BOWMAN COLUMN: Former Stratford coach Scott Ruggles to join S.C. soccer hall

Former Stratford soccer coach Scott Ruggles has been elected to the South Carolina High School Soccer Coaches Association's Hall of Fame.

Ruggles is a pioneer of the sport in South Carolina and has served as a coach and administrator in the organization.

Ruggles coached the Knights boys team from its inception in 1983 to 2003, compiling a 245-135-8 career record. His team qualified for the playoffs 15 times, and he was the Berkeley County coach of the year eight times and the region coach of the year six times.

He was the Lowcountry coach of the year in 1987 when he led the Knights to a 14-3 record and a berth in the playoffs.

"It's obviously a great honor for me, but more important for Stratford High School and all the players that have played, without them none of this would be possible," said Ruggles who coached in two North-South All-Star Games. " I used to tell them a Stratford player is one that plays with their heart; in my later years that's why our jerseys had just Stratford across the front, the team all of us doing our part."

Ruggles has been involved at all levels of the state soccer association and also served as the president of the South Carolina Athletic Coaches Association.

He has been at Stratford for 29 years and has been an assistant football coach the entire time.

Ruggles will be inducted into the SCHSSCA Hall of Fame on June 15 at the North-South Soccer Classic Banquet in Mount Pleasant. Former Wando coach Tom Reilly will be his presenter.

BE streak

Bishop England pitchers recorded 22 consecutive shutout innings until Gilbert scored in Wednesday's game en route to a 2-0 victory over the Bishops in a matchup of two of the state's best Class AA teams.

Bishops pitchers Patrick Cornely and Fernando Pinillos combined for a one-hitter against Gilbert but didn't get much help offensively as the Bishops managed only one hit to drop the team batting average to .209.

The shutout streak began when Cornely pitched a two-hitter in a victory over Woodland. Five pitchers combined for a two-hit shutout over Stall: Tucker Dille, Ryan Rogers, Jamie Garrett, Tradd Lowman and Patrick Clarey. Shawn Singletary followed that up with a two-hit shutout over Academic Magnet.

The Bishops, who have a team ERA of 1.06, are 6-4 heading into a Region 6-AA showdown at Hanahan on Tuesday.

Special K

Ashley Ridge pitcher Paige Deschaine reached 1,000 career strikeouts Friday night in a 9-0 softball victory over rival Summerville. She allowed four hits and struck out 10 to push her career total to 1,007.

Deschaine has been an all-region and all-state for three years.

Follow Phil Bowman on Twitter at @pandcphil.