The Socastee High baseball team took control of the Region VIII-AAA standings Friday night with an 11-3 victory over visiting rival St. James, the defending Class AAA state champion.
Socastee’s Charlie Nicholson hit a pair of home runs, including a fourth-inning grand slam that broke a tie ballgame. He went a perfect 4-for-4 with 6 RBIs on the night, driving in more than half of the Braves’ runs.
The Sharks (7-2 overall, 3-1 region) led 3-1 in the fourth before Nicholson’s bases-loaded bomb broke open a tight battle. His two-homer in the fifth capped a four-run inning to put the game on ice and give the Braves (7-2, 6-0) the upperhand in the standings.
Socastee pitcher Chase Keevert scattered seven hits over six innings to improve to 3-0 on the mound this season. St. James’ Trent Revis took the loss on the mound but went 2-for-2 at the plate with a double and homer.
Socastee pounded out 15 hits against the Sharks. Manny Berdayes and Hunter Renfrow had 3-for-4 nights at the plate with one RBI apiece to help the Braves take sole possession of first place in the region standings.
