Pair of Area Products Earn Honors on the Diamond and Harlem Continues to Roll

Last week proved very fruitful for a pair of area athletes. Former Aquinas and Midland Valley baseball standout Charlie Bussey and Evans softball star Reese Basinger each picked up hardware for their athletic efforts at their respective colleges.

Bussey, a 6-foot-2-inch 190 pound redshirt sophomore at Francis Marion University is having a monster season, which culminated with an incredible week las week. Over the course of four games, Bussey was 11-of-16 at the plate, good for an eye-popping .688 batting average. He also scored nine runs, had a pair of doubles and a home run. He added four RBI and three stolen bases and for his outstanding performance he was chosen as the Peach Belt Conference Player of the Week.

Bussey has helped lead FMU to a 23-9 record and is posting All-American caliber numbers. He is currently hitting .491, which is fourth in the nation. He is also tied for eighth in the country in doubles, with his current tally at 13. He has a team-best five homers, 42 runs scored, 39 RBI and an on-base percentage of .594. The big fellow has also swiped 11 bases.

Basinger, transferred to Clemson this season after a stellar three-year career at Winthrop University. While at Winthrop, Basinger racked up 477 strikeouts in 511 innings of work and had a three-year ERA of 2.33. She has been equally sensational this spring. The move from Winthrop to Clemson was a big leap in terms of competition, but Basinger has not missed a beat. She leads Clemson in virtually all pitching statistics this season. She is 10-4 on the mound with a blistering ERA of 2.21, with 76 Strikeouts in 92 innings. She has also chipped in with two saves. Last week was especially good for Basinger. In two starts, she was 2-0 with a pair of complete games and an ERA of 0.58. She also tallied 11 strikeouts in the two Clemson victories. Her recent performances did not go unnoticed, as Basinger was selected as the ACC Pitcher of the Week.

The Harlem High School baseball team has been riding high of late, after capturing back-to-back state titles in the last two seasons. There does not appear to be any letting up by the Bulldogs. They have raced out to a 19-0 record so far in 2025 and outscored opponents 208-20.

Columbia County has a remarkable baseball history with four separate schools winning back-to-back state titles. Harlem is currently trying to join Evans and Greenbrier by winning their third consecutive title. Along the way, the Bulldogs have made a three-year run rivaling anything we have ever seen in Georgia baseball history. Over the last three seasons, Harlem has compiled an astonishing record of 93-2. That’s right, 93 wins and just two losses since the start of the 2023 season. To further illustrate the team’s dominance, the Bulldogs have piled up 852 runs, while allowing only 129 during that stretch. I have no idea if Jimmie Lewis’s squad can manage a third consecutive crown, but regardless of how this season ends, this run will likely never be duplicated by another team in Georgia.