Joanna Hornets conclude their season with back-to-back wins

NEWBERRY — The Joanna Hornets inaugural season comes to an end after a competitive summer. The Hornets hosted their last four games of the summer baseball season at home on the home baseball field of Newberry High School. Joanna(8-13) hosted Klutch Collegiate(11-6) at home on Friday, July 18 and fell by the score of 8-1.

Things got off to a rocky start for the Hornets at the top of the first inning when they just couldn’t get out of their own way. Klutch Collegiate jumped out quickly to a 3-0 lead at the top of the first inning. The Hornets showed some fight and good base running as they quickly responded with a score at the bottom of the first inning to slowly chip away at the early deficit.

Unfortunately, the one run would be the only run that the Hornets managed to score on the evening. Klutch Collegiate would add to their lead at the top of the second inning with one score. The would now lead 4-1 going into the third inning.

The third inning would be a repeat of the top half of the first inning for the visiting Klutch Collegiate squad. They took advantage of the Hornets pitching change and added three more runs to the scoreboard. Three hitters managed to get RBIs for the visiting team that extended their lead.

The Hornets couldn’t get anything going at the plate. They continously struggled all night with good swings of the bat but the the couldn’t find any gaps to get runners on base.

Klutch Collegiate would add an insurance run at the top of the fifth inning to put the game away. Four pitchers saw action on the mound for the Hornets and they combined to give up nine hits and had 10 strikeouts.

Joanna also had played a double header on Sunday, July 20th at Newberry High School to close out their regular season. They won both games by the score of 10-2 against Carolina Yankees. The Hornets finished their inaugural season with a record of 10-13. The team made their comeback after not playing in a game in 60 years. The Hornets will return back to Joanna Stadium in Joanna, S.C. in 2026 after the new renovations are completed.

Congratulations to the Hornets on a competitive summer slate filled with ups and downs. Also, please visit thejoannaproject.org for more information on ‘The Joanna Project.’