The season's final S.C. Softball Coaches Poll was released Monday. Three area teams ended the season ranked.
Waccamaw, which won the AA state championship, finally moved into the top spot in AA. The Warriors had teetered between second and third all season despite being unbeaten. Crescent held the top spot all season until the Warriors were able to beat Crescent in the three games in the best-of-three state championship series. Waccamaw loses a lot of its key pieces to graduation, including Maryland-bound pitching ace Ashley Czechner, who ended the season 27-1 with a 0.29 ERA. She had 422 strikeouts and gave up 9 runs, 7 earned, with 22 walks. Czechner had a 22-strikeout game plus games with 21 and 20 strikeouts. She finished her high school career with a 71-9 record and 1,158 strikeouts. She also hit .389 with 6 home runs and 44 RBIs this season. The Warriors also lose stalwart Nikki Legg and Ashley Brown, who transferred in prior to this season. Junior Tricia Hood is among the top returning players.
St. James ended up fifth in AAA. The Sharks are young, with only one senior in their starting lineup. St. James will probably be the best team in the area next season.
And Georgetown ended the season at No. 10 in AAA thanks to their district title, where they won two games on the road in the finals to advance to the Lower State tournament. They played well in the Lower State tourney but just couldn't get over the hump against two of the best teams in the state -- Brookland-Cayce and Darlington.
CLASS AAAA
1. Mauldin
2. Summerville
3. Boiling Springs
4. Hillcrest
5. Wando
6. Stratford
7. White Knoll
8. Laurens
9. Byrnes
10. South Florence
CLASS AAA
1. JL Mann
2. Darlington
3. Brookland-Cayce
4. Chapin
5. St James
6. D.W. Daniel
7. Union County
8. Airport
9. Blue Ridge
10. Georgetown
CLASS AA
1. Waccamaw
2. Crescent
3. Central
4. Abbeville
5. Barnwell
6. Broome
6. Dillon
8. Saluda
9. Hanahan
10. Woodruff
CLASS A
1. Chesterfield
2. Lake View
3. McBee
4. East Clarendon
5. Buford
6. Johnsonville
7. Fox Creek
8. Dixie
9. Latta
10. Landrum
