Gudaitis, Mills earn silver at Coaches Classic Elite meet
Hilton Head High’s Cynthia Gudaitis and Beaufort High’s Nash Mills scored a pair of second-place finishes Friday to lead the local contingent at the Bob Jenkins Coaches Classic Elite Invitational at Byrnes High School.
Gudaitis shattered the Seahawk school record in the girls 3200 meters, posting a phenomenal 11:15.49 to earn a silver medal. Mills impressed in the boys 1600, finishing second with a time of 4:27.97 and crossing the line just a second behind the winner.
Charlie Bennett added to Beaufort’s strong performance, placing eighth in the 800 with a mark of 2:01.51 and coming a second away from the top four. Battery Creek’s girls squad also shined at the prestigious event, as Myra Smith took eighth in the long jump with a leap of 15 feet, 11 inches, while Keona Sanders placed ninth in the 400 hurdles, clocking in at 1:10.72.
Bluffton’s Ray K’s 18 to outduel Rast, Eagles
Parker Ray racked up 18 strikeouts in a one-hit gem to outduel Kylie Rast and lead Bluffton softball to a 3-0 win at Beaufort High on Monday.
Ray gave up a two-out single to Carleigh Coolong in the first inning, but she stranded two runners in scoring position with a strikeout to end the frame and didn’t allow another baserunner. She struck out the final nine batters she faced in a dominant outing.
The Bobcats got on the board in the second, when Reagan Kelly led off with a single and Sydnee Poliquin replaced her at first after a fielder’s choice. Poliquin stole second and third and scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead.
That turned out to be all the cushion Ray needed, but Bluffton tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the fifth with the aid of a Beaufort error and an Alyssa Rose sacrifice fly.
Ray allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out 18 in the shutout, outdueling Rast, who permitted three runs (one earned) and three hits with seven strikeouts and four walks.
Olivia Harrison had a double, and Kelly and Dani Campos each added a single for the Bobcats.
Warriors stay hot with region rout of Bobcats
Whale Branch boys soccer earned another big region win Monday, routing Baptist Hill 11-3.
Wayne Brown and Henry Tome each scored hat trick and Tome added an assist, while Benjamin Sanchez and Jakhi Pusha had two goals and an assist each for the Warriors.
Keith Chisolm also scored a goal, and Zac Cook added an assist for Whale Branch.
Four days earlier, the Warriors rolled to a 7-0 region win over Cross behind another monster game from Brown, who scored four goals to lead the way, while Sanchez added a goal and two assists. Tome and Diajae Bryan each added a goal, and Tome, Bryan, and Austin Stephens all had an assist.
The Warriors (3-6, 3-5) hosted Baptist Hill for a rematch Tuesday.
Mighty Lions celebrate first Senior Night with shutout
Holy Trinity girls soccer made the first Senior Night in program history a success Thursday, beating visiting Colleton Prep 4-0.
All four goals came from seniors, as Abby Carte recorded another hat trick for the Mighty Lions and fellow honoree Grace Glover added her first goal of the season.
Mary Clanton Bozard made eight saves to keep the War Hawks off the board and record the clean sheet.
Holy Trinity (6-2, 3-1) hosts John Paul II on Thursday to complete the regular season.
