Photo courtesy of Kitty Carson Charles Edward "Chase" Shelton IV, a member of the Charleston Southern University Buccaneers baseball team, has been named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American. He is the grandson of Kitty Carson of Union and the late Gene Carson.

slideshow

A rising sophomore at Charleston Southern University (CSU) with ties to Union County and a heritage of family involvement in sports has been named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.

Kitty Carson said Monday that her grandson, Charles Edward “Chase” Shelton IV, had been named Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American for his performance as a freshman member of the CSU Buccaneers baseball team during the 2012 season. The CSU Sports Information website states that during his freshman year, Shelton led the Buccaneers with “a batting average of .344.” In the 54 games he participated in, Shelton had 49 starts and scored 29 runs off 65 hits. He also led the team with 13 doubles and tied for the team-lead with four home runs and collected a total of 92 bases. His slugging percentage was .487 and on-base percentage was .400.

The CSU site also states that Shelton earned a spot on the 2012 Big South All-Conference Second Team and was ranked as “one of the toughest players to strike out in NCAA Division I, coming in 37th at the conclusion of the regular season.”

A Columbia native and graduate of Brookland-Cayce High School, Shelton is the son of Charles E. Shelton III and Katherine “Kit” Carson Shelton. His mother was a cheerleader at and graduate of Union High School and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Charleston. Chase’s paternal grandfather, the late Gene Carson, played football for Coach Frank Howard at Clemson University in the 1940s.

Kitty Carson said her grandson’s involvement in sports began early and was supported by his father and grandfathers.

“We’re terribly proud of him,” Carson said of her grandson’s achievement. “He picked it up early. His father and granddads gave him a lot of support over the years. They went to his games and made sure that he had good baseball bats and mitts.”

She added that Shelton is attending CSU on a baseball scholarship. He has also played basketball.

Also helping continue the family tradition of involvement in high school and college athletics is Shelton’s sister Caroline.

“She’s in competitive cheer leading,” Kitty Carson said. “She is following in her mother’s footsteps as a cheerleader. She is a rising ninth-grader. She wants to win a scholarship in cheer leading.”