CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – 2022 was another busy year for sports in the Lowcountry. Over the Christmas weekend we’ll look back at the top 10 stories of the year. Saturday we’ll reveal 10 through 6 with 5 through 1 coming on Sunday.
10. CofC baseball beats Texas
Our list begins with one of the best games we saw in the Lowcountry in 2022. Back in March, the Texas Longhorns, who some had ranked as the best team in the Country, visited Patriots Point for a match up against the College of Charleston. But the Cougars weren’t intimidated and jumped out to an early lead thanks to a first inning Grand Slam from JT Marr. Texas would cut the lead own to 2 in the 4th but CofC would throw 5 shutout innings to end it including 2 from William Privette who struck out 5 batters to end it.
9. Berkeley wins 5-A state baseball championship
Berkeley has always been a strong high school baseball program in the Lowcountry but back in May, they finally earned their 1st state championship. The Stags winning the 5-A title with a 3-1 win over Fort Mill to win the final series 2 games to 1. Miller McGuire threw a gem on the mound for Berkeley with a complete game giving up just 5 hits and 1 run. Berkeley would score all their runs in the 2nd with a bases loaded double from Jackson Proctor and an RBI from Mason Salisbury.
8. Philadelphia 76ers, St. Louis Blues visit Lowcountry
Professional teams making visits to Charleston. Back in September the NBA’s Philadelphia 76ers visited town to hold their preseason training camp at The Citadel. Superstars Joel Embiid, James Harden and the rest of the team spent a week in the city visiting landmarks in-between practices. A couple weeks later, the NHL’s St. Louis Blues held some preseason practices at the North Charleston Coliseum to get ready for their year.
7. A year full of coaching changes
We saw coaching changes on several local teams with some big names being moved out. In March, the Stingrays fired Ryan Blair who was replaced by his assistant Brendan Kotyk. South Carolina let go of Frank Martin after 9 seasons and brought in Lamont Paris. The Citadel didn’t renew Duggar Baucom and brought back Ed Conroy. In May, Clemson fired Monte Lee and hired Michigan’s Erik Bakich. In October, the Battery fired Conor Casey after just 1 year in favor of Ben Pirmann and in November, Charleston Southern let go of Autry Denson and brought back former assistant Gabe Giadina while The Citadel didn’t renew Brent Thompson after 6 years and replaced him with Lowcountry native Maurice Drayton.
6. Rory McIlroy wins at Congaree
The PGA returned to the Lowcountry for the 2nd year in a row holding The CJ Cup event at the Congaree Golf Club in Ridgeland. A stacked field was on hand to compete but it was the face of the PGA tour, Rory McIlroy, who ended up taking home the trophy. McIlroy shot 4 under on Sunday to hold on for a 1 shot win at Congaree.
The Top 5 will be revealed on Christmas Day!
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Top 10 Sports Stories of 2022
