Photo above: The Beaufort High School Eagles first-ever varsity boys lacrosse match was held recently against Ettowah High School. Beaufort High’s Jake Creiger, left, moves the ball upfield into scoring position against a more experienced Ettowah High School on Feb. 21 at Eagle Stadium. The Eagles lost their inaugural match 21-1. Photo by Bob Sofaly.
BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL LACROSSE
Waccamaw beats Beaufort High, 13-2
Beaufort High fell behind early and couldn’t recover from its slow start as host Waccamaw pulled away to win 13-2 in an early-season boys’ high school lacrosse game Feb. 24.
Ethan McKenzie paced Beaufort High, scoring its first goal and providing an assist on the Eagles’ other goal.
Waccamaw forced Beaufort High to play from behind throughout the contest.
Bobby Gecy scored Beaufort High’s second goal.
Crosson Derrick delivered an assist on McKenzie’s opening goal for the Eagles.
In all, Beaufort High managed to take 14 shots.
Defensively, Austin Payne, playing out of a reserve role, recorded seven saves for the Beaufort High lacrosse squad. Chase Guynup registered five saves for the Eagles in the setback.
HIGH SCHOOL SOFTBALL
Eagles split doubleheader in softball tournament
The Beaufort High Eagles split games in the Summerville-hosted Battle on the Bases tournament on Feb. 24.
Ashley Ridge managed to edge Beaufort High 1-0 in the Eagles’ opening game of the tournament. Pulling away to win convincingly in a nightcap, Beaufort High blanked Bluffton 12-0.
Ridge scored the game’s lone run in the bottom half of the seventh inning to edge Beaufort High.
Beaufort High, however, turned in a solid all-around performance in the nightcap, shutting out longtime rival Bluffton.
Emily Cook pitched a one-hit shutout as the Eagles won convincingly.
Cook retired nine Bluffton batters in order before giving up a single to Bluffton’s Chandler Nix. Recovering nicely, Cook retired the next three hitters to allow Beaufort High to prevail. Helping her pitching cause at the plate, Cook delivered two hits for the Eagles, one of which was a two-run double in the first inning.
As a team, Beaufort High posted eight hits. The Eagles scored five runs in the first inning. Savannah Mullen connected for an RBI single and Kali Bledsoe delivered an RBI triple for the Beaufort High softball squad.
Bledsoe eventually scored for the Eagles on a Bluffton throwing error.
BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Beaufort Academy falls to Charleston Collegiate
The Beaufort Academy boys’ basketball team’s postseason run ended as two-time defending champion Charleston Collegiate pulled away to win 95-71 in the SCISA Class 1A Boys’ Basketball Tournament Semifinals on Feb. 23.
The Eagles finished in the final four after Izell Sutton filled in for head coach Chip Dinkins, who had been absent since undergoing heart surgery in January.
Thriving offensively, Charleston Collegiate featured three scorers with 27 or more points. Beaufort Academy, however, started strong. The Eagles owned multiple double digit leads. Beaufort Academy carried a 25-15 lead out of the first quarter.
But Charleston Collegiate eventually got going. The Sun Devils battled back to lead 41-37 at halftime. Charleston Collegiate drained 12 three-pointers in the victory.
Luke Harper paced the Eagles with a team-best 25 points. Beaufort Academy also featured three scorers in double figures as Dawson Coleman scored 18 points and region player of the year Kevin Williams posted 15 points.
Prior to falling to Charleston Collegiate, Beaufort Academy beat Covenant Christian. More on the Beaufort Academy-Covenant Christian boys’ basketball matchup follows:
Eagles hold off Covenant Christian: No. 1 seed Beaufort Academy beat Covenant Christian 65-60 in the SCISA Class 1A Boys’ Basketball Tournament on Feb. 21.
Beaufort Academy claimed its fourth straight win to remain alive in the postseason. The Eagles used a diverse scoring attack to claim the victory.
Three Beaufort Academy players reached double figures in the scoring column. Leading Beaufort Academy to the win, Kevin Williams scored a team-high 25 points.
Luke Harper posted 23 points and Dawson Coleman contributed 14 points for the Eagles in the triumph.
Covenant Christian featured the game’s leading scorer. Javonte Cooke paced Covenant Christian with a game-high 29 points.
With the win, Beaufort Academy advanced to the state tournament’s semifinals.
BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER
Muniz signs with University of Mary Washington
Beaufort Academy senior Ryan Muniz officially signed an NCAA National Letter of Intent to play soccer at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. last week. Joining Muniz at the signing ceremony were his parents, Beaufort Academy soccer coach Bill Dalton, BA Athletic Director Neal McCarty and the school’s headmaster, Stephen Schools.
A three-year starter for the Beaufort Academy boys’ soccer program, Muniz emerged as the team’s leader and MVP last spring, earning All-Region honors the previous two years.
Muniz was named the 2016 Region Player of Year and selected to play in the SCISA North-South All-Star games the previous two years as well. The University of Mary Washington-bound Muniz led the Beaufort Academy boys’ soccer team to the past two state championships.
The University of Mary Washington men’s soccer team competes in NCAA Division III. The squad ended the 2016 season 14-4 and made an appearance in the Capital Athletic Conference Championship.
