Sports Report for Thursday, 5-9-2024

Local Notes

Clinton HS

  • Three Clinton Seniors Sign To Play Baseball at College Level…. Last Wednesday at Clinton HS, three senior baseball players signed letters of intent to not only to continue their baseball but also their education at institutions of higher learning this fall…. Coach McCarthy spoke about how these 3 players have been such an integral part of Red Devil baseball and not only put in the work on the field but also in the classroom…. He was also quick to point out how these three young men were outstanding citizens in the Clinton community… Congratulations and good luck to these fine young men.
    • Zane McLendon – Newberry College – Wolves….Zane mentioned that Coker College also showed interest in him and that he chose Newberry because it was closer to home and after visiting he really liked the coaches and program… When asked what position he might play, he said that right now he going to be a utility player and just try to get on the field wherever he was needed… He plans on getting a business degree and hopes to open up a baseball facility…. He also said that coaching was not out of the question.

 

    • Carson Glenn – Spartanburg Methodist College – Pioneers…  Carson mentioned that Patrick Henry and Coker also expressed interest in his services… He chose Spartanburg because it was closer to home and his dad has a connection with the coach there and he liked the tradition the program has built up…. He plans on pitching for the most part… He is planning on pursuing a degree in sports management with the possibility of getting a job with some minor league team and working his way up to something bigger.

  

    • Harrison Moore – Montreat College – Cavaliers… Harrison said that he also was contacted by a couple of other school especially Coker which he visited… In the end the campus and coaches at Montreat won him over especially how respectful the coaches were…. He also mentioned that he felt like he might be able to move quickly into playing first base due to the fact that the first baseman is may be graduating soon… He also mentioned that catching is a possibility…He plans on majoring in physical education and teaching and it would be within the realm of possibility that he might try to get back home


Laurens HS

  • Porter Fills Out Coaching Staff… New Raider head football coach Greg Porter has finalized his coaching staff for the upcoming football season starting August 23rd when the Raiders host one of his former team the Hillcrest Rams…
    • On offense Adams Dean will be returning to the raider where he served as an assistant under Coach Chris Line and will be the offensive coordinator a position he most recently held in Greenwood…Coaches returning from last year for the Raiders include Jawon Stephens will coach the offensive line, Aaron Pridemore the slot receivers, Kionte Boyd outside linebackers and Brian Strickland the running backs.
    • On defense Coach Porter himself will serve as the defensive coordinator… Two coaches on the defensive side of the ball came with him from Greenville and they include Roderick Harris who will coach the defensive line and Patrick Stoddard who will help with the defensive line especially the defensive ends… Allen Patterson will coach the linebackers and Marcus Cooke the defensive back… Both return from last year’s coaching staff… Baseball Coach Tri Patterson is also returning to help with defensive back after stepping away for football for a couple of years.
    • Also on the coaching staff will be two other coaches from last year’s staff… Josef Lorenz will continue to handle kickers and punters while Jamie Childress will help with operation and be the flex coach.
  • Up Next for the Raiders Baseball Team… The Raiders do not play again until tomorrow  when who they host a team that is still to be determined because the Greenwood at Catawba Ridge game last night at Catawba Ridge was postponed due to weather… They are now scheduled to play tonight at 6:30 and I’ll try to let you know who that is tomorrow morning…  The winner of that game will travel to Laurens tomorrow and have to beat the Raiders twice to advance while the Raiders only have to win one game… The game Friday night is scheduled to start at 6:30 and the “if needed” game will be sometime on Saturday…To see the Class AAAA Baseball Bracket click here.
  •  Cheerleading Tryouts… Cheerleading tryouts will be held at LDHS starting Monday, May 6th and running through Thursday, May 9th in the Main Gym at LDHS… There’s a lot of information you need to know before coming out on those dates including information about needing a current physical form… For much more information about this, click here
  • Nine Sign at LDHS… Just about 2 weeks ago in the main gym at LDHS nine different student athletes signed letters of intent to continue their education and athletic careers at various institutions of higher learning… Now if you check back click here you will find some more information about each of these Raiders and why they chose the schools they… The students by sport were:
    •    Baseball
      • Owen Pridgen – Southeastern Community College
      • Hunter Nabors – Coker College
      • Jordan Hudson – Florence-Darlington Tech
      • Asher Goss – Florence-Darlington Tech
      • Josh Hughes – Erskine College
    • Football
      • O’Darrius Grant – Erskine College
      • Malik Jackson – Limestone
    • Track
      • Damien Patrick – Averett College
    • Soccer
      • Alexia Johnson – Spartanburg Methodist

Laurens Academy

  • SCISA Softball Bracket Released… The Crusader softball team now knows the where and when they will start their participation in the SCISA Class A softball Tournament… They will be traveling down to Sumter for a 5:00 pm game tomorrow (Friday, 5-10) at Patriot Park… They will play the winner of the Jefferson Davis vs. Wardlaw game that starts at 3:00 pm… They have played Wardlaw twice this year already and defeated decisively them both times… They have not played Jeff Davis…  Should they win they will return to action on Saturday at Patriot Park for a 9:00 am game…. Should they lose they will have another game at 7:00 pm and if they win that game hey will head back down for a 9:00 am game Saturday morning plus possibly 2 more games if they continue to win in the losers’ bracket Saturday… To see the entire Class A SCISA Bracket plus some other notes about the tournament including admission price, click here… Good Luck to the Crusaders!

