Photo by David Martin The Brookland- Cayce Bearcats, 2008 S.C. Class 3A baseball state champions! #2 Matthew Martin, Jr, 2B; #3 Evan Chastain, Sr,OF; #4 Drake Glickman, Sr,P; #5 Charles Martin, Sr,3B; #6 To'Nel Legette, Sr,OF; #7 Ryan Brown, Sr,P/1B; #9 Austin Harris, Jr,C; #10 Jeff Estep, Sr, 2B/P; #11 Ryan Burt, Sr, 1B/P; #12 James Hall, Jr,OF/P; #13 Justin Gross, Sr, SS; #14 Gaby Galvin, Jr,OF; #15 Jacob Oren, Sr, C; #16 Matthew Boulware, Sr, P; #18 O.B. Johnson, Sr,OF; #20 Jeremy Brazzell, Jr,OF/P; #21 Alex Nettles, Jr,OF/P; #22 Zack Warner, Fr, 1B/LHP; #23 Michael Gilroy, Fr, LHP/OF; #24 Chase Shelton, Fr, LHP/1B/OF; #25 Adam Westmoreland, Sr, P; Brian Hucks, head coach; Kevin Kunkle, assistant coach; Herby Hucks, assistant coach; Bo Bowers, assistant coach/pitching coach; Adam Gantt, B- Team head coach/infielders; Bryan Schroder, JV head coach/catchers.
Game 1,May 12, 2008
at Brookland- Cayce
Brookland Cayce 7
A.C.Flora 6
Eight Innings

O.B. Johnson made an incredible running catch in deep left- center field in the top of the eighth inning and then singled home the eventual game- winning run to give Brookland- Cayce a 7- 6 eight inning victory and a 1- 0 lead in the best- of- three 3A state championship series against A.C. Flora at Bearcat Field on May 12.

Photo by David Martin B- C head coach Brian Hucks enjoys the satisfaction of the postgame Gatorade shower. The game featured both offense and defense as each team scored six runs in the first 4 innings followed by 3 innings each of terrific pitching before Johnson's second RBI single.

The top- ranked Bearcats scored five runs in the first two innings keyed by a stretch of six consecutive singles in the second inning. Charles Martin, James Hall, Johnson and Justin Gross drove in runs in the second as B- C chased Flora starter Joseph O'Steen from the ballgame.

Down 5- 0 in the third inning, Flora began its march back into contention with three runs courtesy of a Robert Gibbes groundout, a wild pitch and a James Newman sacrifice fly to center. The Falcons then added three more runs in the top of the fourth behind consecutive RBI singles by Jay Wilson, Gibbes and Will Freeman. Gross countered with his second RBI in the bottom of the fourth to even the score for the Bearcats.

Photo by David Martin B- C's To'Nel Legette goes high trying to avoid the tag of A.C. Flora catcher Jay Wilson in Game 2. Matthew Boulware entered the game as a relief pitcher for Brookland- Cayce in the fifth inning and proceeded to dominate the visiting Falcons. Over the final four innings, Boulware allowed only a single hit and two walks while striking out four.

Flora used a litany of hurlers to shut down the Bearcats in the latter half of the game. Lefty Russell Gahagen pitched well in the fifth and sixth before being spelled by Newman. Newman struck out USC recruit Adam Westmoreland before giving way to Freeman with one out in the seventh. Freeman got out of a jam to force the extra inning.

Duy Phan led off the top of the eighth by legging out an infield hit to third base. Pinch hitting for Aaron Poole, Corey Young crushed a ball to deep left- center field, only to have it miraculously run down by Johnson. Turning and firing back to the infield, Johnson's rocket of a throw reached first base before a bewildered Phan, forcing a double play and effectively ending the Falcon threat in the eighth.

Photo by David Martin B- C's Adam Westmoreland pitches in the second game against A.C. Flora.Westmoreland averaged 14 strike- outs per game and had an ERA of 0.85. for the season. He also had a batting average of 0.396 with 41 RBIs and ten home runs. Charles Martin walked to open the bottom of the inning. Taking advantage of a Flora throwing error, Matthew Martin reached base, bringing Johnson to the plate with two on and nobody out. Johnson ripped the ball to center field where it was nearly caught. But as the ball hit the ground, the Bearcat dugout and stands exploded as Charles Martin scampered home for the winning run, putting B- C within one win of claiming its first state title since 2000.

Game 2,May 14, 2008

at A.C.Flora

Brookland Cayce 7

A.C.Flora 6

Brookland- Cayce's Adam Westmoreland out dueled A.C. Flora's Alex Mitchell to give the Bearcats the 3A state title on May 14 at Falcon Field. Westmoreland tallied 15 strikeouts and helped his own cause with a booming solo home run to straight away center field in the second inning to lead B- C to a 3- 1 victory in the best- of- three series. To'Nel Legette's two- run double in the top of the sixth inning was the winning hit for the Bearcats.

Photo by Elizabeth Bailey Johnson B- C pitcher Matthew Boulware struck- out four Falcons in relief in game one to hold off A.C. Flora. Mitchell forced three groundball outs in the top of the first to shut down the potent top of the B- C order in succession. The Falcons responded to the strong pitching start by knocking three hits off of the All- State and South Carolina recruit Westmoreland. Duy Phan's infield hit scored Robert Gibbes to give A.C. Flora an early 1- 0 lead.

Westmoreland responded immediately in the top of the second, smacking Mitchell's first offering clear over the extended fence in dead center field, evening the score at 1- 1. Shaken after the blast, Mitchell gave up a single and hit a batter, putting himself in a jam. But a nice catch in foul territory by Flora first baseman Kevin O'Quinn and a subsequent pick off play at third base doubled up the Bearcats and ended the second without further incident.

Photo by Elizabeth Bailey Johnson Jeff Estep (l) is congratulated by To'Nel Legette after scoring in game one. Innings three through five resembled pitching clinics as Mitchell and Westmoreland alternated dominating the opposing batters. Westmoreland struck out six over the middle innings while Mitchell fanned three hitters of his own. By the sixth inning, the game looked destined to follow the route taken in Game 1 of the series and head into extra innings.

Unfortunately for Flora, Mitchell finally showed signs of fatigue in the sixth inning, giving up four consecutive hits. After James Hall and O.B. Johnson reached base, Legette's double to left field cleared the bases and gave the Bearcats their first lead of the ballgame. The Falcons again mustered heady plays to ebb the Bearcats surge in throwing out a runner at home plate and ending the inning with third baseman Aaron Poole's double play.

Photo by Elizabeth Bailey Johnson B- C's Matthew Martin slides safely into third in front of A.C. Flora's third baseman Aaron Poole in game one. Flora's final two trips to the plate were unfruitful as Westmoreland powered his way to five strikeouts in the sixth and seventh innings. After walking Phan to start the bottom of the seventh, Westmoreland struck out the side to finish a complete game and give Brookland- Cayce the state championship over the defending champs.

B- C finishes the season with only two losses maintaining the state's top ranking for the majority of the season. Flora's second consecutive trip to the state championship series proved unsuccessful, but the season was a strong one for the Falcons who finish ranked in the top ten and will bring back key starters and a strong pitching staff.