Grant Loggins understood how big of a game he was pitching in, but it didn’t faze him much.

Just a sophomore, Loggins—a South Carolina commitment—was given the ball and trotted to the mound to start a pivotal game one of a state championship series.

And for as much as his face remained worry-free as did his game; Loggins tossed almost five shutout innings with three punch-outs and two walks as AC Flora won game won and ultimately took home the state title.

“Grant threw great. Going into the season he’d only walked 10 guys all year so he’s an absolute strike-thrower,” Flora head coach Andy Hallett said.

“Our two starting guys just pound the zone, try to force contact and locate better. When situations get harder, most people try to throw harder. We stressed trying to locate better and keep the ball off the barrel. Those two guys have done a great job.”

Loggins would throw 4.2 innings before being taken out because of his pitch count (72), throwing up zero after zero on the scoreboard, putting just four runners on (two hits and two walks).

He filled up the zone, motoring through the lineup with a fastball sitting in the mid-80s for the most part.

“Fastball command, we’ve done it all season,” the right-hander said. “Felt really good about it and if you fill it up across the plate you have a good chance to win.”

Loggins would get the win as Flora run-ruled James Island, throwing well in his first full season since getting to high school.

“It felt really good. We had two sophomores step up for us,” he said. “We have great run support behind us and knew if we kept them off the board we had a good chance to win.”

Loggins committed to South Carolina in late 2019 in the midst of his freshman year at AC Flora and has steadily developed since then, he said.

This year he’s sat between 85 and 87 miles per hour on his four-seam fastball, pairing it with a changeup an a curveball as well.

“It’s been really good,” he said. “I’ve made a good velo jump and coach Hallett’s helped me a lot with my mechanics. I felt like it’s preparing me more for college.”

Loggins is rated the No. 4 right-hander in the state for his class and the No. 12 overall player.