Welcome to PAC Baseball
Providence Athletic Club
At PAC (Providence Athletic Club) Baseball, our Mission is To Teach Godly manhood through character training within the framework of playing competitive baseball. we are an organization that provides competitive high school level baseball opportunities for *home educated athletes in the Columbia, South Carolina region. We compete against local area public, private, and home school athletic teams. Participation on our teams is open to specifically home educated athletes but has expanded to include private school students whose schools do not offer a sports program, and students who attend charter or virtual schools that do not offer sports programs. Athletes of all races and religious affiliations may be a part of PAC athletic teams as long as they meet the age and eligibility requirements for each sport. Our team mascot is the Panther. Our team colors are navy blue and white. Our sports teams are led by coaches with proven experience. These men must sign our Statement of Faith and be committed to developing a winning team comprised of young men and women with Christ-like character.
Pac Panthers Schedule
What PAC is About
Playing to Win
Since 2000, PAC Baseball has been a competitive force in the Columbia South Carolina area. Panther baseball is noticeably different than other programs. The players are different. They are loving, kind, gracious, respectful, and courteous -win or lose-with teammates and opponents-behind closed doors and in public. While church programs teach character, our program provides an environment to apply those principles in a competitive environment. This is the hallmark of PAC Baseball.
PAC Message
From Coach Jim:
2022 Season Wrap-Up
The Panthers finished 27-6 which establishes a new record for victories in a season (the previous record was 23 and had been accomplished twice). They won the regular season South Carolina Home School championship; finishing 8-0 against conference opponents and outscoring their opponents by a 61-22 margin. The own victories against Cardinal Newman who is playing in the 3A SCISA championship game and only had three losses all year and against Richard Winn, who at last check, had a 16-3 record. Other SCISA teams defeated were Northside, Heathwood, Calhoun Academy and Andrew Jackson. Homeschool teams to fall before the Panthers onslaught were the Upstate Eagles, the Coastal Hurricanes, the Augusta Eagles, the Greenville Hurricanes and the Low Country Wildcats. They also swept the Anderson Cavaliers which is a club team. The Panthers inexplicably lost in the semi-finals of the Home School playoffs but rebounded to win the consolation game. They travelled to Tennessee and defeated teams from Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia to win the Division #1 baseball championship for the first time and their fourth championship overall at NACA. This victory places the Panthers in second place behind Riverdale Baptist (six) for the most NACA baseball championships.
The Panthers graduate seven seniors this year: Avery Blevins, Joey Christenson, Cameron Duke, Micaiah Hinkle, Justin Thurber, Thomas Weaver and Chandler Yoder.
Joey (2021) played one season with PAC baseball. He brought an enthusiasm and a willingness to learn to the field every day. He played outfield and served as a courtesy runner and never failed to encourage his teammates when things got challenging.
Cameron (2015-2021) played seven years with PAC baseball; three on the varsity squad. He helped the Panthers win the 2019 NACA Division #3 title and was an instrumental part of the 2021 squad before he had to leave for basic training. He was second on the team in hitting with a .376 average and was third on the team in RBI’s with twenty-two. Cameron’s pitching record this year was 7-0 which was second on the team and good for third place all time for victories in a season. He set a new single season record for Earned Runs Against (ERA) of 1.44. Cameron pitched, played third, first and caught. Cameron was first team 2021 all-conference for both pitcher and catcher.
Micaiah Hinkle (2016-2021) played six seasons of PAC baseball; four on the varsity squad. He played center field for the Panthers and made many spectacular plays as he patrolled the outfield. He helped the Panthers win the 2018 state home school baseball championships, the 2019 NACA Division #3 title and the 2021 NACA Division #1 title. He hit .357 in 2019 and .500 in the COVID shortened 2020 season before slipping to .243 during the 2021 season. He was second on the team for RBI’s (26) and stolen bases (21) for the 2021 team.
