YHC Baseball named 2025 conference co-champions
Young Harris, GA (04/28/2025) — Young Harris Baseball has been named Co-Champion of Conference Carolinas with Francis Marion University, wrapping up the regular season with a 37-13 overall record, 22-8 in Conference Carolinas, one of the toughest NCAA Division II baseball conferences.
"I am very proud of our program!" said Head Coach Stephen Waggener. "Our guys have been resilient all year and have succeeded in completing a rigorous conference schedule, and were able to finish at the top of the conference standings. Conference Carolinas has had seven different teams ranked in the top 25 this season."
It's been an impressive season for the Mountain Lions, as the squad has had several notable streaks/records. During the season, they won 10 of 11 three-game series played, four of which were sweeps and included victories over formerly top-ranked North Greenville University and Mount Olive University. YHC held an incredible 13-2 midweek record, falling only to Mars Hill and Tusculum University.
Throughout the 50 regular-season games, the team's season-high number of runs scored in a game was 22 against King University on April 5. And while being efficient at the plate, the Mountain Lions were successful on the mound as well, pitching six shutouts.
The run-scoring came from all parts of the lineup this year, with a few standouts, including senior first baseman Jeremy Begora. He currently leads the conference in home runs (19) and in runs scored (66). Begora is fourth in Conference Carolinas with a .687 slugging percentage. Luke Hatcher leads the conference in RBI (65), doubles (28), and slugging percentage (.713).
The Young Harris pitching staff has held their ground all season, led by Zach Hart, who finished the regular season 8-3 with a 3.94 earned run average. Austin Ritchie wrapped up the regular season 9-2 with a 3.50 ERA and 44 strikeouts. Senior Graham Edwards posted a season 3.06 ERA (No. 5 in the conference) and held opposing batters to a .230 batting average (also No. 5 in the conference). Coming out of the bullpen, Brady Caloway has a .94 WHIP (walks and hits in innings pitched) with a 2.65 ERA this season in 37.1 innings of relief, holding batters to a .215 batting average.
The Mountain Lions await a postseason schedule from Conference Carolinas to continue their remarkable 2025 season.
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YHC Baseball named 2025 co-champion of Conference Carolinas