ELIZABETHTOWN – The East Bladen Eagles finished an outstanding year on the diamond with an overall record of 13-11 and they battled their way to the third round of the 1A NCHSAA Playoffs as the number-six seed in the East. The Eagles third-place finish in the Waccamaw 1A/2A Conference locked them in as a top-seed in the 1A East Region and they just fell short to Perquimans in a 10-9 defeat. They relied on stellar pitching on the mound and grit inside the batter’s box to overcome their first two challengers in the playoffs.

Junior Davion Lewis and sophomore Jayce Hatcher were two Eagles who led with their play during the postseason. Both players were instrumental in their opening round victories as they both pitched complete games and held their opponents to tough evenings in the batter’s box. Lewis threw nine strikeouts in seven innings of work and allowed two runs in the first round victory over Hobgood Charter. Hatcher threw six strikeouts and held Oxford Prep to one run in the second round win.

They also managed to hit well to get on base, scored runs and batted runners into safety. Lewis and Hatcher earned Waccamaw All-Conference at the end of the season for their outstanding performance throughout the year. East Bladen junior Isaiah Lee got an honorable mention nod for his contributions to a solid season. Waccamaw Player of the Year went to South Columbus senior Walker Sullivan as he helped lead his team to an overall record of 15-6. South Columbus Head Coach Justin White and Whiteville Head Coach Fielding Hammond share the Waccamaw Coach of the Year.

South Columbus and Whiteville shared the Waccamaw Conference Title with identical 10-2 records. Other names to make the All-Conference list for the South Columbus Stallions were Josh Watts, Rowan Simpson and Tyler Thompson. The Whiteville Wolfpack won their fourth straight conference title and they earned the number-three overall seed in the 2A East Region with an overall record of 10-5. They went neck-and-neck with South Columbus all season and their two straight victories over the Stallions in the regular-season helped them claim the number-three seed outright.

Whiteville had four names on this season’s All-Conference list, with the second-most representatives alongside South Columbus. Senior Caleb Johnson, senior Camden Butler, junior Jake Odham and junior Leyton Mclean were the Wolfpack players to earn All-Conference honors. The West Columbus Vikings were represented by junior Brenan Little and senior Ryder Haynes for All-Conference. Heide Trask sophomore Cooper Uhland and Pender senior Tyler Conger rounded off the All-Conference list this season.

The East Columbus Gators saw two of their own make the list in junior Gauge Simmons and freshmen Kamden Coker. Junior Braylon Waddell was the lone honorable mention for East Columbus. Simmons was the Gators go-to guy on the mound and he was one of the Gators more prominent hitters in the lineup. Coker had a great first season with The Gators as one of the top hitters in the conference. Waddell averaged .367 in the batters box on 81 plate appearances throughout the season.

The Gators were East Bladen’s closest challengers for the top-seed amongst 1A teams in the Waccamaw Conference. They finished the season with an overall record of 14-9 and suffered a second round exit as the 13th-seeded team in the 1A East Region. Conference realignment for next season has dissolved the Waccamaw and broken down its former members into brand new classifications. East Bladen and East Columbus will continue competing against one another in the Carolina 1A/2A Conference next season.

East Columbus will be the lone 1A Classification in the new conference and East Bladen will compete in the 2A Classification. West Columbus will also be a member of the Carolina 1A/2A Conference at the start of next season. South Columbus and Whiteville will move to the Southeastern Conference to compete in the 3A Classification. Heide Trask and Pender will compete in the East Central Conference 3A/2A starting this fall.