Bishops have a sixth sense
Bishop England beats Chesnee to capture its sixth Class AA state title
By Philip Bowman
Brian Solomon might now be known as King Solomon at Bishop England High School.
With one out in the bottom of the eighth inning Wednesday night, the senior left fielder singled on an 0-2 pitch off Chesnee starter Dustin Sherbert to score Jimmy Lindberg and give Bishop England a 2-1 victory and its fourth Class AA state championship in seven years.
The Bishops, kings of Class AA, hoisted yet another state championship trophy into the night air in front of approximately 800 fans at Father Kelly Field.
Photo Gallery
Bishop England Beats Chesnee
Bishop England took the Class AA state title over Chesnee in an extra-inning win. The Bishops won, 2-1.
"I don't know what to say. It's a huge adrenaline rush," Solomon said. "When I rounded first base, I started screaming as loud as I could. We wanted it so badly in the beginning of the year when workouts began. We weren't going to lose this game, especially with Ryan Connolly on the mound. There was no way we were going to lose."
Connolly (13-0) came in relief of Lindberg with one out in the bottom of seventh inning and retired all five batters he faced including four on strikeouts.
It was one of three outstanding pitching performances on the night.
Lindberg scattered six hits and struck out 11 batters in 6 1/3 innings of work. He allowed only one run, a home run to Ryan Mitchell in the second inning.
Sherbert was just as impressive. He allowed five hits and struck out 13 batters. He gave up one unearned run in regulation.
Bishop England, which has won state titles in 1997, '98, '03, '05, '07 and '09, finished with a 28-2 record. The Eagles finished 20-7.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Lindberg led off by reaching on a two-base error and Patrick Mikell entered the game as a courtesy runner. Corey Forrester dropped a sacrifice bunt to move Mikell to third and Connolly hit a sacrifice fly to left to tie the score.
"Sherbert was fantastic," Chesnee coach Dean Jones said. "He pitched great and I thought he deserved to win. We had things happen to us that usually don't happen. That's part of the game, but it's a part of the game I don't like."
In the bottom of the eighth, Lindberg walked with one out and Forrester walked after just missing a homer. He hit the ball over the right field fence, but it was three feet foul.
Solomon came up and singled to give the Bishops their sixth state title in school history.
"It's a great feeling, all that work you put in," said second-year coach Bill Collier. "We lose seven seniors who played in their last game of their high school career and won a state championship. That's what it's all about. Brian's had a good year, and he's come up with some big hits for us this year. It's a great way for him to finish his career."
Solomon said the rest of Wednesday night would be an adrenaline rush.
"That was one heck of a game. It's something I'll cherish all night and for the rest of my life. Tomorrow, reality sets in. I have a (final) exam. But hopefully, this is something I'll remember the rest of my life."
WP—Connolly. LP—Sherbert.
E-mail this story
Printer-friendly version
Comments
Tulane75 (anonymous) says...
Bishop England has been a great place for "non-parishioners" like Brian to go to school and play baseball.
What a cool story!
What is not generally known is that Brian's brother Jason, now a practicing dentist, was a great, somewhat acrobatic athlete in his own right. People still talk about the great (top 3 of all time) catch Brian made in a 1994 game at St. Andrews Playground!
May 21, 2009 at 9:44 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tulane75 (anonymous) says...
CORRECTED
Bishop England has been a great place for "non-parishioners" like Brian to go to school and play baseball.
What a cool story!
What is not generally known is that Brian's brother Jason, now a practicing dentist, was a great, somewhat acrobatic athlete in his own right. People still talk about the great (top 3 of all time) catch JASON made in a 1994 game at St. Andrews Playground!
May 21, 2009 at 9:59 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
charleston_grown (anonymous) says...
congrats!
keep em coming!
May 21, 2009 at 11:58 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
evenplayingfield (anonymous) says...
Is it true that under Georgia and North Carolina, along with most other states, High School rules that Bishop England would be playing in Class 3A?
I'm also trying to figure out how Bishop England qualifies under these rules.
LEAGUE MEMBERSHIP - A non-public high school may become a member of the League if such
school is accredited by the Southern Association of Secondary Schools and Colleges and the principal
of the school agrees to conform to all rules and regulations of the League.
Before being considered as a member of the League, the non-public school must clearly define its
attendance area as one of the following: (1) the attendance area of the public school in whose
attendance area the school is located, (2) the school district in which the school is located, and (3) the
county in which the school is located.
May 22, 2009 at 2:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lowcountrydawg (anonymous) says...
Last time I checked...we don't live in GA or NC...and why does everyone hate on BE so much? They were ready to play...so get over it already!
May 22, 2009 at 3:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
hscoach (anonymous) says...
When you win people are jealous, when you lose nobody cares.
Class is what distinguishes a winner from a hero. Teach your players to congratulate the other team in loss, and to be gracious when the opponent wins. No Spiderman masks mocking the losing team, please. Nor should their be sour grapes, now.
At the beginning of the season, it was understood that BE was in the SCHSL with the students that they presently have. They have never been caught recruiting or cheating, to my knowledge. If you feel strongly about BE, then contact your legislator. If you are an AD pull your teams out of the region and be independent. Stand up for some principle, not this poop that you have shoveled.
I hope that this is not a Cane Bay person complaining after their illegal tryouts. I hope that this is not a Hanahan person who might be an ungracious loser.
May 25, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Fan7 (anonymous) says...
While supporting an opposing team, I watched Bishop England during the Lower State tourney. I said then that they would end up the State Champions, and they did. Congratulations. Job well done by a group of talented young men.
May 26, 2009 at 1:37 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Postandcourier.com is pleased to offer readers the enhanced ability to comment on stories. We expect our readers to engage in lively, yet civil discourse. Postandcourier.com does not edit user submitted statements and we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted in the comments area. Responsibility for the statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not postandcourier.com. If you find a comment that is objectionable, please click "report abuse" and we will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded, however, that in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on our website. Read our full Terms and Conditions.
Users can now build user-to-user connections, follow friends' recent posts, add an avatar that fits their personality, and more. If you have posted here before you'll need to sign up again, or if you've never posted before, start now by signing up!
- Most Commented
- Most Emailed
- Shared
- Upper King on rise: Hotels, apartments, restaurants changing face of downtown area
- Missing woman case gets murkier
- Missing woman's fiance found dead in his home
- Isle of Palms wants to patch beach
- Sullivan's man seeks all school records
- Local homeowners seek foreclosure relief
- Veterans Job Fair set for Feb. 22 in North Charleston
- Boeing powering up first local jet
- S.C. to get nearly $34 million in mortgage deal
- Advocating for cyclists
