The 2024 high school baseball and softball seasons may be in their infancy, but teams around Lexington County are beginning to establish an identity and find success on the diamond. 

The Gray Collegiate baseball team is the final remaining unbeaten team in the county. They enter this week 9-0 after adding three wins last week. 

Two of those wins came against Irmo. The teams played a home-and-home series, and Irmo managed to keep the first game in reach, but the second game quickly swung Gray’s way.

The War Eagles finished last week with a weekend contest against Augusta Christian. Gray jumped out to a five-run lead in the opening period and went on to win by a single run, 7-6. 

Chapin’s varsity baseball team also entered this week undefeated. The Eagles added two wins to their resume last week to begin region play this week unbeaten at 6-0. 

The Eagles opened region competition March 18 with a 5-4 win over Lexington. The two teams have two more games against each other with the first scheduled March 20 and the second set for March 22.

Chapin has been successful in limiting their opponents’ scoring options. The Eagles’ opponents averaged about 1.5 runs per game entering this week. Meanwhile, Chapin is averaging about seven runs per game.

Airport’s baseball team also had a big week picking up its seventh, eighth and ninth wins this season against Midland Valley to extend its winning streak to six, outscoring their two opponents 59-1 in those games.

The Eagles got a fantastic showing from junior pitcher Hunter Epps, who pitched six innings in the final game. He threw a shutout and coughed up just six hits. 

A perfect inning from senior Cam Atkins finished off the seventh and final shutout inning for Airport to claim the victory. This was their fourth consecutive shutout performance as a team.

“I couldn’t get the slider there today but the fastball was putting them down,” Epps said. “The defense, like always, was fielding the baseball and I can always count on them.”

On the offensive end, Epps hit two singles, a double and a walk, while stealing a base and scoring two runs. In the entire series, Epps hit 6-10 with two doubles, four stolen bases and five runs scored.

“He plays the game the right way, he works hard every day and he gets exactly what he deserves,” Airport head coach Casey Bradwell said. “He’s not scared of anything.”

There are a similar number of softball teams in the county that have started to establish a winning identity early on. 

The Gray Collegiate team was 9-1 entering this week after playing eight games last week. The War Eagles went 4-0 during the week with double-digit wins over Lugoff-Elgin and Dutch Fork, while also winning two 1-0 shutouts against Fairfield Central. 

The team participated in a tournament March 16, facing four teams from South Carolina. The Eagles went 3-1 and picked up their first loss of the season against Catawba Ridge. 

Chapin extended their winning streak to six games after beating Mid-Carolina, Berkeley and North Augusta. This week, the Eagles will test themselves against region competition with a game scheduled against a talented Lexington team. 

Other teams around the county worth keeping an eye on include the 6-2 Batesburg-Leesville baseball team, the 7-2 Gilbert baseball team, the 7-2 Northside Christian baseball team and the 2-1 Brookland-Cayce softball team. 

These teams will be put to further testing this week with games against both region and non-region opponents. And though the season is still young, it is never too early to stack wins and jump out to an early advantage in the region standings. 

Big Performances

Beau Hollins went 2-4  and had two doubles and three RBIs for River Bluff in a game against Mid-Carolina. 

Carley Melton had a .714 batting average and earned nine RBIs for the Gilbert softball team last week. 

Landon Jeffcoat had a big game against Midland Valley last week, bringing in three RBIs for Airport. 

Lincoln Hill hit a home run against Charlotte Christian to help push Lexington to an 11-1 win. 

Haley Manz pitched five innings for Lexington against Westwood last week, earning her third win of the season and throwing seven strikeouts. 

Games to watch

Gray Collegiate vs. Irmo softball — March 21 — 6 p.m. 

Pelion vs. Fox Creek baseball — March 22 — 6 p.m.

Gilbert vs. Swansea softball — March 22 — 7 p.m. 

Airport at South Aiken baseball — March 22 — 7 p.m.