Prep playoffs roundup: Catawba Ridge, Indian Land will need a Game 3

This season’s sixth Indian Land-Catawba Ridge baseball game will be the biggest.

The teams will meet Saturday afternoon at Indian Land, with a berth in next week’s Class 5A/Division 2 state championship series at stake.

Indian Land assured there’ll be a Game 3 in the Upper State regional title series with its 4-2 victory Thursday at Catawba Ridge.

The decisive Game 3 will be played at 1 p.m.

It also is the only remaining regional championship baseball game in South Carolina, as the other state finalists in the six classifications have already been determined.

Catawba Ridge (21-8) won the opener of the series Tuesday, but Indian Land evened the score behind the pitching of Liam Roberson. He threw seven innings of five-hit ball, allowing just one earned run. Roberson struck out eight.

Leading the offense were Johnny Compton, Cole Dombrowski, and Emerson Rhodes, each with two hits.

Indian Land leads the season series 3-2, having won two of three over Catawba Ridge in the regular season..

Saturday’s winner will face Lower State champion Berkeley (20-10) in the championship series next week.

Andrew Jackson falls short

Academic Magnet scored two goals in each half Thursday evening and blanked Andrew Jackson 4-0 in the Class 2A boys’ soccer state championship match.

The match was played at Irmo High.

The victory capped a big night for the Charleston school, as its girls’ team shut out Dixie 5-0 for the 2A girls’ championship.

Andrew Jackson (18-4) was making its third appearance in the state finals. The Volunteers have not won a championship.

Academic Magnet (23-1) has won six state titles and was in the finals for the 11th time.

Nation Ford coaching change

Jeff Stack, head baseball coach at Nation Ford for the past three seasons, announced Thursday that he was stepping down.

In a social media post, Stack thanked his wife, Aly, and his coaching staff, among others.

The Falcons finished 13-16 this season and were 34-44 in three seasons under Stack.

Stack, a Union County native, came to Nation Ford after a highly successful stint at Sun Valley, where he turned the Spartans into a North Carolina state power. Stack’s 2022 team at Sun Valley won a baseball conference title for the first time in 26 years at the school.

This story was originally published May 21, 2025 at 11:44 AM.