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Bluffton High School Sports
Battery Creek, Whale Branch seeking new baseball coaches
Two coaches' career decisions have left Battery Creek and Whale Branch high schools with baseball vacancies.
Battery Creek coach Dan Tooman resigned and accepted an assistant principal position at Beaufort High School. Whale Branch's Dean Hawkins, who was also a football assistant, will join the Bluffton High School football staff and help coach the offense under Ken Cribb.
The moves aligned with each's career goals. Tooman was an administrative intern at Battery Creek, led the school's Tri-Academy program and finished his graduate degree in 2011. Hawkins said it was tough to leave the relationships and baseball program at Whale Branch but that he wants to one day lead a football program.
(full story)Prep Roundup, May 20: Beaufort's Kates reaches state tennis quarterfinals
BOYS TENNIS
State Singles Tournament: Beaufort High School's Malcolm Kates picked up a couple of victories in Saturday's Class 4-A/3-A boys tennis singles tournament in Lexington, advancing to the quarterfinals and earning all-state honors.
Kates defeated Jacob Chesney of Byrnes High School, 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 11-9, and Jamie Spruill of Spring Valley, 6-1, 6-4, to reach the quarter finals of the main draw. Kates then was defeated by J.L. Mann's Parker Schoen in the quarters, 6-1, 6-1.
(full story)Bluffton, Battery Creek holding spring football scrimmages today
As most area high school football programs wrap up spring practice this week, many are hosting their annual spring scrimmages, most of which are open to the public.
Bluffton High School will hold its Black-Silver game at 6 tonight. There is no admission, but donations are welcome. The Bobcats are trying to raise money for more helmets and uniforms to accommodate an increase in players.
There will be season passes for sale, and for the first time, reserved stadium seating will be sold in advance. The Bobcats also will be selling 10 preferred tailgating spots.
(full story)Prep Notebook, May 18: Area soccer standouts earn all-state honors
Five area soccer players have been named to this year's all-state team, headlined by a quartet of Hilton Head Island High School players headed to state championship games this weekend.
Senior forward Ruben Romero and junior midfielder Chris MacMurray were both named to the Class 3-A boys team for the Seahawks, who are appearing in their first state title game Saturday against Fort Mill. MacMurray has netted three game-winning goals this year for Hilton Head High while Romero may be the first attacking player from the school to be named to the all-state team, according to coach Wayne Quinlan.
Romero will also join Jessica Bonilla of the Hilton Head High girls team at this year's North-South Soccer Classic.
(full story)High school golfers aim high at finals
Beaufort High School golf coach Brook Dixon thinks his team has as good a shot as anybody in the Class 4-A Boys State Golf Championship that starts today at the Furman University Golf Course in Greenville.
"I'm looking at the competition and it's stiff," Dixon said. "The course is really tough. But I like our chances. We're taking some kids up there that can really play."
The Eagles' top two players -- Taylor Simonsen and Josh Fickes -- have played the course before and should be able to give their teammates some insight. And Dixon says his team is just starting to come around.
(full story)Whale Branch boys ready to make run at state track title this weekend
This could be the year for Whale Branch. It's not like it's been a long wait, though.
In only its second year of existence, Whale Branch has to be considered one of the favorites to take home the Class 1-A boys championship at this weekend's S.C. Track and Field State Championships at Spring Valley High School in Columbia.
The Warriors finished sixth last year in their first state meet. The return of the core of that team, coupled with the addition of senior sprinter Andre Watson, has the Warriors' coaches thinking title.
(full story)Prep Roundup, May 12: Hilton Head High girls move on to Lower State soccer final
The Hilton Head Island High School girls soccer team had a tougher time with its third-round playoff opponent than with its first two -- but not too tough.
The Seahawks rolled to a 5-1 win over St. James on Friday night in Murrells Inlet, moving on to Monday's Class 3-A Lower State championship game at Brookland-Cayce. The Bearcats advanced with a 7-0 win over Bluffton on Friday.
"This game was tough," Hilton Head High coach Ernie Suozzi said of the win at St. James. "They have a lot of good club players, they came out scrappy. We settled down and got into our possession game. We wore them down."
(full story)Prep Notebook, May 11: HHH, Bluffton girls could meet in soccer semifinals
The Bluffton and Hilton Head Island High girls soccer teams both face tall tasks in the third round of the Class 3-A state playoffs.
But it's hard not to look ahead to the Lower State finals, where the Bobcats and Seahawks could face each other for a right to travel to the state championship.
But first the two rivals must take care of business on the road. Hilton Head High -- last season's state champions -- travels to St. James tonight while Bluffton travels to Columbia to take on Brookland-Cayce.
(full story)Area schools qualify athletes for state meet
TRACK & FIELD
Class 3-A
The defending champion Hilton Head Island High School boys track team qualified in eight events Saturday at the Class 3-A state qualifier at York.
(full story)One goal is all Bluffton girls need to advance in soccer playoffs
As she stood on the Bluffton High School soccer field covered from head to toe in grass and dirt, Madison Putich clutched at her right hand as she kept it propped up with the support of an ice bag.
"I might have broken it," she said.
No one would have noticed judging by the smile on her face.
