Four area squads to begin baseball season in SCBCA polls
Though the springlike temperatures have many fooled — including the birds, bees and trees — nothing marks the changing of the seasons like the start of baseball season.
With a new campaign right around the corner, the state Baseball Coaches Association released its preseason rankings on Saturday.
Four area clubs finds themselves among the top 10 in their respective classifications to begin the season.
After falling just short of a state title last year, St. James begins the 2017 season as the No. 4 team in Class 4A. Lugoff-Elgin begins No. 1 in the classification, with Belton-Honea Path and A.C. Flora ranked above the Sharks.
Coming off of its first state baseball title in school history, Aynor begins a new season No. 5 in Class 3A, just behind region rival Waccamaw. Seneca, Gilbert and Chapman are the top three clubs in the classification.
Green Sea Floyds also will start the season in the top 10, coming in at No. 8 in Class A. Lamar, Lake View, McBee, Lewisville and Whitmire round out the division’s top five.
SCBCA Preseason Rankings
Class 5A
1. Northwestern
2. J.L. Mann
3. Easley
4. Ashley Ridge
5. Lexington
6. Summerville
7. Boiling Springs
8. Dorman
9. River Bluff
10. Mauldin
Class 4A
1. Lugoff-Elgin
2. Belton-Honea Path
3. A.C. Flora
4. St. James
5. Chapin
6. Wren
7. Hilton Head
8. Hartsville
9. South Pointe
10. South Aiken
Class 3A
1. Seneca
2. Gilbert
3. Chapman
4. Waccamaw
5. Aynor
6. Bishop England
7. Strom Thurmond
8. Powdersville
9. Dillon
10. Swansea
Class 2A
1. Abbeville
2. Chesnee
3. Ninety Six
4. Barnwell
5. Cheraw
6. Latta
7. Buford
8. Johnsonville
9. Bamberg-Ehrhardt
10. Christ Church
Class A
1. Lamar
2. Lake View
3. McBee
4. Lewisville
5. Whitmire
6. Hannah-Pamplico
7. Dixie
8. Green Sea Floyds
9. East Clarendon
10. Branchville
Joe L. Hughes II: 843-444-1702, @thejournalist44
This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Four area squads to begin baseball season in SCBCA polls."