Justin Thurber (2016-2021) played six seasons of PAC baseball; two on the varsity squad. He hit .300 his Senior season and was named to the second team all-conference team as a third baseman. He had several clutch hits during the season to help the Panthers to victories and pitched some as well. He was the starting third baseman for the 2021 NACA Division #1 champions but was willing to move to short to help out when Avery hurt his knee. I’m really proud of Justin as he had to wait his turn to contribute but he never lost heart and really made the most of his chance when he got it.
Thomas Weaver (2015-2021) played seven seasons of PAC baseball; two on the varsity squad. He played first base and was named to the second team all-conference team for his work at first. He would wow the crowd with his stretches at first to receive the ball before the runner could cross the bag. He begged long enough that he was finally allowed to pitch one inning and did so with flair, not allowing a run. Thomas is another player I am proud of because he had to wait his turn but was ready to contribute when called upon.
Chandler Yoder (2017-2021) played five seasons of PAC baseball; two on the varsity squad. He was named to the first team 2021 all-conference team as a second baseman. He hit .324 his senior season on the way to helping the Panthers win the 2021 NACA Division #1 Championship. He was among the team leaders in on base percentage as it seemed he was on base every time you turned around. Chandler succeeded playing second base as a lefty which goes against conventional norms. His can do attitude helped inspire the team on a daily basis.
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The last Senior is Avery Blevins (2014-2021). He played eight seasons with Panther baseballs which is the longest time any player has been associated with the program. He played five years on the varsity squad. His first appearance on the varsity squad was for one inning in 2016 so he could play alongside his brother (Anderson) for just that one inning. He played second base during the 2017 season as the Panthers were State Home School Champions and won the NACA Division #2 title, beating a team from New Jersey in the championship game. He was named 2017 first team all-conference for his work at second base. He was still at second when the Panthers won the 2018 State Home School Championship and helped the Panthers to a second-place finish in NACA Division #2. He was named to the second team all-conference team in 2018. Avery also won the 2018 Golden Glove award. Avery moved to shortstop in 2019 and was named as first team all-conference. The 2019 team finished second in the South Carolina Home School baseball championships but won the Division #3 NACA championship in Tennessee beating a team from Virginia. He played shortstop for the 2021 team that set a record for victories and won its first NACA Division #1 Championship, beating a team from Georgia for the title. He was named the starting shortstop for the 2021 all conference first team. Avery tied or set many offensive records during the 2021 season: most hits (49), most extra base hits (22), most total bases (82), most RBI’s (34), runs scored (45), steals (23) and home runs (4). He hit .434 for the season.
The Panthers also lose James Duke (2016-2021) as a coach. James served as a coach for all three Panther teams: B-Team, Junior Varsity and Varsity. He served as head varsity coach for the 2020 and 2021 teams leading the varsity squad to a signature 2021 season.
I will also take this opportunity to say goodbye to the program I founded way back in 2010 with the very first Junior Varsity team. We added a varsity team in 2011 and a B-Team in 2014. I have had three boys participate in the program: Alex, Anderson and Avery, and I am stepping away this year as Avery graduates. We started this program to give home school student athletes a chance to play high school baseball, but it was always my vision that our program be about more than wins and losses. My good friend, Eric Barfield, and I tried to put that vision down on paper when we created our mission statement called “Training Young Men for Eternity (TYME)”. That mission statement outlined our vision of coming alongside parents to help teach their sons how to be Godly men. We tried to actively teach Godly character at the same time we tried to teach our young men how to play and love the great game of baseball. We have graduated fifty-four players from our varsity team since 2011 and I hope that I have instilled in them a love for the game, but more importantly, I hope the program has helped them to become better men and helped prepare them to be better husbands, fathers, business owners and employees. We have created a Home School Conference in South Carolina, won numerous State and NACA championships but I take more pride in the caliber of the young men that have come through our program and I look forward to watching what God does in every one of their lives. It has been a lot of work over the years, but the blessings have more than outweighed the challenges. I love our boys and will miss the grind, and, even though I will not be there on a daily basis, I am a Panther for life.
Jim Blevins, Founder, Director and Coach (2010-2021)
PAC Baseball Highlights
