For good reason, the South Carolina Baseball Coaches Association made Hanahan High School the No. 1 team in Class 3A going into the new season. The Hawks return an experienced squad from 2023 that finished as state runner-up. They’ve also picked up a couple of key transfers.
“We’ve got a good team, no doubt about it,” said first-year Hawks coach Skylar Hunter. “We’re talented, but we’ve got to keep them focused on the little things really and keeping our emotions in check at times. If we do that, we’ve got a chance to do some special things this year.”
Hunter’s bunch went 3-1 in the preseason Shipyard Showdown and opened the regular season with a hard-fought 3-2 victory at Class 5A Fort Dorchester Tuesday, March 5. The Hawks scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh and the Patriots stranded the tying run at third base in the bottom of the inning.
The Hawks were coming off a 10-4 loss to James Island — ranked No. 7 in Class 4A — in the Shipyard Showdown final. Hanahan previously soared past Legion Collegiate (7-1), Riverside (6-1) and Lucy Beckman (14-2).
“The boys are very resilient,” Hunter said. “They’re very good at responding. I had a good feeling we’d come out ready to compete. To come out here and compete like we did after losing like that in a championship game speaks to how tough these kids are.”
Senior Porter Sprovero scored from third base on a safety squeeze off the bat of junior outfielder Joe Furse with one out to break the tie in the final frame versus Fort Dorchester. Sprovero got in just under the tag to put the Hawks on top. Sprovero was courtesy running for younger brother Hudson Sprovero, a sophomore catcher who doubled with one out to set the table.
Hanahan senior reliever Riley Turner allowed just a walk in the bottom of the inning and earned the win, going 2.1 innings with three strikeouts, two walks and a hit allowed.
Senior outfielder Landon Gomes and Hudson Sprovero had two hits against the Patriots. Gomes drove in a run with a double in the top of the third inning. Hanahan went up 2-0 on an error in the fourth inning before Fort Dorchester evened it with two runs in the bottom of the fifth.
“We’re going to get everybody’s best game, and that’s good,” Hunter said. “We’ve got a good schedule. That’s going to prepare us for a playoff run in May.”
As for the rest of the campaign and their season goals, the Hawks should have an opportunity to make another deep playoff run, perhaps even hoist a state championship trophy for the first time since 1976.
Hanahan has six players with college destinations already picked out. On the bump, seniors Gabe Dotterweich (Florence-Darlington), Hunter Gomes (Francis Marion) and Porter Sprovero (USC Lancaster) are a solid set of arms coming back from a team that compiled a 26-9 record.
Landon Gomes (Francis Marion) is back in the outfield, and three of four infield spots have starters returning: senior first baseman Hunter Gomes, senior second baseman Jacob Bunting and Turner at third base. New shortstop Oakley Aguilar, who transferred from a baseball academy, is a senior headed to Radford.
Another key newcomer is sophomore Sterling Coaxum, who can play on the outfield or infield. The Clemson commitment transferred to Hanahan from Oceanside Collegiate. Sophomore Bo Brabham is another pitcher and sees time at third base.
“We have three veteran pitchers we can run out there who have deep playoff experience and have thrown a lot of innings against some very good teams,” Hunter said. “We’ve got a very clean defense, and I don’t know if we have a hole in our lineup. Everybody from top to bottom can swing it. They understand the game. It’s a really fun group to coach.”
As far as docking points, Hunter said the Hawks have things to work on as the season goes on.
“We need to be more mentally resilient when things don’t go our way,” he said. “It’s still early, and we’re still preaching that. It’s something they’ve gotten better at as time has gone on. That’s something we’ll have to continue to improve on.”
In the win over Legion Collegiate, Turner drove in three runs, and Hunter Gomes collected three hits.
Coaxum went 3-for-4 from the leadoff spot and scored twice in the victory against Riverside, while Brabham hurled five two-hit innings to garner the pitching win.
In the win over Lucy Beckham, Bunting drove in three runs, and Turner was 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Hunter Gomes went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Porter Sprovero pitched 5.2 innings and struck out six batters to pick up the pitching victory.
Landon Gomes knocked in two runs in the loss to James Island.
The Hawks host four straight games against Class 5A Ashley Ridge (Thursday, March 7), Class 2A Bishop England (Friday, March 8), Fort Dorchester (Monday, March 11) and Class 5A West Ashley (Wednesday, March 13) before heading to Ashley Ridge (Thursday, March 14) and Class 5A Summerville (Monday, March 18).
Two of those matchups stand out for the Hawks. Summerville and West Ashley are ranked No. 2 and No. 3 in the state’s highest classification, respectively.
Summerville 7
Stratford 2
Stratford fell at No. 2 Summerville 7-2 Tuesday, March 5, in a non-region baseball game. It was the opener for the regular season.
Outfielder Tripp Smith led the Knights with two hits and scored a run.
