Tuesday, May 8^th for their annual trip to the National Association of Christian Athletes in Dayton, Tennessee.

Game Notes:   This is the Panthers fourth straight state championship. Year one, they beat the Anderson Cavaliers in a come from behind victory. Year two, they beat the Upstate Eagles, and in, year three they beat the Savannah Hurricanes. The victory improves the Panthers overall record to 12-6. The Panthers had seven assists in the game, led by Avery Blevins with three and Connor Shealy with two. The Panthers turned two double plays in the game. Alex McKay missed this game and the earlier semi-final game due to his injury. He hopes to play in the NACA tournament in Tennessee.