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The drive for five is done.
Southside Christian baseball won its fifth consecutive SCHSL state championship May 28 with a come-from-behind late rally, 8-7, against Oceanside Collegiate at Sabre Park.
The Sabres (24-8-1) took the SCHSL Class 3A title with a sweep in the best-of-three series. They won the first game at Oceanside, 7-2.
Southside Christian is only the third SCHSL team to win at least five consecutive championships. Bamberg-Ehardhardt had eight straight in the 1970s into the 1980s, and Lake View had five in row in the early 2000s.
“Every year has been different,” Sabres coach Scott Freeman said. “Every year has been a challenge. They’ve happened in different ways. They’re rewarding in their own ways. To be viewed as one of the top programs in the history of the state is exciting.”
Southside Christian scored three times in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior right fielder CJ Aubuchon, who had two home runs in the Upper State final, had a two-run single for the Sabres’ first lead of the game.
“I had two strikes on me, but I felt confident,” Aubuchon said. “I got a pitch I liked and banged it. It ended up coming down to my spot, and I got it done. It’s just a surreal feeling. Kinda crazy.”
Southside Christian gave away two runs in the top of the sixth with an uncharacteristic three errors, two on the same play, to break a tie game. Something like that might’ve deflated a team that had not won four straight championships.
“It showed great character,” Freeman said. “There have been several games in the playoffs where we were behind, but we never really fell out of its because of the way we swing the bats.”
Carson Bolemon, a senior who has signed with Wake Forest but also a top MLB draft prospect as a pitcher, was unavailable on the mound because he pitched 4.1 innings May 26 in the opening game. He played first base and hit a two-run homer in the third inning to cut the Oceanside Collegiate lead to 5-4.
“I was just trying to help my team get back in the game,” Bolemon said. “We didn’t have a lead until the very end. When I came up, we were down three runs. I wanted to do whatever I could do.”
Will Fulcher earned the win with three innings of relief with one hit and no earned runs allowed. Jacob Wiggs nailed it down with a perfect seventh, ending it on a fly ball to left.
Wiggs had two hits and scored three runs. He was on the team as an 8th grader when Southside Christian won its second Class 1A state title in 2002.
“Best feeling in the world,” Wiggs said. “It showed the state that no matter what classification that we’re in, no matter who we’re playing, we can come together as a team and do what we need to do to win another championship."
Todd Shanesy covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Southside Christian baseball wins fifth straight SCHSL state championship
Continue reading...
Southside Christian baseball won its fifth consecutive SCHSL state championship May 28 with a come-from-behind late rally, 8-7, against Oceanside Collegiate at Sabre Park.
The Sabres (24-8-1) took the SCHSL Class 3A title with a sweep in the best-of-three series. They won the first game at Oceanside, 7-2.
Southside Christian is only the third SCHSL team to win at least five consecutive championships. Bamberg-Ehardhardt had eight straight in the 1970s into the 1980s, and Lake View had five in row in the early 2000s.
“Every year has been different,” Sabres coach Scott Freeman said. “Every year has been a challenge. They’ve happened in different ways. They’re rewarding in their own ways. To be viewed as one of the top programs in the history of the state is exciting.”
Southside Christian scored three times in the bottom of the sixth inning. Senior right fielder CJ Aubuchon, who had two home runs in the Upper State final, had a two-run single for the Sabres’ first lead of the game.
“I had two strikes on me, but I felt confident,” Aubuchon said. “I got a pitch I liked and banged it. It ended up coming down to my spot, and I got it done. It’s just a surreal feeling. Kinda crazy.”
Southside Christian gave away two runs in the top of the sixth with an uncharacteristic three errors, two on the same play, to break a tie game. Something like that might’ve deflated a team that had not won four straight championships.
“It showed great character,” Freeman said. “There have been several games in the playoffs where we were behind, but we never really fell out of its because of the way we swing the bats.”
Carson Bolemon, a senior who has signed with Wake Forest but also a top MLB draft prospect as a pitcher, was unavailable on the mound because he pitched 4.1 innings May 26 in the opening game. He played first base and hit a two-run homer in the third inning to cut the Oceanside Collegiate lead to 5-4.
“I was just trying to help my team get back in the game,” Bolemon said. “We didn’t have a lead until the very end. When I came up, we were down three runs. I wanted to do whatever I could do.”
Will Fulcher earned the win with three innings of relief with one hit and no earned runs allowed. Jacob Wiggs nailed it down with a perfect seventh, ending it on a fly ball to left.
Wiggs had two hits and scored three runs. He was on the team as an 8th grader when Southside Christian won its second Class 1A state title in 2002.
“Best feeling in the world,” Wiggs said. “It showed the state that no matter what classification that we’re in, no matter who we’re playing, we can come together as a team and do what we need to do to win another championship."
Todd Shanesy covers high school athletics for the Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal and Anderson Independent Mail in the USA TODAY Network. Contact him by email at [email protected]. Follow him on X, formerly called Twitter, at @ToddShanesySHJ.
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Southside Christian baseball wins fifth straight SCHSL state championship
Continue reading...
