Two other Lexington County teams saw their seasons end with road losses in their Lower State championship games on May 19.

Chapin Softball

The Chapin Eagles’ softball playoff run came to a conclusion Friday night at Summerville by a score of 9-2.

The Summerville Green Wave (31-1) have been a force all season long and considered by many the favorites to win the 5A state title, making it a tall task for Chapin to have to beat them twice in one day. However, Chapin played them as close as anyone on May 15 when they fell to the Green Wave by a tight 2-0 score and had a chance to tie things up late in the game.

In this meeting, Summerville scored early, putting two runs on the board by way of a line drive single and a fielding error.

In the second inning, a flyball single scored two more runs and put Chapin behind 4-0 after two. A line drive double in the bottom of the fourth increased the deficit to 5-0.

A solo home run in the bottom of the fifth gave Summerville a 6-0 boost. Despite the deficit, quitting was not an option for the Eagles as they finally got on the scoreboard when Savannah Stockwell scored on a wild pitch.

Unfortunately for Chapin, Summerville extended their lead in the bottom of the sixth with a bases loaded line drive to center which scored three runs. 

With one out in the top of the seventh, Chapin scored their final run of the year when Stockwell’s sacrifice fly brought home Eason Davis.

Chapin finishes the season with a 22-7 record.

Brookland-Cayce Baseball

The Brookland-Cayce Bearcats almost pulled off the two-game comeback, but ultimately fell short in the 3A Lower State baseball final at Hanahan May 19.

In the first game, the Bearcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening inning when Jackson Thomas’ line drive single to left brought home Tanner Staton, B.J. Etheridge’s ground ball scored Parker Mergo and Ty Marshall’s ground ball single scored Robert McMillan. 

Hanahan got on the board in the second with an RBI groundout but Hayden Thomas struck out the next batter to end the inning and minimize the damage. 

Hanahan scored again in the fourth with a ground ball RBI single with two outs but just like in the second, Thomas picked up a big strikeout the next at-bat to end the inning and preserve the Brookland-Cayce lead.

Etheridge provided some Bearcat breathing room with a line drive double to center scored Jaxson Corley to make it a 4-2 game. Brookland-Cayce rounded out the scoring when a bases-loaded Jackson Thomas walk brought in Dylan McInchok. The Bearcats held on for the 5-2 win and forced a final game. Hayden Thomas had a spectacular game on the mound, tossing six innings and striking out ten batters in a must-win game.

Unfortunately for the Bearcats, they couldn’t muster enough run support in game two to advance to the 3A state final. A sacrifice fly scored a Hanahan runner in the top of the first and gave them an early 1-0 lead. 

Brookland-Cayce responded in the bottom of the second with an RBI line drive single from Jordan Gibbs that scored McMillan, but that turned out to be its only score.

Hanahan put on two more runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-1 lead. The Bearcats didn’t record a hit for the rest of the game and collected only two for the entire game.

Etheridge and Jackson Thomas pitched well for Brookland-Cayce, striking out a combined five batters and giving up only six hits, but it wasn’t enough as Hanahan moved on to the 3A state championship.

Brookland-Cayce ended the season with a 24-8 record.