South-Carolina
Amidst team struggles, Nathan Hall continues to rake for South Carolina in SEC play
Nathan Hall came mere inches from making the potential play of the afternoon for South Carolina.
With two outs in the second inning on Sunday, Arkansas catcher Ryder Helfrick swung at the first pitch from Jarvis Evans Jr. and lifted a flyball into the outfield. With the wind blowing out, the ball kept carrying and sent Hall back to the wall where he had a chance to rob Helfrick of a home run. But he ran out of room as it barely went over the fence for a solo shot to put the Razorbacks on the board.
“It was one of those balls that I thought I had time to get under. It kind of just took off,” Hall told GamecockCentral. “I kind of got stuck between the wall, and I jumped up. I think it was absolutely a ball I can catch. That one hurts a little bit, but he put enough of a good swing on it to just hit it out of reach for me.”
Aside from that, Hall put together another solid weekend, especially at the plate. The junior centerfielder was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise rough series for the Gamecocks as they were swept by Arkansas.
Hall picked up a hit in each of the first two games in the series then had a three-hit game on Sunday to close things out. He led off with a solo homer into right field on the second pitch of the game to give South Carolina an early lead.
“My approach as of late has kind of just been to stay right center. I’ve been hooking a lot of balls and pulling a lot of balls on the ground,” he said. “I think being able to kind of follow the approach that Monte (Lee) gives us, which is to stay to the big part of the field and let your swing work, is exactly what I did. And that one did feel good.”
Hall also reached base in seven of his 13 plate appearances over the three games. He leads the team in hitting by a wide margin with a .389 batting average, 32 points higher than the next-best hitter, Ethan Petry, who’s hitting .357 this year.
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Due to how well he’s swung the bat, Hall is now hit safely in each of his last 15 games. He’s still got a ways to go before making a run at Gene Cone’s program-record 31-game hit streak back in 2016. But he’s given the Gamecocks everything they could’ve wanted at the top of the order.
“I like to think that I do a good job leading by example. I try my best to help the guys be confident and get them to believe in themselves,” Hall said. “Because I know what it feels like to have the weight of the world on your shoulders. It’s a tough game. We do our best.”
While Hall has found plenty of individual success, the team as a whole has not. South Carolina is now 1-5 to begin SEC play. Despite how well Hall played, he said it “does really suck” to endure another series sweep. But he’s still fully confident that they can turn the corner and get back on track in due time.
“I’m gonna continue to continue to do everything I can to try and help my team win. I think I fully believe that we have the talent to beat teams like this. I feel like it’s only a matter of time. We need other guys to start believing in themselves,” Hall said.
“Struggles happen. It’s a game of failure. I think we’re going to come around. No one believes in us still. We lose in these situations, makes sense. But as long as we stay positive, I think we can still stay in it.”
South-Carolina
Shane Beamer offers latest on LaNorris Sellers, South Carolina football
South Carolina football coach Shane Beamer is embracing the new world of revenue sharing in college athletics, which means waiting for his star quarterback to work out a deal with the program before “officially” returning.
On Dec. 13, multiple reports said LaNorris Sellers is “finalizing a deal” to return to the Gamecocks in 2026 instead of forgoing eligibility to enter the 2026 NFL Draft.
“We’ve had great conversations,” Beamer said Dec. 17 on 107.5 the game. “I think there are some details that need to be worked out and things like that. Let’s face it. Nowadays, these guys have agents and whatnot. So, there are a lot of different aspects of every player on our team that’s different than before.”
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Sellers has been linked to transfer portal rumors, especially after his breakout year in 2024 when the Gamecocks went 9-3. He was offered lucrative deals from other programs but returned for 2025.
“All indications I’ve had from LaNorris are, he wants to be here, and he knows that the job is not finished,” Beamer said. “There’s a lot of excitement about 2026. He and a lot of our other players that are returning feel that same way.”
