Check out who made The Herald’s 2021 baseball and softball All-Area teams here
What a triumphant spring season for Legion Collegiate.
In its first full baseball and softball seasons (and its last in the South Carolina High School League), the Rock Hill public charter school earned two team state championships — and The Herald couldn’t overlook those successes when selecting its 2021 All-Area teams.
Taylor Watson of the Legion softball team has been named All-Area Player of the Year. The sophomore ended the season with a 25-6 record and notched 166 strikeouts. She threw every pitch of every inning for the Lancers this year — a responsibility she understood and embraced.
“It’s such a weight on your back doing it,” she said with a smile after her team’s state championship win earlier this month. “Like you said, you can’t fold. You can’t show emotion. You can’t let it get to your head or anything. So I had to keep pushing through.”
Watson might have been the head of the proverbial Legion snake, but the Lancers were a talented bunch led by a former Winthrop Hall of Fame coach in Mark Cooke, The Herald’s Coach of the Year. And his leadership proved vital — particularly in the playoffs, when Legion faced elimination in four straight games in the first round and in two more games in the Upper State series yet prevailed nonetheless.
On the baseball side, Legion coach Devon Lowery has been named Coach of the Year. And how could he not be? The former Kansas City Royal and longtime pitching trainer in York County took a talented group of players — six Lancers had signed to play baseball in college before the season began — and molded them into a resilient team (on and off the field).
“That (dog pile) was a final release of all the stuff that this school, that these kids have had to deal with,” Lowery told reporters earlier this month, while his team was celebrating the championship it had just won on the field behind him. “From the scrutiny from the high schools they left, from the scrutiny from the community … These kids, they just wanted something different in life. And this is why they wanted it.”
The Player of the Year field was a competitive one, but one name rose above them all: Britton Adams of the York baseball team. The senior pitcher and Region 3-4A Player of the Year, referred to by his coach Tripper Crisson as “possibly the best teammate I’ve ever been around,” was simply dominant: He had an ERA under one (.940) and, although he largely pitched to contact, he still struck out 58. The All-State selection and Coker College commit, too, won 10 games — the most by a pitcher in a single season in York history. (He also played on a Cougar team this year that won 22 games, which, too, broke a school record.)
York, Chester and Lancaster counties witnessed a ton of baseball and softball talent this year. View the All-Area selections and honorable mentions in full below.
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BASEBALL AWARDS
Player of the Year: Britton Adams, York
Coach of the Year: Devon Lowery, Legion Collegiate
FIRST TEAM
Britton Adams, York.
Kyle Percival, Andrew Jackson: The left-handed junior pitcher was the Region 4-2A Player of the Year for a reason. Percival, who recently reopened his recruitment after being committed to Wake Forest, was 7-0 and notched 108 strikeouts. He helped lead AJ, a school that has been open for over 50 years, to its first state championship series appearance this season.
Ben Venables, Northwestern: The lead-off batter and North-South selection hit .383 on the season and notched 31 hits, 14 RBI, 23 runs and seven stolen bases. The senior shortstop — who also earned four saves on the mound — helped lead the Trojans to a 14-11 record and a 5A playoff berth after the team started the year 2-6.
Justin Lehman, Nation Ford: The senior catcher and All-State selection hit .360 and added 26 RBI. He also caught stealing approximately 34% of opposing baserunners. The Falcons squeaked into the playoffs with a clutch win over rival Fort Mill in the final game of the regular season but were eliminated in the first round of the 5A playoffs.
Cooper Parks, York: The All-Region and All-State selection hit .378 and had an on-base percentage of .465. He also recorded 21 RBI, 29 runs and 11 doubles.
Kollin Crepeau, Legion: The Francis Marion commit and Legion’s Most Valuable Player for the season batted .419 with a slugging percentage of .837. He also hit six home runs, had 25 RBI and tallied 37 runs.
Trevor Testerman, Catawba Ridge: The junior outfielder and All-State selection hit .398 and added one home run, 16 RBI and 20 runs. He helped lead the Copperheads to a 4A playoff berth this season.
Gabe Simmons, Nation Ford: Nation Ford’s shortstop hit .398 — with 15 doubles, four triples, 26 RBI, 31 runs and 15 stolen bases — en route to an All-Region and All-State selection.
Joey Hylinski, Legion: Hylinski, with Xavier Pelzer (see below), helped fill out one of the most formidable one-two starting pitching rotations across the state. The junior notched an All-State selection, earning 10 wins and striking out 85.
SECOND TEAM
Connor Rasmussen, Fort Mill: The Fort Mill junior slugger and ECU commit notched a .385 batting average as well as nine doubles, three triples, two home runs and 20 RBI.
Jayden Barnes, Lewisville: The All-State selection hit .419, had 16 RBI and added one home run and 35 runs. He also started all 27 games in Lewisville’s 2A playoff run of a season.
Hunter Fryzowicz, Legion: The Lancer first baseman and UNC Asheville signee hit .409, accumulating 36 hits, four home runs and 26 RBI.
Ashton Phillips, Andrew Jackson: His teammates call him “Amp.” The College of Charleston commit hit .407 and added two home runs and 40 RBI. A pitcher as well as an outfielder, Phillips had an ERA of 3.43 and struck out 77 in 42 innings.
Anderson Fulk, York: The outfielder — and York’s career hits leader — hit .351 for his senior year. The All-Region selection added 13 RBI and 20 runs in 30 games played.
Michael Gibson, Northwestern: Despite battling an injury for part of the season, the junior infielder had a year to remember — hitting .360 with a .447 on base percentage and two home runs. As a relief pitcher, he had 20 strikeouts in 24.1 innings.
