Prep notebook: Rain likely to wreak havoc on area teams during playoff push

Outside of a fairy godmother providing domed stadiums for the area’s baseball and softball teams, a few rainouts this week appear inevitable given weather forecasts.

It just so happens all that rain is likely going to fall during a crucial stretch.

The state’s teams are entering their next-to-last week of the regular season. And while a handful of Grand Strand programs are within reach of region championships and playoff seeds, there’s a strong possibility rainouts in the coming days will make next week’s schedule even more hectic.

Welcome to spring in Myrtle Beach.

“Last year it hurt me tremendously. I had to back up four region games back-to-back-to-back-to-back,” Waccamaw baseball coach Jeff Gregory said. “We’ve been fortunate this year. We haven’t missed any games, knock on wood.

“[Rainouts] will throw a curveball into it, especially if you’re a team that only has one horse. Thankfully, we’re not in that boat.”

The Warriors (6-0 in Region VIII-AA) are at the opposite side of that this year. Behind stellar pitching and a big win over second-place Dillon already, Gregory’s team can clinch the division title Friday if all goes to plan.

Waccamaw heads to Aynor on Tuesday and then to Dillon on Friday. Both of those teams are in the region’s top three.

“They’re focused on this week,” Gregory said of his players. “They know they can go from first to third if they open the door for anybody.”

Fellow area baseball teams Socastee, Myrtle Beach and St. James also enter this week in first place or a tie for first place in their respective regions. Softball teams Carolina Forest, Conway and Georgetown are in the same position.

Several more teams are also within striking distance of shoring up playoff seeding, including many that could finish in the top two – spots that qualify teams for first-round home games in the district playoffs.

Most baseball and softball teams from the area have four region games remaining, although some have as many as six given previous rainouts and make-up dates. All region standings and playoff seeds must be finalized no later than April 24.

The next day is the reporting deadline to the South Carolina High School League.

Five games to watch:

Be it rivalries, impact to the region standings or even division titles, these five games should provide some of the best action this week.

Softball

▪ Waccamaw at Aynor (Tuesday) | The Blue Jackets get the advantage of playing their final four region games on their home turf. That’s fitting, because a win Tuesday likely propels Aynor to a top-two seed and a first-round home playoff game.

▪ Georgetown at North Myrtle Beach (Thursday) | The top two teams in Region VII-AAA have just one loss between them, and that was the defeat Georgetown handed North Myrtle Beach. The Chiefs may have the best shot at preventing the Bulldogs from going undefeated in the division.

Baseball

▪ Sumter at Carolina Forest (Tuesday) | Everyone in Region VI-AAAA is chasing Socastee. But the all-important second-place spot is shaping up to come down to the Gamecocks and Panthers, who are both 4-2 so far.

▪ Waccamaw at Dillon (Friday) | The Warriors made quick work of Dillon two weeks ago, and a win Friday could mean the Warriors clinch the region title with a week to spare. That shouldn’t be a surprise give Waccamaw is one of the area’s best teams.

▪ St. James at Myrtle Beach (Friday) | The Seahawks took round one in March when St. James left a starting lineup’s worth of runners on base. Regardless, the winner here takes a major step in clinching a region title.

Lacrosse playoffs

The Socastee girls lacrosse team will enter the postseason with a better seed than any team in school or area history when the playoffs begin Tuesday.

The Braves earned a No. 4 seed in the Lower State bracket and will host to Bluffton.

The Socastee boys are also playoff bound. The No. 7 Braves will head to No. 2 A.C. Flora for a first-round matchup.

Both Socastee teams also made the playoffs a year ago, losing on the road as No. 8 seeds.

The area had five schools with teams this year, the was the most to date. Carolina Forest, St. James and Myrtle Beach each added boys and girls teams this spring, joining Socastee and Waccamaw. The Braves were the first to participate in 2010, the first year the South Carolina High School League sanctioned the sport.

Spring signings

The next batch college commitments will come this week, as the NCAA regular signing period opens Wednesday for those committing to Division I or Division II programs.

Socastee will have six athletes commit this week. On Wednesday at 3:15 p.m., tennis standouts Kyle Barr (Wofford), Ethan Smith (North Greenville) and Caleb Bellamy (Ferrum) will participate in their signing ceremony.

On Friday at 3 p.m., three more will join them. That list includes golfer Megan Dresser (Converse), Nick Borriello, who is signing with Lincoln for lacrosse, and baseball pitcher Austin Schmitz (USC-Aiken).

Another former area athlete was announced last week as part of this year’s recruiting class at Palmetto Prep. Corbin Singleton, who played linebacker at Myrtle Beach in 2013, helping the Seahawks to a Class AAA state championship, has joined the Columbia post-graduate and junior college program in Columbia. Palmetto Prep was formerly known as Gray Academy during its first four years.

More area athletes are expected to sign college paperwork at a later date.

St. James facility improvements

A trio of athletic facility improvements are either underway or about to start at St. James.

Fans at Sharks baseball and softball games have noticed the construction of matching press boxes behind home plate at both fields. The two-story buildings will house space for scorers and media on the second floor, as well as concessions on the bottom levels.

Athletics Director Paula Lee said both buildings are expected to be completed by the end of May. The projects were secured through booster club loans.

The third renovation will begin in late May, when the current basketball court is torn up and replaced. The new surface will have updated school colors and logos. That project was part of Horry County Schools’ rotating facilities improvements.

The new floor should be completed in June.

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Prep notebook: Rain likely to wreak havoc on area teams during playoff push."