By Thomas Grant Jr.
The American Legion baseball season officially kicked off this week with region play for West Columbia Post 79.
For head coach Dargan Lybrand, it’s a mixed blessing. While he always looks forward for an opportunity to work with his 19 and under players, he knows not all of them will be available.
Between long playoff runs and end-of-school-year family commitments, Post 79 will have nearly half of its 22-man roster this week. Making it even more challenging is that West Columbia’s League III has become even more daunting with the addition of last year’s state and Southeast Regional American Legion champion Camden Post 17.
League III has produced three of the last six state champions. Add last year’s state tournament qualifiers Lexington and Richland and a slow start could make it challenging for a playoff run.
West Columbia opened region play Tuesday at Lexington Post 7 at Lexington High School, followed by a home matchup May 31 with Chapin-Newberry Post 193/24 at Brookland-Cayce High School and June 1 versus Richland Post 215 at A.C. Flora High School.
Once West Columbia does reach full strength, Dargan anticipates having a young team which will rely on pitching and defense as they eventually become a good hitting team.
Post 79’s lineup includes All-State players from Gray Collegiate (pitcher Brett Stukes), Brookland-Cayce (catcher Ty Marshall) and Airport (outfielder Corbin Wright); as well as former Gray Collegiate pitcher Peyton Starkey (now at Francis Marion), former Airport pitcher Josh Raines (now at USC-Union) and shortstop Connor Wood of White Knoll.
American Legion Schedule
West Columbia Post 79
June 12 – at Camden Post 17 7 pm
June 13 – Camden Post 17 6:30 pm
June 15 – at Chapin/Newberry Post 193/24 7 pm
Chapin/Newberry Post 79
June 14 – Camden Post 17 7 pm
June 15 – West Columbia Post 79 7 pm
