Dorman Falls In State Title Series to James Island

It was a much-anticipated matchup. Two teams that were both at 29 wins coming into the series — easily the best at the 5A division I level all season long— the preseason #1 Dorman Cavaliers and the defending back-to-back state champion James Island Charter Trojans.

As one might imagine, the series lived up to its hype. After the rain earlier in the week pushed the series back, it got underway Thursday night at Dorman. The Cavaliers and James Island had one thing in common aside from talent level — record at home. The Trojans were undefeated on their own diamond coming into the series whereas Dorman had just one loss at Ronnie J Sims Field — an early season defeat at the hands of Boiling Springs. Again, as expected, the trends continued for both sides, adding to the appeal of this series for fans of both squads and baseball lovers alike.

Connor Wells got the start for the Cavs opposite James Island’s Cooper Jones. With the hot and muggy conditions, both pitchers labored. The first two innings took nearly two hours to complete and Jones would end up getting outlasted in a performance from Wells that can only be described as a “postseason moment.”

In the first two frames, Wells walked three, beaned one, and surrendered three earned runs on two hits. He settled in nicely from there with two and a third more shutout innings in spite of three more bases on balls and two hits. Connor finished with 5 strikeouts, 6 walks, and just four hits.

Jones went just 2 innings, walking 7 in that span with three hits, three strikeouts, and 3 runs given up. As it dragged on, the game hinged on a couple of things. Firstly,  with runners on the corners and one out in the top of the third, Trojan designated hitter Braden Deprill tried to lay down a bunt with two strikes and fouled it off for a huge 2nd out, killing a chance to answer a two-spot from the Cavs in the previous frame that included a huge home run from freshman two-sport sensation Carter Nash.

Dorman made them pay for it in the ensuing half inning, putting together a 6-spot with a combination of speed, defensive breakdowns, and more walks. Dorman sent 11 to the dish in the frame, drawing three walks to go with 5 base hits, 2 James Island errors, and a wild pitch. That explosive inning made for a 9-3 advantage to all but put the game away.

James Island squandered two of three more scoring chances down the stretch as Cooper and Palmer Hornick combined for two and two-thirds innings of one run ball, striking out two with no walks and three hits en route to a 9-4 victory heading to James Island for game two on Friday night.

Yes, Dorman was a win away. But, to the shock of nobody, this series wouldn’t be swept. In almost Déjà vu fashion to the first game, command was an issue on what was a typically muggy low country night. Logan McGarity got the start for the Cavaliers and, after Dorman left a pair of one out walks aboard in the top of the opening frame, McGarity promptly allowed each of the first five James Island hitters to reach on four singles and a walk. He got out of it with just two runs, but the Trojans struck him hard in the 2nd.

After a leadoff hit batsman, and a one out walk followed by a single to load the bases, Connor Dantzler grounded to Austin Rath at first, who threw late to home on the fielder’s choice to ensure no out was recorded. McGarity bounced back with a strikeout, but would go on to walk a run in on the next batter followed by an RBI single that ended his night. Christian Musselwhite came on and got out of the inning after walking his first batter to force home a run by getting a fly ball to left, but at that point, the Cavs were in an early 6-0 hole.

Musselwhite helped hold serve in a ‘postseason moment’ kind of performance of his own, and in the top of the fourth, Dorman mustered a big inning to get back to within striking distance.

Austin Rath started the rally with a one out walk. With two away, Carter Nash drew a free pass and Jamison Kimbrell laid down a bunt up the first base line for a single. After another walk to States Farr, Luke Thompson notched the first of back to back run scoring knocks. Braylon Dean later popped up to first in foul ground, but Dorman had cut the lead to 6-5.

Unfortunately for Dorman and Musselwhite, the Trojans could not be kept off the scoreboard while the Cavs could muster just one more hit the rest of the way — a solo shot from Carter Nash that once again made it a 1-run game in the top of the 6th. But, James Island plated two on 4 hits with a pair of walks and a Dorman error over the final three innings, going on to even the series with an 8-6 victory to force a winner-take-all game three at River Bluff on Saturday evening.

