Pictured are the 2024 Little League umpires on opening day for Easley. From left, are: Eddie Fortner (1980 EHS grad), Eddie Williams (1980 EHS grad), Stephen “Blue” Watkins, Zeke West (2022 EHS grad) and Kaleb Hixon (2022 EHS grad).
I’ve only been here five or six months.
Yet, I’ll talk to some die-hard baseball fans in Easley and they’ll mention to me college baseball teams that are 20 minutes away and then tell me how they recently won or lost. Or, I’ll hear some baseball stories about how local families go travel two hours away to see the Atlanta Braves play. If that is not enough, I’ll hear about some minor league baseball games a half hour away with players on the team I’ve never heard of.
There is some high-quality baseball right in your own backyard!
At press time, the Green Wave baseball team is 8-0 and they are gearing up for a big Tuesday night game (at home) against Greenwood.
“We were undefeated last year and they (Greenwood) were undefeated last year,” said EHS coach Gill Payne. “We met them and they ended up sweeping us – both good games. This year, we are hoping to reverse that.”
Senior ace Kaleb Owens will bring his 4-0 record to the forefront on Tuesday night against Greenwood.
Owens continued his early-season dominance last week, leading Easley’s baseball team to an 11-0 victory over rival Pickens.
Owens threw the full five innings, struck out 12 batters and allowed just one walk.
“He is being a dude,” said EHS coach Gill Payne. “The reason why I say that is because we talked about it at the end of last year. For us to get where we need to get, he had to be a dude on the mound. We talked about being able to throw three pitches for strikes. Throw an off-speed when he wants to for strikes and he’s been able to do that this year. His velocity is up and he’s running it 88 to 90. Pitching off of that with an off-speed (pitch) makes him very effective. He can throw any of his pitches for strikes.”
Little and EHS Softball: The dramatic 4-3 win by the Easley softball team over Pickens was huge for the Green Wave program.
About 90 minutes before the varsity game, Green Wave head coach Karsyn VanDeventer commented on her team and said, “We have a young, but talented team. We are looking forward to growing together and building a better future for Easley.”
And that they did.
Sophomore Camora Little belted two home runs to lead the EHS team to victory. Her solo homer was a beautiful opposite homer to left field.
“I knew on the first one (home run) I had two strikes and I had to protect,” Little said. “She threw me an outside pitch and I knew I had to do something with it. I was nervous going into the game because I knew we had to win this game.”
“She’s a heck of a kid,” said VanDeventer, “and she’s just getting started. She’s only a sophomore and she’s still young. She’s still growing in her first year on varsity – coming up big in a region win with 2 home runs.”
Back in the day for Ellenburg: Some of you still remember the name of Dirk Ellenburg – more than being the current varsity softball coach at Pickens High School. He played football and baseball as a 1998 graduate of PHS. Then, he wenty on to play
“We always started the season playing Easley in football,” said Ellenburg. “We split with them – won two and lost two.”
Not missing a beat … Braxton Patton went 3-for-3 at the plate and drove in 3 runs last week in Easley’s 11-0 win over Pickens in five innings.
“Braxton – for two years now – has just been a solid guy for us,” said Green Wave coach Gill Payne. “Last year, he was all-regiona. he led our team in hitting and ws like second in the region for voting for the Player of the Year. He batted .430 last year. He’s just picked up right where he was last year. He can hit anybody – it doesn’t matter the velocity or off speed. he can pull it like he did tonight. He hits.”
A special tribute …
“When you step onto the JB ‘Red’ Owens facilities, you’re stepping into Gregg Powell’s legacy—his heart and vision for baseball made real. To me, he’s not just a legend; he has been my personal guide to everything baseball, from anything Little League to the World Series and now as President of Easley Little League, Gregg is the reason I’m here today.”
Kelly Osteen, Easley Little League President
EHS Track 3rd at Daniel Meet:
(Boys Meet): 1-Daniel; 2-Powersdville (135); 3-Easley (117); 4-Westside (110); 5-Palmetto (35) and 6-West-Oak (6).
TJ: 5-Keith Wells (39-01.25); 11-Ethan Smith (35-05.50).
HJ: 3-Brenden Martin (5-09.0); 6-Ryan Stack (5-07); 7-Rylan Wright (5-07).
LJ: 9-Tyjavion Harper (18-4.50); 10-Keith Wells (18-4.75).
PV: 1-Keith Wells (13-6); 3-Lance Bays (13-0) and 4-Conner Finley (13-0).
SP: 3-Kyler Turner (42-4.75); 4-Jonathan Welsh (40-9.75).
100: 8-Hayden Avant (11.59); 14-Jaylan Henry (11.80) and 19-Joshua Baker (11.97).
200: 8-Joshua Baker (24.48); 10-Hayden Avant (24.51).
400: 1-Cameron Sligh (50.84); 4-Exodus Mann (54.94) and 7-Lucas Miller (56.89).
800: 13-Connor McMillan (2:31.96) and 16-Clayton Goodacre (2:35.79).
1600: 3-Akira (4:40.19); 8-Ian Menendez (5:11.10); 9-Brayden Contreras (5:14.81); and 15-Mason Avant (5:21,59).
3200: 3-Avery Billings (11:22.69).
110H: 3-William Patton (16.05); 5-James Matthews (17.13); 10-Julius Adams (19.64).
400H: 2-William Patton (59.62); 5-Julius Adams (1:04.15) and 9-Ryan Williams (1:08.62).
(Girls Meet): 1-Daniel (180); 2-Powdersville (141); 3-Easley (106); 4-Westside (101); 5-Palmetto (18) and 6-West-Oak (9).
HJ: 1-Olivia Gramblin (4-11); 2-Gracie Arnold (4-9) and 5-Emerson Whitten (4-5.25).
LJ: 1-Aamari Kelly (16-3); 6-Meya McKinney (14-4.75); 11-Ava Proctor (13-7.75).
TJ: 1-Aamari Kelly (36-9); 8-Ava Proctor (30-4.25).
PV: 1-Katelyn McCarson (9-6); 2-Aubryn Salley (9-0).
D: 7-Mac Stoker (71-11.75).
J: 5-Willow Armstrong (75-0).
SP: 3-Mac Stoker (29-10.25); 12-Willow Armstrong (22-11.50); 13-Hannah Pope (21-11.75).
100: 2-Aamari Kelly (12.77); 11-Meya McKinney (13.58) and 12-Aubryn Salley (13.68).
200: 3-Aamari Kelly (26.87); 10-Emerson Whitten (28.454); 16-Ava Richardson (30.51) and 17-Anaya Sligh (30.82).
400: 3-Joby White (1:05.11); 5-Emerson Whitten (1:06.48).
800: 5-Kennedy Butts (2:55.86); 6-Maddy Caples (2:56.26) and 12-Savannah Moon (3:05.53).
1600: 2-Acie Vincent (5:25.03); 7-Jaylee White (6:12.66); 15-Julia Menendez (6:40.556).
400: 12-Mia Nichols (1:30.45).
Reach Jeff Holt at 864-855-0355.