Ready for baseball? What to know for 2022 American Legion season in Rock Hill-area

Are you ready for some (more) baseball?

The 2022 American Legion baseball season is almost here, and the area teams in League V are getting ready for another season in both the senior and junior divisions.

Both divisions in the league will look a little different this summer.

In the senior division, Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Lancaster and Chester will participate again. Chesterfield was in the league a year ago, but that team moved back to League IV. York returns as a member in the senior division.

In the junior division, Fort Mill, Rock Hill, Lancaster and York will field teams once again. Chester will not have a team in the junior division. Chester’s place will be taken by Buford, which is fielding a team for the first time.

The junior division continues to grow, and that makes for expansion in the senior division in the years to come.

Buck Schwing, who is the director for League V, is pleased with the growth of the junior program, which he helped get started several years ago.

“We will have 55 junior teams this summer,” said Schwing. “There is a lot more interest across the state. That exposure is giving more kids a chance to play, and it will result in more and better senior teams in the future.”

In the senior division, Fort Mill Post 43 is the defending league champion. They were 10-2 in league play last year and finished as the state runner-up with an overall mark of 20-6. Rock Hill Post 34 was second last time with a league record of 9-3. They made the playoffs and completed the year with an overall slate of 14-7.

Lancaster Post 31 was third in the league last summer with a record of 5-7. They earned a postseason berth and finished with an overall record of 7-9. Chester Post 27 finished league play last year with a record of 2-10. They also made the postseason and finished with an overall record of 2-12.

Here’s what you need to know.

American Legion baseball’s senior division ‘most competitive league’ in SC

Fort Mill head coach Tom Skula looks for a very competitive league this summer.

“This is the best and most competitive league in the state,” he said. “It will be the most competitive since I have been here.”

He feels like his team will be ready.

“We have nine back from last year’s team in addition to new players from our outstanding junior team a year ago,” he added. “The returning players are hurting from last year’s near miss in the state tournament, and they have the fire in their eyes.”

The veteran coach knows that the time frame to get his team ready is very small.

“We have to take players who started at their school and get them in the right place in a hurry,” he said. “They have got to understand they have to show up every day and compete, and they must understand their role on the team.”

Rock Hill looks to be strong once again this summer.

“I feel good about where we are in every aspect of the game,” said head coach Jeremy McCoy. “I have more quality arms than I have had in a long time.”

Rock Hill has already played several exhibition games, and McCoy is pleased with what he sees.

“We have players from schools that battle each other in the spring,” he added. “When they get to the summer, they come together well. They have a common goal, and that is to win games.”

Lancaster should be much improved from a year ago.

“We have a lot of players returning from last year,” said head coach Jimmy Jackson. “We should be better at the plate and in the field. We have some very good pitchers, but I am concerned about our pitching depth.”

Junior division outlook

In the junior division Fort Mill turned in a perfect 12-0 league mark last year on their way to an overall slate of 19-2. They finished the campaign as the state runner-up. Rock Hill was second last summer with a 7-5 league record and an overall ledger of 8-7 after postseason play.

Chester finished 5-7 in league play last year. They were 5-9 overall after the playoffs, Lancaster was 4-8 in the league and 5-10 overall, while York Post 66 was 2-10 in league play and did not make the postseason.

Fort Mill head coach Mike Lewis is hoping for continued success at the junior level after starting that program last summer.

“We lost a lot of guys, who moved up to the senior team,” said Lewis. “We have a good group returning, and we only have a short time to get the players ready. We need each player to understand his role, and we need to get good pitching.”

The season begins on June 6 in both divisions. Each team is scheduled for 12 regular season contests before the playoffs. All games start at 7 pm with the exception of the Fort Mill junior team, which will have its first pitch at 7:30 pm.

The senior and junior schedules have been made so that if the senior team is at home the junior team is away. That allows each of them to use the same field if they choose.

Where will teams play?

Both Rock Hill teams will play at Rock Hill High School. The Fort Mill seniors will play at Catawba Ridge and the juniors at Nation Ford. Both Lancaster teams will play at the American Legion Stadium, while Chester will play at the Chester County Baseball Complex. York seniors will play at York Comprehensive High and the juniors at York Middle School. Buford will play at Buford High School.

Stay tuned to heraldonline.com for schedules, scores and other occasional updates throughout the American Legion season.