NEWBERRY — Chapin-Newberry American Legion Baseball will celebrate the 10th anniversary of the 2015 American Legion World Series championship team Friday at 7 pm when the 2025 team takes on the Joanna Hornets at Newberry College.
The 2015 team compiled a 32-1 record, won the state championship, the Southeastern region championship and then captured the World Series, defeating New Orleans, Louisiana 9-2 for the championship in Shelby, NC at Keeter Stadium. The 2015 Chapin-Newberry team and the 1936 Spartanburg team are the only teams from South Carolina to ever win the American Legion World Series.
Ryan Stoudemire, a standout on the 2015 team and now the head coach of Chapin-Newberry, is excited about Friday’s game and reunion. “I really don’t think we realized we were a special group until after it was over,” he said. “That’s what made this team so good. We didn’t care about the personal accolades or statistics. We were just a really close group of friends that wanted to have fun and were willing to do anything we could to help the team win. And we kept winning and having fun until they wouldn’t let us play anymore.”
After a stellar regular season and despite entering the ALWS with a 28-0 record, Chapin-Newberry was considered a long-shot to win it all as there were several traditional powers in the eight-team field. C-N started with a thrilling 2-1 victory over former champion Midland, Michigan as C-N scored twice in the bottom of the ninth. The next day their unbeaten season came to an end with a 5-2 loss to New Orleans, who had won the championship in 2012. Then in a must-win situation and down 6-0 to Cromwell, Connecticut, C-N stormed back to win 7-6 and advance. In the semifinals against Medford, Oregon, C-N was down 3-1 going into the top of the eighth but scored a run in the eighth and two in the ninth to win 4-3.
In the championship on August 18, C-N scored first and built a seven-run lead to defeat New Orleans and capture the crown, before the largest championship game attendance (8,826) since 1949. A traditional baseball “dog-pile” ensued as the Chapin-Newberry players celebrated the championship
C-N’s 32-1 record was the best national record since East Lynn, Massachusetts went 38-1 in 1937. The five-day tournament set a new attendance record with 117,072.
Justin Hawkins was the recipient of the George W. Rulon American Legion Player of The Year. He hit three home runs in the World Series, including a two-run first-inning home run in the championship.
After an undefeated regular season, Chapin-Newberry swept the state championship in Sumter in five games, defeating Florence for the state championship. That earned C-N a berth to represent the Palmetto State in the regional championship in Asheboro, NC. Chapin-Newberry swept the region tourney, which consisted of teams from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia, to advance to the World Series.
“It’s hard to put into words what this team and the run we went on means to me,” Stoudemire said. “Many of these guys are still some of my best friends to this day and are some of the fondest memories I have.
“Many of my favorite memories were off the field. Of course there were some big games that will be remembered forever. Like the multiple come from behind wins in Shelby and coming back from our only loss of the season to Louisiana and being able to beat them for the championship. We spent so much time together, and there was never a dull moment. Whether Ryne Huggins was doing his pranks, to the PGA Tour XBox matches, to getting stuck in the elevator as a team 15 minutes after arriving in Shelby, good times were a guarantee when this group was together.”
Roster and awards
2015 Chapin-Newberry ALWS Champions
JERSEY NO. | NAME| POSITION | SCHOOL
1-Danton Hyman – OF, P, Mid-Carolina
2-Patrick Yoder – P, Newberry
4- Tristan Smaltz – P, OF, Clinton
5- Blake Smith – C, Dutch Fork
6- Josh Haney – P, IF, Mid-Carolina /USC Sumter
7- Zack Ziesing – P, 1B, Dutch Fork
8- Kevis Burton – P, OF, Newberry
10- Duncan Crotwell – C, Mid-Carolina
11- Andrew Livingston – IF, OF – Newberry
12- Delshun Young – OF, Clinton
13- Ryne Huggins – P, 1B, Newberry
14- Sean Riehm – IF, Dutch Fork
17- Peyton Spangler P,OF, IF Clinton
18- Trey Huber – P, Mid-Carolina
21- Landon Allison – C, 3B – Clinton/SMC
22- Ryan Stoudemire – P, IF – Mid-Carolina
23- Justin Hawkins – SS, Mid-Carolina/USC Sumter
24- Cory Stone – P, OF, Mid-Carolina
56-Daniel Gregory, Head Coach
50-David Coats, Assistant Coach
3- Anthony “Amp” Robertson, Assistant Coach
20- Marion Baker, Assistant Coach
At state tournament:
South Carolina State American Legion Championship – Chapin-Newberry
S. C. State Tournament Pitching Award – Ryan Stoudemire
S. C. State Tournament MVP Tournament Award- Justin Hawkins
At Regional Tournament:
Southeast Regional Tournament Champions- – Chapin/Newberry
Southeast Regional Tournament Most Valuable Player Award – Danton Hyman
At World Series:
American Legion World Series Champions – Chapin/Newberry
2015 American Legion World Series All-Tournament Team
2B- Peyton Spangler
SS – Justin Hawkins
OF – Danton Hyman
Pitcher – Ryne Huggins
2015 American Legion World Series Rawlings Big Stick Award (most total bases )
Justin Hawkins, 31
2015 American Legion World Series RBI Award – Justin Hawkins , 12
2015 American Legion World Series Leadership award – Manager Robert Livingston
and Head Coach Daniel Gregory, Coaches David Coats, Marion Baker, Michael
Robertson
2015 American Legion World Series George W. Rulon Player of the Year Award – Justin
Hawkins
2015 Team Awards:
Golden Arm Award – Ryne Huggins
Silver Slugger Award – Kevis Burton
Golden Glove Award – Danton Hyman
Team Captain – Peyton Spangler
Terry Turner Sportsmanship Award – Patrick Yoder
Billy O’Dell Most Valuable Player – Justin Hawkins