Beamer made some significant changes after finishing at 4-8 with his worst record yet in the last five years. He fired three offensive coaches, including coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Shula and most recently hired Kendal Briles from TCU to fill his spot.
Briles was confident Sellers would return when asked Dec. 12.
Sellers was sacked 42 times this season, the second-most in the country. He finished with 2,437 passing yards and 13 touchdowns to go with just five rushing touchdowns and 270 rushing yards, a decrease in all four categories from 2024.
“My conversations with LaNorris have been fantastic,” Beamer said. “This isn’t just since the end of the season. This is regularly throughout the season, before the season ended and since the season has ended just in regards to how we get better and how he gets better as a quarterback. He will be the first to tell you, he needs to play better, and we have to coach him better. We have to be better around him, and we all have to be accountable, and he understands that.”
Lulu Kesin covers South Carolina athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email her at LKesin@usatodayco.com. Follow her on X@Lulukesin and Bluesky@bylulukesin.bsky.social
South-Carolina
South Carolina Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 results for Dec. 17, 2025
Powerball, Mega Millions jackpots: What to know in case you win
Here’s what to know in case you win the Powerball or Mega Millions jackpot.
Just the FAQs, USA TODAY
The South Carolina Education Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 17, 2025, results for each game:
Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
25-33-53-62-66, Powerball: 17, Power Play: 4
Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
Midday: 2-4-1, FB: 1
Evening: 9-0-3, FB: 8
Check Pick 3 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
Midday: 7-4-3-2, FB: 1
Evening: 6-8-8-9, FB: 8
Check Pick 4 Plus FIREBALL payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Cash Pop numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
Midday: 10
Evening: 15
Check Cash Pop payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Palmetto Cash 5 numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
04-13-19-23-37
Check Palmetto Cash 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Powerball Double Play numbers from Dec. 17 drawing
24-43-65-66-68, Powerball: 03
Check Powerball Double Play payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize
The South Carolina Education Lottery provides multiple ways to claim prizes, depending on the amount won:
For prizes up to $500, you can redeem your winnings directly at any authorized South Carolina Education Lottery retailer. Simply present your signed winning ticket at the retailer for an immediate payout.
Winnings $501 to $100,000, may be redeemed by mailing your signed winning ticket along with a completed claim form and a copy of a government-issued photo ID to the South Carolina Education Lottery Claims Center. For security, keep copies of your documents and use registered mail to ensure the safe arrival of your ticket.
SC Education Lottery
P.O. Box 11039
Columbia, SC 29211-1039
For large winnings above $100,000, claims must be made in person at the South Carolina Education Lottery Headquarters in Columbia. To claim, bring your signed winning ticket, a completed claim form, a government-issued photo ID, and your Social Security card for identity verification. Winners of large prizes may also set up an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) for convenient direct deposit of winnings.
Columbia Claims Center
1303 Assembly Street
Columbia, SC 29201
Claim Deadline: All prizes must be claimed within 180 days of the draw date for draw games.
For more details and to access the claim form, visit the South Carolina Lottery claim page.
When are the South Carolina Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 10:59 p.m. ET on Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 11 p.m. ET on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Pick 4: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Cash Pop: Daily at 12:59 p.m. (Midday) and 6:59 p.m. (Evening).
- Palmetto Cash 5: 6:59 p.m. ET daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a South Carolina editor. You can send feedback using this form.
South-Carolina
David Pascoe: ‘South Carolina Isn’t Run by Republicans’ – FITSNews
by DAVID PASCOE
***
Republicans have a supermajority in South Carolina; yet, our state is more liberal than the purple states that border us. John Adams once said, “facts are stubborn things.” Well, the facts prove our State Republican leadership gets its playbook from the Democratic Party.
