Seahawks will start at No.7 in preseason baseball rankings

Hilton Head Island, which rebounded from a wobbly start to reach the Lower State’s final four last spring, will begin the season at No.7 in the Class 4A rankings unveiled by the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association.

Lugoff-Elgin opens atop the list, followed by last year's Class 3A champion Belton-Honea Path. St. James, which beat Hilton Head on a throwing error to reach the Class 3A Lower State final last spring, is fourth.

The Seahawks entered last year’s playoffs as a No.4 seed, but wound up the last of the area’s SCHSL teams standing after a run of nine wins in 10 games was capped by a district title. Ken Soucy steps up to head coach this year, after Blair Carson left to become coach at Crescent High near Anderson.

This story was originally published January 22, 2017 at 4:13 PM with the headline "Seahawks will start at No.7 in preseason baseball rankings."