Dabbling in sports writing again--Joanna Hornets performing well in their first year back in action

 In college and high school, I wrote sports articles for the student newspapers and wrote articles for the Clemson sports information department.  Thanks to the Joanna Hornets and the Chapin-Newberry American Legion baseball program for letting me dabble in sports writing again.  This article is about the new Joanna Hornets for local outlets.

Wearing the Joanna name and colors for the first time in over 50 years, the newly formed Joanna Hornets college summer baseball team had an excellent first month of action, competing in three states, playing home games at Newberry High and representing Joanna and themselves very well.

"It's been great so far," said Michael Riefsnyder, general manager.  "Players and coaches have been really dedicated.  They've been excited to build this program.  Head Coach Stuart Lake has been a tremendous addition for us, along with Coach Lindsey Stribble and Coach Ronnie Bannister.  Having such veteran coaches has made a big difference.  Starting up a program with Coach Lake, a former D1 head coach, is a real coup for us. 

"Players are having a great time and already asking about next season.  I think the future of this team is very bright.

"We have a great mixture of players from Newberry County, Laurens County, including one player from Joanna, plus players from the Spartanburg and Lexington areas."  Some of the colleges represented include Newberry, Erskine, Lander, USC-Sumter, USC-Union, College of Charleston and The Citadel.

Coach Lake was head coach at Charleston Southern and an assistant at South Carolina, Mississippi and other colleges.  He's now director of development for the Gamecock Club, coaching the Hornets in the evenings and on weekends.  "It's been fun to get back in the dugout," he said. "And it's been really good for us to represent what Joanna means.  

"You never know what you might get in a summer league, but Michael did a great job recruiting," said Lake between games of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon. "It's been a good group to show up out here in the heat and traveling some like we have.  They've really impressed me."

The Hornets play their home games at Newberry High.  "It's been an excellent partnership for the Hornets and Newberry High," Riefsnyder said.  "It's a fantastic field for us to play on. Newberry High baseball keeps the gate receipts and handles concessions so it's a good fundraiser for them, and they prepare the field for us. We've had about 100 people at each home game, which is more than we planned on. We've had a great response from people in Joanna and the Newberry community."

The Hornets play the Chapin-Newberry American Legion team Tuesday and Friday at Newberry College at 7 pm. The Hornets plan to play next year at Joanna Stadium, which is being renovated and will have field work soon. It was the home of the Joanna Hornets textile league baseball team from 1915--1950's.  Donations can be made to the Joanna Project, PO Box 35, Joanna, SC 29351 or call 803-220-6014.

Chapin-Newberry American Legion baseball celebrating 10th anniversary of 2015 World Series champ. Article for Newberry Observer

Chapin-Newberry American Legion Baseball will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2015 American Legion World Series championship team Friday at 7 pm when the 2025 team takes on the Joanna Hornets at Newberry College.

The 2015 team compiled a 32-1 record, won the state championship, the Southeastern region championship and then captured the World Series, defeating New Orleans, Louisiana 9-2 for the championship in Shelby, NC at Keeter Stadium.  The 2015 Chapin-Newberry team and the 1936 Spartanburg team are the only teams from South Carolina to ever win the American Legion World Series.

Ryan Stoudemire, a standout on the 2015 team and now the head coach of Chapin-Newberry, is excited about Friday's game and reunion.  "I really don’t think we realized we were a special group until after it was over," he said. "That’s what made this team so good. We didn’t care about the personal accolades or statistics. We were just a really close group of friends that wanted to have fun and were willing to do anything we could to help the team win. And we kept winning and having fun until they wouldn’t let us play anymore."

After a stellar regular season and despite entering the ALWS with a 28-0 record, Chapin-Newberry was considered a long-shot to win it all as there were several traditional powers in the eight-team field. C-N started with a thrilling 2-1 victory over former champion Midland, Michigan as C-N scored twice in the bottom of the ninth. The next day their unbeaten season came to an end with a 5-2 loss to New Orleans, who had won the championship in 2012.  Then in a must-win situation and down 6-0 to Cromwell, Connecticut, C-N stormed back to win 7-6 and advance.  In the semifinals against Medford, Oregon, C-N was down 3-1 going into the top of the eighth but scored a run in the eighth and two in the ninth to win 4-3.

In the championship on August 18, C-N scored first and built a seven-run lead to defeat New Orleans and capture the crown, before the largest championship game attendance (8,826) since 1949.  A traditional baseball "dog-pile" ensued as the Chapin-Newberry players celebrated the championship

C-N’s 32-1 record was the best national record since East Lynn, Massachusetts went 38-1 in 1937. The five-day tournament set a new attendance record with 117,072. 

Justin Hawkins was the recipient of the George W. Rulon American Legion Player of The Year.  He hit three home runs in the World Series, including a two-run first-inning home run in the championship. 

After an undefeated regular season, Chapin-Newberry swept the state championship in Sumter in five games, defeating Florence for the state championship. That earned C-N a berth to represent the Palmetto State in the regional championship in Asheboro, NC.  Chapin-Newberry swept the region tourney, which consisted of teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, to advance to the World Series.

"It’s hard to put into words what this team and the run we went on means to me," Stoudemire said. "Many of these guys are still some of my best friends to this day and are some of the fondest memories I have.

"Many of my favorite memories were off the field.  Of course there were some big games that will be remembered forever. Like the multiple come from behind wins in Shelby and coming back from our only loss of the season to Louisiana and being able to beat them for the championship. We spent so much time together, and there was never a dull moment. Whether Ryne Huggins was doing his pranks, to the PGA Tour XBox matches, to getting stuck in the elevator as a team 15 minutes after arriving in Shelby, good times were a guarantee when this group was together."