Ethan Darden, Northwestern: The left-handed ace for the Trojans was sensational in his junior year. He went 6-2 — tossing 101 strikeouts and only allowing 21 hits in 53.2 innings of work. His ERA was 1.04.
Xavier Pelzer, Legion: The left-handed sophomore showed how much talent he has this year. He earned seven wins on the mound — notching an impressive ERA of 1.83 — and struck out 72 batters.
Seven Roach, South Pointe: The Norfolk State signee batted .347 and had six RBI and three triples. He also stole 37 bases — the most of anyone in South Carolina high school baseball this year, per his coach Melvin Wearing.
Honorable mention
Landon Sexton (York); Cooper Zohner (Clover); Will Dorrell, Nick Cain, Sydney Mullennix (Northwestern); H.A. Atkinson, Caleb Levister (Chester); Colby Guy, Jack Killelea, Ethan Belk (Legion); Ben Coyle, Chip Bowman, Xander Vanover (Lewisville); Tyler Levy, Greyson Wild (Catawba Ridge); Logan Munn, Tommy Seagle (Great Falls); Ethan Wilson (South Pointe); Scott Young, Dusty Sanderlin, Keenan Sumner (Fort Mill); Landon Peavy, Bry Neal (Andrew Jackson); Aaron Pendergast, Kenan Bowman, Jake Boyna (Nation Ford); Ethan Thurmond, Cole Canty (Rock Hill); Ron Robinson, Tony Shannon (Lancaster).
SOFTBALL
Player of the Year: Taylor Watson, Legion
Coach of the Year: Mark Cooke, Legion
Taylor Watson, Legion.
Maddie Drerup, Fort Mill: Fort Mill’s All-State selection hit .444 with three home runs and 14 RBI. Also the team’s ace, Drerup helped lead her team to a 5A Upper State title appearance this season.
Chloe Burger, Catawba Ridge: As only a freshman, Catawba Ridge’s ace went 20-9 and notched 227 strikeouts and an ERA of 1.63 in 189 innings of work. She also threw two no-hitters and eight shutouts — three of which were in the postseason. The Copperheads fell in the 4A Upper State championship series to eventual state champion Lugoff-Elgin.
Morgan Langley, Legion: Langley was a force for the Lancer offense this year. She hit eight doubles, one triple, five home runs and 42 RBI en route to notching a .440 batting average. The junior also stole 23 bases.
Jenna Venturelli, Clover: Clover’s All-State selection hit a remarkable .500 — adding five home runs, 32 RBI and five doubles. The Blue Eagles earned a berth in the 5A state playoffs.
Callie Sweatt, Northwestern: The All-Region senior first baseman hit .386 with three home runs and 21 RBI.
Madison Arnold, Nation Ford: The Falcons’ leader was an All-Region, 5A All-State and North-South All-Star game selection in 2021.
Maddie Baker, Andrew Jackson: AJ’s senior shortstop hit seven home runs and drove in 40 RBI en route to notching a team-high .450 batting average. The All-Region and All-State selection helped her team to a softball state championship appearance this season.
Payton Hurst, Indian Land: The Region 3-4A Player of the Year and Indian Land ace went 12-3, tossing 110 strikeouts and only allowing an ERA of 1.28. Hurst, also an All-State selection, had a .309 average with two home runs. She helped lead her team to a 4A state playoff berth.
SECOND TEAM
Aleah Roy, Legion: Roy had a .486 average with a .571 slugging percentage. The junior Winthrop commit also added nine doubles and was a key offensive piece for a team that averaged over 8.5 runs a game.
Joei Owens, Legion: Owens had a slugging percentage of .717 and a batting average of .446 for the Lancers this season. She also added eight doubles, four triples and three home runs.
Audrey Wilson, Catawba Ridge: Another star freshman for the Copperheads, Wilson hit .512, adding 49 RBI and 11 home runs in 31 games. The catcher and third baseman also notched an impressive fielding percentage of .980.
Ava Balsinger, Fort Mill: Balsinger had a batting average of .398 and had a knack for extra base hits — notching five home runs, six doubles and two triples, which contributed to her 23 RBI total.
Skylar Huffman, Andrew Jackson: The sophomore All-Region pitcher notched a record of 18-8. She was also an efficient batter, driving in 17 runs and averaging .369.
Faith Matthews, Indian Land: Indian Land’s All-Region catcher and North-South All-Star game selection hit .414 with five home runs and 25 RBI.
Sami Chavis, Clover: Chavis had 18 RBI and a .381 average. She also drew 10 walks.
Abby Furr, Lewisville: Lewisville’s sophomore shortstop had an impressive stat line: .462 batting average, 16 RBI, 36 runs scored and 25 stolen bases. The Lions earned a 1A playoff berth in 2021.
Savannah Nguyen, Indian Land: The Warriors’ All-State and All-Region shortstop hit a remarkable .515. She also notched five home runs, 32 RBI, five triples and eight doubles.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Janelle Illaqua (Catawba Ridge); Lexi Wilkinson, Gabi Wilson, Malloree Sexton, Reagan Smith (Legion); Madison Campbell, Abby Williams (Northwestern); Emma Tisdale, Brynn Bartolini, Trinity Wall (Fort Mill); Maluarie Martin, Saleena Rollins (Lewisville); Logan MacNeil, Adah Bruining (Clover); Addy Cina, Kaiden Quinn (York); Payton Hope (South Pointe); Bree Colbert (Andrew Jackson); Kendall Mallekoote (Indian Land).
Find all of The Herald’s 2021 spring All-Area teams here: Track and field, baseball/softball, soccer and lacrosse.
This story was originally published June 17, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
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