Bat cracks and the pop of gloves are echoing around the fields of Lexington County again as the 2026 baseball and softball seasons begin. 

Last year was an exciting one in the area as many teams made deep postseason runs. Four advanced all the way to the state title series, and three won championships. 

Those three teams will look to repeat this season, while the others will attempt to dethrone the champs and make deep runs themselves. 

This past week, many local squads took the field, looking to add wins and work through some kinks as region play gets ready to kick into high gear. Conference play has already started for some teams and will begin within the next week for others. 

Five teams were still undefeated at the beginning of this week. These include two baseball and three softball teams. 

The reigning 4A state baseball champions are off to a (4-0) start this season. Airport secured wins over Strom Thurmond, Cardinal Newman, Dutch Fork and Summerville to start the season perfect. 

In those four games, the Eagles outscored their opponents 34-13. Their biggest win of the season was a 15-1 victory over Cardinal Newman. The team is getting major contributions from some of its key returning players, including Daniel Butts, Landon Jeffcoat and Braden Gross.

American Leadership Academy is the other baseball team that began the week undefeated, starting the year (3-0) with wins over Lower Richland, Richland Northeast and King Academy. 

The Patriots have two players hitting above 0.600 who have elevated their offense. Senior Jake Cantor and freshman Eli Tucker have combined for 12 hits, seven RBIs and 13 runs. 

American Leadership has another three games this week. The Patriots started with a tough battle against a good Ridge View team on Monday. They played Fairfield Central on Tuesday and will close the week on Friday against Orangeburg-Wilkinson. 

The team will have one game after that against Lower Richland on March 16 before starting region play against Saluda on the 17th. 

On the softball field, Gray Collegiate started its title defense by winning its first three games. 

The War Eagles are the favorite to win the state championship again thanks to the abundance of returning talent. That includes Aspen Boulware, one of the top softball prospects in the nation, and pitcher Makenzie Sease, who was on the mound in the championship-winning game. 

Gray has wins over Catawba Ridge, Midland Valley and Mountain View Prep. The War Eagles have outscored their opponents 24-5 in those wins. 

Batesburg-Leesville’s team has also been dominant at the start of the season. The Panthers won their first five games this year by a combined score of 38-18.

Region games haven’t begun yet for the Panthers, but Batesburg-Leesville did get its first taste of conference play during a tournament game against American Leadership. The Panthers beat their rival 13-7 behind a three RBI game from Adriana Campbell.

While Gray and Batesburg-Leesville have been impressive, one of the biggest early-season storylines has been Northside Christian’s start to the season. 

The Crusaders have played just two games this season, but they’ve already scored 52 runs. 

Northside started the year with a 17-15 win over Orangeburg Christian Academy. Faith Smith was named player of the game. 

The team topped their 17-run performance the very next game, beating Columbia 35-24. It’s the most runs scored by the Crusaders since 2023, when the team scored 29 runs in a win over Richard Winn.

Northside will look to continue its explosive start this week against Lee, Andrew Jackson and Laurens. 

Upcoming games to watch

River Bluff vs. Gilbert baseball - March 12

Gray Collegiate vs. Brookland-Cayce softball - March 12

Lexington at North Augusta softball - March 13

Swansea at Saluda baseball - March 14

American Leadership vs. Saluda softball - March 17

Airport vs. Aiken baseball - March 18

Last week’s notable performances 

Payton Gonce hit two home runs and drove in five RBIs as Lexington knocked off Dorman 15-2. 

Will Green hit two doubles and had four RBIs for the Pelion baseball team in a win against South Aiken. 

Makenzie Sease threw a no-hitter with 11 strikeouts in a shortened five-inning game as Gray Collegiate shut out Catawba Ridge 10-0. 

Daniel Butts hit a triple and a double for four RBIs in Airport baseball’s win over Strom Thurmond.   

Addie Maynor had four hits and four RBIs for the Airport softball team in a win over Spring Valley. 

Paiden Mergo had seven strikeouts and allowed just one hit and two walks in three innings of work as Brookland-Cayce beat Horse Creek Academy.