Roundup: Cael Roberts Leads Boys Golf; Girls Soccer Wins in Double OT

Cael Roberts fired a career-best 2-under-par 70 to lead the SJCS boys golf team to a tie for fourth place in Tuesday's Class 3A Upper State qualifier at Saluda Valley Country Club in Williamston.

Roberts finished in a tie for second with Southside Christian's Preston White, just one shot behind medalist Will McCraw of Chapman. SJCS Coach Ted Coia called Roberts' bogey-free round -- featuring two birdies and 16 pars -- "a once-in-a-lifetime event for quality players."

"Perhaps the key to his success was his ability to stay in the present," Coach Coia said. "When asked how he stood with (relation to) par with just one hole remaining, his response was, 'Even or 1 over.' Clearly, he wasn't focused on the final score but the next shot."

Roberts led the Knights to their best performance of the season, a 305 -- tied with Southside Christian, eight shots back of champion Chapman and eight better than Christ Church.

Captain Bryce Chapman came in at 76, followed by Smith Crick at 78, Clyde Williams at 81 and George Covington at 82.

All five, along with Hudson Wolfram, will move on to the state championship next Monday and Tuesday, May 19-20, at Newberry Country Club.

CLASS 3A UPPER STATE QUALIFIER
At Saluda Valley Country Club, Williamston
Par 72

Team Scores

1. Chapman 297, 2. Powdersville 302, 3. Walhalla 304, 4. (tie) St. Joseph's 305, Southside Christian 305, 6. Christ Church 312, 7. Palmetto 314, 8. Broome 317, 9. BHP 324, 10. Pendleton 326, 11. MVP 340, 12. Woodruff 345, 13. Union County 374, 14. West-Oak 377, 15. Crescent 387.

Top 10 Individuals

1. Will McCraw 69, 2. (tie) Cael Roberts (StJ) 70, Preston White (SCS) 70, 4. (tie) Evan Cheek (SCS) 71, Grayson Pruitt (Chap) 71, Henry Wofford (CCES) 71, 7. Jace Jarvis (Powd) 72, 8. (tie) Jack Williams (Wal) 73, Rece Magruder (Palm) 73, 10. Waylon Pitts (Wal) 74.

Girls Soccer

The SJCS girls soccer team scored twice in overtime to defeat Greer Middle College 3-1 in a Class 3A third-round playoff match Tuesday night at Converse University.

The Knights (14-5), seeded fourth, advance to the Upper State championship. They will play the winner of tonight's game between No. 10 Southside Christian and No. 3 Christ Church, which was postponed Tuesday night.
 

Against top-seeded and Region 3 champion GMC (14-4-2), St. Joe's led 1-0 at halftime on a goal by Lola Kelly, who was assisted by Caroline Getz.

The Blazers evened the score in the second half, setting the stage for the 10-minute overtime periods.

After neither team scored in the first extra period, Getz put the Knights back on top, with an assist from Reagan Grace. Then the trio completed the round-robin scoring, with Grace scoring and Kelly assisting on an insurance goal for the Knights.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Lillie Mendelson made eight saves and limited GMC to just the one goal.

Boys Soccer

Fourth-seeded Christ Church led No. 9 St. Joe's 1-0 with about 10 minutes remaining in the first half Tuesday night when their Class 3A third-round playoff match was delayed due to lightning and then postponed due to rain.

The teams will resume the game tonight at 5:30 PM at Converse University. The winner wile third-seeded Patriots beat No. 10 Palmetto 5-0 on Tuesday.

Baseball

The Knights were trailing Broome 3-1 in the top of the fourth inning when the game Tuesday night was halted by rain. It will be continued today at 4:30 PM.

It's the championship of the double-elimination Class 3A district 2 tournament. If the Knights rally, they will win the district. If Broome hangs on, the teams will play a second game today to determine the champion.

Softball

No. 7 Mountain View Prep defeated No. 7 St. Joe's 10-1 in five innings in a Class 3A District 4 tournament elimination game Tuesday.

Addie Murphy and Jackie Garrett each had a double, and Murphy knocked in Stella Nash to score the Knights' only run.