Broadcast Notes… We plan on brining you the following contest here on Real Radio WLBG:

  • Friday, baseball… The Raiders will host a team yet to be determined by a pair of games this week… First pitch is scheduled for 6:30.

Local Sports Schedules: All schedules subject to change right up to game time.

  • School District 55: To see the sports schedule for this week at LDHS, click here.
  • School District 56:  To see the sports schedule for this week at CHS and CMS, click here
  • Laurens Academy: To see the varsity and middle school baseball schedule click here… To see the varsity & middle school softball schedule click here.
  • Thornwell:  To see the Thornwell varsity baseball schedule and results click here.… To see the Saints softball schedule and results click here.
  • PC Sports Calendar… To see the PC athletics sports calendar, click here.



College Sports: For any game mentioned below, click on the score for more details if available.

 College Baseball

  • D-1 Rankings… The latest college baseball rankings according to D1BASEBALL.COM TOP 25 came out on 5-4-24… The top 5 are (previous spot in parenthesis): Tennessee (3), (1), Clemson (4), Texas A&M (1), Kentucky (8) and Arkansas (2)…  South Carolina checked in at #13 (15)… If you wish to see the entire top 25 according to the poll click here.
  • ScoresIf you click here, it will carry you to a posting linked to the NCAA website where you can find the latest scores, past scores and future contest in D1 baseball… When you get there, it will list scores and contest by top 25 and if you scroll down, it will also list them by conferences… Enjoy!

College Softball

  • D-1 RankingsThe latest college softball rankings put out by ESPN and USA Softball came out 5-5-24… The top 5 are (previous spot in parenthesis): Texas (1), Oklahoma State (4), Tennessee (3) Oklahoma (2) and Duke (5) … The Clemson Tigers moved up a spot from #212 to #21…South Carolina is still out of the top 25… If you wish to see the entire top 25 according to the poll click here
  • Scores… Similar to baseball above, if you click here, it will carry you to a posting linked to the NCAA website where you can find the latest scores, past scores and future contest in D1 baseball… When you get there, it will list scores and contest by top 25 and if you scroll down, it will also list them by conferences… Enjoy!



Pro SportsFor more information on the game(s) below, click on the scores. 

 Atlanta Braves For more information on the game(s) below, click on the scores.

  • Braves 5– Red Sox 0… The Braves pulled the brooms out of the equipment closet last night as they took a 5-0 win over the Red Sox in Atlanta to sweep the 2-game series… The Braves only outhit the Red Sox 9-7 but 3 of the Braves hits were homers… Marcell Ozuna hit a 3-run home in the first inning while Orlando Arcia (3) had a solo homer in the first also… Ozuna hit his 12th homer of the season in the 3rd inning a solo shot to give him 12 homers on the season which leads MLB… Chris Sale picked up the win for the Braves going 6 innings 6 hits (and no runs) while striking out 10 and walking 1… The Braves are off tonight and will start a 3-game series in New York against the Mets tomorrow night.
  • Season Schedule… If you would like to see the Braves, click hereIt should also show where the game will be televised if it is televised.
  • Other MLB Scores & Schedules… If you would like to see other scores around MLB last night or in the recent past plus the schedule of upcoming games, click here.
  • Standings… To see the MLB Standings click here… Once you get there you will see the standing by league (American or National) and also by division.

Greenville DriveFor more information on the game(s) below, click on the scores.

  • Drive Game Suspended… The Greenville Drive and the Hickory Crawdads played 1 inning last night and the Drive led 2-1 when the bottom fell out and the rains came… They will play a doubleheader today at Flour Field with the first game starting at 4:30 and going 9 innings and shortly after that they will play a 7 inning game.
  • ScheduleIf you wish to see the Greenville Drive schedule and results of completed games, click here.
  • Standings… To see the standings for the South Atlantic League (SAL) click here.

NBA

  • Scores… To see the latest scores in the NBA and games up next, click here
  • Standings To see the current standing and records in each of the NBA Conferences click here.

NASCAR

  • Kyle Larson Inched Out Chris Buescher at Kansas SundayKyle Larson won the Cup Series race out in Kansas Sunday in overtime… The race restarted for a 2 lap finish and Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher battled down the front stretch headed to the finish line and bumped each other at least 2 times but Larson edged him out by an inch (0.001 seconds) to take the closet win in NASCAR history  Click here to go to the NASCAR website where there is much more about this including the final race results.
  • Standings… Kyle Larson still leads the Driver Standings in the Cup Series while Martin Truex Jr. remains second… Chase Elliot retained his 3rd place spot and Denny Hamlin 4th.…To see the driver standings for the Cup Series click here… Once you get there you can also click on links to see the standings in Xfinity and Truck Series using tabs in the upper right corner of the posting.
  • Schedule This WeekThis week NASCAR holds it’s racing this week is down in Darlington for the Mother’s Day Weekend…. To see the schedule for practices and races click here.
  • NASCAR on TV this Week… NASCAR has several things being televised this week including race practices and qualifying, the race itself and assorted other things… To see the TV schedule for each day of the week click here.



This & That:

 Ticketing Information for Playoff Games and Matches…  A quick reminder that only South Carolina High School: League passes will be accepted for admission for all post-season contests…. No school or season passes will be accepted….  No exceptions… Further in most all cases admission will be $8.00 and everyone must have a ticket… All these are SCHSL rules.

 

 

If you have any comments, suggestions, or want to report scores, please contact me via email at: sports@wlbg.com or text me at 864-981-3470.