Cooper Hornick would be charged with the task of trying to slow down the Trojans — who won the coin toss to be the home team for the decisive game. Dorman had the first scoring chance when Palmer Hornick singled and later stole second with two down. He was left on when Nash flied to deep center to send the game to the home half of the first.

Things did not get off to an ideal start for Cooper when leadoff man Trip Ostergard reached on a fielding error charged to the 2nd baseman Palmer Hornick. After a pop up to the first baseman for the 1st out, Connor Dantzler singled, advancing on the long throw-in to third from right field to put two in scoring position. Fin Pratt later reached on an error charged to Austin Rath at first, plating the game’s first run. Brady Dantzler then grounded out to third to push across another, making for a 2-0 lead through an inning for the Trojans.

Dorman had multiple chances to strike back, having left a 2 out single and stole base from Rath on in the 2nd, another 2 out knock and a wild pitch to advance Luke Thompson in the third, consecutive hits with 2 out from Bratylon Dean and Rath in inning number four, a one out walk to Thompson and a 2 out single from Jamison Kimbrell in the 5th, and the bases loaded after a walk and back to back base hits with 2 away in the sixth.

On the other end, the Hornicks — both Cooper and Palmer, kept the Trojans off the board in spite of several threats after their first-inning two spot.

“Looking back on it, giving up two in the first inning was better than four”, said Dorman Head Coach Jack Jolly. “What a job Cooper did to come out and keep hanging zeros to give us a chance. But, every time we got a runner on, it seemed like we hit a hard hit ball right at them. Give James Island credit. They made the plays and unfortunately, we did not.”

Dorman once again squandered a golden chance to break through the diamond wall keeping them off the scoreboard when they left the bases juiced in the top of the sixth, after which James Island put the championship on ice.

Ethan Stein led off with a bloop double to right. With one out, Ostergard was beaned and Taj Marchand was issued an intentional walk. Connor Dantzler later grounded out to short to plate Stein. Fin Pratt followed with a 2-run single, making for a 5-0 lead for the Trojans heading to the seventh.

Luke Thompson singled to lead off and took 2nd on defensive indifference, but it was just not meant to be as James Island went on to complete the shutout and capture their third straight state championship.

“I really feel like we were one hit away from changing the whole story and being on the other side. We had everything we wanted in that sixth inning”, said Jolly of the momentum swing over the last innings. “We did not lose because of lack of effort or not being able to compete. We just did not execute and we just did not come through to get the job done. We were facing a really tough guy. He hit low-to-mid 90’s on his fastball with a good changeup and a slider. We have to give him credit. But we had plenty of chances tonight and just did not come through.”

This series marks a tough end for a Dorman team that was loaded with senior talent — 5 of them starters. But it was also a big series where underclassmen also got a ton of valuable reps that, combined with the motivation of the emotional/tough end to the season should help them be a solid team again next year.

“This senior class is a very talented bunch of leaders”, said Jolly. “They are the reason we were here tonight. But we also got a lot of young guys that gained a lot of experience in the playoffs. We started a freshman on the mound (Cooper Hornick), another freshman behind the plate (Jennings King), another ninth grader in right field (Nash). We had a ton of young guys out there. This one is going to hurt for a while, but we will learn and grow from this and hopefully next time we will be the ones on top of this mountain.”

Jolly put the bow on the season by giving one simple yet impactful answer when asked for one word to describe the 2026 campaign for his Cavaliers.

“Joy. This season just brought a lot of joy. This has been one of the most enjoyable seasons I have ever had with a team. That’s not just because they were the most talented team I have ever coached, but because they brought so much joy. They were easy to coach, their chemistry was unbelievable, their character was off the charts. It is just so tough that it is over and that we don’t get to be together again.”