(full story)Prep Roundup, May 9: HHCA girls win in first-round soccer upset
GIRLS SOCCER
Hilton Head Christian 3, Hammond 2: Audrey Bensch and Nicole Sicilia staked the Eagles to a 2-0 lead, Hannah Reynolds scored the eventual game-winner in the 72nd minute and fourth-seeded Hilton Head Christian notched a SCISAA Class 3-A playoff upset despite playing the final 20 minutes a player down, following a red card for a hand ball in the box.
Bensch opened the scoring for the Eagles in the 25th minute, with Sicilia picking up the assist. Sicilia made it 2-0, converting a header on a corner kick 10 minutes later.
(full story)BOYS SOCCER PLAYOFF PREVIEW: HHH takes streak into opener
It was an adjustment period unlike any Wayne Quinlan had encountered before.
The coach of the Hilton Head Island High boys soccer team generally knows what his Seahawks will bring to the table before each season begins. Except this year, of course, as Hilton Head High stumbled out of the gate with an 0-3 record.
"It took me longer to get a handle on this team than it has for any team that I've had that I can remember," Quinlan said. "Just to figure out who can play where, what was our shape or our formation going to be. In the preseason and in pre-region season, it was all experimentation. I'm not sure we played the same formation two matches in a row."
(full story)Bluffton boys get past Wilson in first round of tennis playoffs
Nate Calhoun didn't even realize his match Thursday with Wilson's Tyler Jackson would be the deciding one until Bluffton tennis coach Bob Brown approached him before his tiebreaker began.
"You win this and we win the match," Calhoun recalled his coach saying.
Not that it mattered. Calhoun thrives in those situations.
(full story)High school baseball, softball teams hoping to sweep doubleheaders tonight
The Hilton Head Island High School and Whale Branch baseball teams, and the Bluffton softball team each need two victories on the road tonight to win district championships.
The Bobcats jump-started the Class 3-A District VII softball playoffs with a 14-3 win over North Myrtle Beach last week but stumbled against Georgetown in the winners bracket, falling in a 3-2 contest Saturday afternoon. After eliminating Cane Bay with a 4-1 win -- Bluffton's third victory over the Cobras this season -- the Bobcats (18-3) earned the right for a rematch with Georgetown. Bill Ball's team will have to register two victories to advance to the Lower State championship bracket.
The Seahawks, meanwhile, face the daunting task of trying to advance past St. James, the defending state champion. The Sharks tallied a 4-1 win over Hilton Head High (19-6) in the winners bracket last weekend before Chris Wells' squad stayed alive with a one-run victory over North Myrtle Beach on Monday evening.
(full story)Prep Roundup, May 2: Beaufort boys tennis opens playoffs with easy win
BOYS TENNIS
Beaufort High 6, North Augusta 0: The Beaufort High School boys tennis team overwhelmed its first-round opponent, North Augusta, on Tuesday in the Class 4-A playoffs, winning 6-0.
The Eagles, ranked sixth in the state, only dropped nine games total in the five singles matches. The only matchup of the day that was close was the No. 2 doubles match, but Beaufort's Fred Tkach and Daniel Lange prevailed in a third-set tiebreaker to complete the shutout.
(full story)Prep Roundup, May 1: Whale Branch earns baseball win
BASEBALL
Whale Branch 9, Green Sea-Floyds 7: Timmy Campbell powered the Warriors on offense -- going 3 for 3 with a three-run homer, five RBIs and two runs scored -- and fellow junior Dee Delaney was a workhorse on the mound as Whale Branch advanced to the championship matchup of the Class 1-A district playoffs.
Delaney -- who also tripled and scored three runs -- struck out seven and allowed four earned runs in going all seven innings. The Warriors led 9-3 with two outs in the ninth before the visitors rallied, but Delaney was able to hold on.
(full story)Baseball playoff openers ahead for Eagles, THA
Danny Morgan began noticing in January the improvement in his Hilton Head Christian Academy baseball team.
The Eagles missed the playoffs in Morgan's first season as head coach, going 4-15 in 2011 and winning one game in SCISAA Region 3-AAA. But after most of his players returned, Morgan noticed balls sticking in gloves and accurate throws in the infield.
What was thought a weakness before the season became a strength. The Eagles' defense helped them to an 11-7 record and No. 4 seed in the SCISAA Class 3-A playoffs.
(full story)Bluffton doesn't get the breaks in district softball playoffs
Taylor Mercer remembered her most recent trip to Bluffton High School.
It was there, as an eighth-grader, Mercer earned the start for Georgetown during the 2010 district championship softball game. She would leave the game early, but the Bulldogs rallied to win.
After an early Bobcats run Saturday, Mercer was determined to stay engaged.
(full story)Whale Branch, other area teams continue district playoffs today
The Whale Branch baseball team has been here once before.
For the second straight season, the Warriors kicked off the postseason with a victory to move ahead into the winner's bracket. But things went sour at this point last year, as Dean Hawkins' crew bowed out with consecutive losses.
But this is a different year and a different team. This is about progression.
(full story)Prep Roundup, April 27: Bluffton routs North Myrtle Beach in softball playoff opener
Whitney Morrell put some punctuation on the end of the Bluffton softball team's postseason opener Thursday night, launching a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the fifth inning to give the Bobcats a 14-3 victory over North Myrtle Beach in the first round of the District VII playoffs.
The Bobcats were cruising along comfortably with a 10-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning when Morrell's slam ended it. She finished the night 2 for 4, also hitting a double, with six RBIs.
Kim Kerby went 2 for 3 with a triple and three RBIs for Bluffton (17-2).
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