In 2024, I was one of the only elected officials to endorse conservative Republican JD Chaplin in his campaign against liberal Democrat Gerald Malloy, who blocked every single pro-law enforcement bill in the General Assembly. Malloy was one of the most powerful lawyer-legislators in the state and teamed often with Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to stifle conservative legislation. I met with Republicans in both Houses of the General Assembly and tried to rally them to support the REPUBLICAN nominee. They refused because they either feared Malloy and feared the lawyer-legislators in power who supported him. In my endorsement of Chaplin, I stated that the two-party system in South Carolina is not R vs. D but those who strive to serve others vs. those who strive to serve themselves. Luckily, JD Chaplin beat Gerald Malloy without the help of any Republican leadership in the General Assembly.
In our state, we have witnessed the liberal Republican Party establishment demonize and attempt to defeat conservative fighters because they are members of the Freedom Caucus. They use political consultants (The Swamp Parasites) giving them offices on State House property to attack the Freedom Caucus, the very men and women who exemplify what it means to be a conservative and fight against corruption and cronyism. The leadership in the General Assembly would rather work with liberal Democrats than work together with their fellow Republicans. But here is a coincidental fact – 30% of the General Assembly are lawyer-legislators; less than 10% of Freedom Caucus members are lawyer-legislators.
***
Let me tell you the core reason we are a liberal state and why I have enemies: conservatives are not really in charge of South Carolina. The lawyer-legislator uniparty is.
Nearly 30% of the General Assembly are lawyers. They control all of the money, the judiciary, and the most important committees. That is not representative government. That’s a cartel.
When lawyers gain unchecked political power, they do not just write laws. They shape the system to benefit themselves. They design rules that ordinary citizens cannot understand, navigate, or challenge. That is exactly what has happened in South Carolina.
For over 30 years, liberal Republicans have controlled the State House. Liberal control has given us a judicial system dominated by legislative insiders. We have judges effectively chosen by the same lawyers who practice before them. We have legislative privilege routinely abused to delay cases, rearrange court dockets, and keep powerful clients out of trouble.
***
***
What we have is a uniparty. A trial lawyer uniparty. Republicans and Democrats alike who share two things in common: they are lawyers who benefit from controlling the courts, and they cannot stand me because I am about to stand in their way as Attorney General. Their bank accounts cannot afford for me to win.
I have seen this system up close. I spent decades as a prosecutor. I led the State House Corruption Probe that exposed a pay-to-play culture operating at the highest levels of government. That investigation did not make me popular in Columbia. It did, however, make something very clear. Corruption does not thrive in chaos. It thrives in systems designed to protect insiders and punish anyone who challenges them.
The most powerful examples of this system are the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. These Committees are where judicial reform and pro-life legislation go to die. It is where lawyer-legislators protect their influence. It is where bills that threaten legislative control of the courts quietly disappear. This is not about party labels. It is about power. Worst of all, it is often about using public service for personal profit.
Under this system, lawyer-legislators decide which judges are allowed to be considered. And then they walk into courtrooms across South Carolina expecting favorable treatment from the very judges whose careers they control. That is not separation of powers. That is consolidation of power.
***

RELATED | BOUGHT AND PAID FOR
***
Families lose. Crime victims lose. Small businesses lose. And public trust evaporates.
This system did not develop by accident. It was built deliberately, layer by layer, and it continues because too many elected officials tolerate it. I’ve spent the last five years calling it out, which is the reason self dealing RINOs will stop at nothing to take down my campaign for Attorney General.
Bring. It. On.
The liberal Republicans aren’t winning this battle. As your next Attorney General, I will dismantle the lawyer-legislator uniparty for good, starting with Weston Newton’s stranglehold on this state. And more importantly, I will make it impossible for them to profit from their public service
If South Carolina wants real reform, it has to start by breaking the trial lawyer uniparty’s grip on the judiciary. It has to restore balance. It has to put citizens back ahead of insiders. I did not spend my career prosecuting corruption to stay quiet now. This system can be fixed. But only if we are honest about who really runs it.
Join me in this fight and let’s crush corruption in South Carolina.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

David Pascoe is solicitor for South Carolina’s first judicial circuit, which includes Calhoun, Dorchester and Orangeburg counties. He is a Republican candidate for attorney general of the Palmetto State.
***
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