Spring break has come and gone, so that means the march to the playoffs has officially begun for the Wilson Hall softball team.

The Lady Barons have won the last two SCISA 3A state titles, and they're hoping to claim the first-ever 4A state title in a few short weeks. That road to the postseason began in earnest on Tuesday, as Wilson Hall faced the rival Lady Swampcats from Laurence Manning for their first region game, running away with a 14-3 win.

Listen to our conversation with head coach Teresa Alexander below or anywhere you get your podcasts.

This week on the Blitz we sit down with Former Lakewood baseball standout Landon DeLavan

Unsure of what to expect from his upcoming season, the former All-State pitcher just wanted to help the team however he could, whether that meant starting games, coming out of the bullpen or learning from the bench.

As it turns out, he's blossomed into quite the reliever for Tim Medlin's Fire Ants.

Listen below or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Former Lakewood standout Preston McDonald reached his own slice of history last week.

The Florence-Darlington head coach won his 500th game on March 29 with a 5-2 win over Fayetteville Tech. It was a milestone years in the making and a number he was honored to reach.

"For me, it really just means that I've been there a while," McDonald jokes. "That's a long time to be at one place, and I'm really proud of the fact that I'm not out there looking for the next job.

"We've had a lot of good players come through the program. That's really who wins games. Coaches, they write the lineup, they coach in practice and let the guys play in games. I've been really blessed to have some really great players over the years that have won a lot of games for us."

Listen below or anywhere you get your podcasts.

Two weeks ago, most of the sports world had never heard of Fairleigh Dickinson University or its point guard, former Lakewood star Grant Singleton.

That's certainly not the case anymore.

Singleton and FDU shocked the world last Friday in the NCAA Tournament, becoming just the second No. 16 seed to upset a No. 1 seed in tournament history by slaying a literal giant in Purdue.

"It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience," Singleton said. "As a kid, you always want to get to the NCAA Tournament. For me, coming from DII for four years, that dream didn't look so good at first. Everything happens for a reason. When I got to FDU, I knew I was going to take full advantage of the opportunity. To end my college career like that was amazing."

STORY:
Making the most of an opportunity: Former Lakewood guard Singleton shines on national stage with FDU | The Sumter Item (theitem.com)

Construction at the school affected the home track at Wilson Hall, forcing the team to host only modified meets or travel a bit more. On this episode of the Blitz, we sat down with head coach Rip Ripely to talk about how it feels to welcome a home crowd again. 

The Wilson Hall track team is deep, with countless seniors at the top who understand the process and a plethora of middle school talent on the rise. 

Coach Bill DeLavan slid into the studio this week to chat with Tim about some Gator baseball.

In this early season, Lakewood is battling the void left by a large graduating class last year. Including coach DeLavan's son Landon, who is now making strides on the mound for USC Sumter. 

Despite losing a few arms and a few leaders, the Gators are hopeful they'll be able to continue their success. They're heading into this season with two consecutive region titles. 

Follow along with us as we keep our eye on them and all the other spring sports here in Sumter, Lee, and Clarendon county. 

Listen below, at theitem.com/podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The energy in the Eagles' gym has been electric.

Tim sat down in the studio with head coach Kevin Miller to talk about the mentality in his locker room as they get ready to go down to Aiken this weekend.

With the community (and some paparazzi) in tow, Scott's Branch will make their way to the University of South Carolina Aiken on Saturday to compete in their fourth consecutive state championship appearance.

For the first time in program history, the Crestwood Knights will make an appearance in the South Carolina High School League Basketball finals. As of this post, the team will have already made their trip down to the University of South Carolina Aiken where they'll face upper state challenger Wren High School Friday afternoon at 2 p.m.

Crestwood head coach Aric Samuel isn't a stranger to this pressure. In his last two coaching positions with Hunter-Kinard-Tyler and Hartsville he earned program first state titles as well. Friday should be another day in the office.

For a championship week a double header we had Scott's Branch head coach Kevin Miller in the studio as well.

For a third season in a row the Lady Gamecocks are back in the lower state playoffs. They'll face off against Stratford on Monday. 

We had head coach Jeff Schaffer in the studio this week to talk about their mentality heading into Monday's make-or-break game. 

Listen to this week's episode of the Blitz at theitem.com/podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Eagles played for the SCHSL 1A state championship in each of the last three seasons and now begin their trek back to the title game. They hope this is the year that snaps the streak of coming in second place.

Scott's Branch closed their regular season on Thursday with another commanding win over Hemingway, completing an undefeated run in Region V.

Listen below or anywhere you get your podcasts.