(Photos by Edward Walker)
By Thomas Grant Jr.
Growing up less than 30 minutes away, Dell Lever was quite familiar with the baseball success at Chapin High School.
Serving as assistant coach at rival schools Irmo, Lexington, White Knoll and Dutch Fork further increased his awareness of the Eagles’ talent.
So, when Lever replaced Scott McLeod as head coach last November, he envisioned having immediate success at a “special place with a special group of kids.”
On Thursday, Chapin fulfilled that promise by winning the Class 5A Division II Best-of-Three championship series. After beating T.L. Hanna 7-3 on the road Wednesday in Game One, the Eagles completed the series sweep with a 4-3 home victory.
It was the ninth 1-run win of the season for Chapin, something which Lever made into a team moniker.
“We joked earlier in the season (that) we were like the masters of one-run games,” he said. “It always came down to one run near the end whether we won or lost. But we really started preaching a month ago about moments.
“That’s kind of been our mantra up until this point is just moments. We never know what moments are going to make or break a game. So, if we can stay calm and just relax in set moment, more often than not, we’re going to be successful and then once we got into this playoff run, our mantra became “one more” – one more pitch, one more play and so forth. If we can just relax and play “one more, one more”, we’re more likely than not going to have a positive ending on the scoreboard.”
Providing key “moments” at the plate for Chapin was Felix Flecha Ruiz. The senior outfielder homered twice in accounting for three RBI.
His first was a 2-run shot over the leftfield fence to tie the game at 2-2 in the Bottom 1st. He then belted a solo home run over the rightfield fence to put Chapin ahead 3-2 in the fourth inning.
“I went to bat, just taking a deep breath and doing what I do best and that’s hit the ball and that’s all,” Ruiz said.
Luke Cromer added an RBI single in the same inning to put the Eagles up 4-2. Oakley cut the lead to one run in the Top 5th and T.L. Hanna had two baserunners aboard with one out against starter Griff Harper.
Lever brought Becker Haggard into the game in relief. He immediately got Phifer Glann to ground out to first baseman Kelvin Harris and struck out Caeser Ochoa to end the half inning.
In the Top 7th, Jackson Robinson hit a lead off single for the Yellow Jackets. Haggard proceeded to get Reece Oakley to hit into a double play and ended the game by recording a groundout by Tatum Manning.
This was Chapin’s 12th state title, second only to Bamberg-Ehrhardt in S.C. High School League history. It was also the fourth state championship won since 2019 by a Region 4-5A team.
“(This is) emotional for me,” Ruiz said. “My last high school game. It’s the best feeling ever.”
Blowfish to honor state champions
On Monday, the Lexington County Blowfish announced plans to honor the Chapin baseball team during the June 15th home game at Lexington County Baseball Stadium.
“We are looking forward to honoring Coach Lever and the entire Chapin Eagles team for this monumental achievement,” said Blowfish Co-Owner Bill Shanahan. “Chapin has a rich baseball tradition, and winning a 12th state title is an unbelievable feat. We invite the entire community to come out, wear their blue and gold, and give these champions the loud ovation they deserve.”
In addition to the championship celebration, the Blowfish will hold $1 Hot Dog Night at the ballpark.
