Aiken High's baseball team was dealt a cruel blow before Monday night's series-opening game against rival South Aiken.
Hunter Rarey went down with a dislocated knee during pregame warmups, leaving the Hornets without their leadoff batter and right-fielder.
That didn't just delay the start of the game - it also put the Hornets in a tough spot in an already pressure-packed series. This week is being treated as a win-or-go-home regular season finale against a South Aiken team that is also fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
The Hornets have had some bounces go against them this year, but they wouldn't allow it to happen Monday. They jumped ahead early and then held on late for a 7-6 win to start out the series on the right foot and take a big first step toward locking up a postseason spot.
"Right off the bat, it would've been really easy for our guys to just kind of let that sink in and let them get down, but they didn't," said first-year head coach Preston Dawson. "They went out there, and I think they competed really well. They were able to kind of put that aside, maybe even use that for some encouragement, and do a phenomenal job."
Aiken, South Aiken and North Augusta are all now tied for third place in the Region 4-AAAA standings at 3-7 following Monday night's games - North Augusta beat second-place Midland Valley (5-5 in region) 11-0, while Airport (11-1) locked up the region championship weeks ago.
"We're kind of in a position where it's a little bit of win or go home. We've got to win a couple games," Dawson said. "To get that first one over with, let us breathe just a little bit, I would like to think that would make us a little easier going into the next game, especially some of those seniors. They've been working their butts off. For them to be in that situation to take a little bit of a charge in this series, hopefully we can carry that and continue and take that momentum into Wednesday."
Jaxon Flowers gave Aiken a huge start on the mound, throwing a 111-pitch complete game. He ran into some sticky situations here and there against a South Aiken offense that had a good approach at the plate, but he and the defenders behind him navigated their way out of one more rough patch than the T-Breds could.
There were missed opportunities both offensively, like not getting as many runs as they would have liked with the bases loaded and nobody out multiple times, and defensively, like a couple of late errors nearly allowing the T-Breds to tie the game, but this is Aiken-South Aiken - it's never easy, and there's no such thing as style points.
"This rivalry, it's tough," Dawson said. "It's tough to go out there and compete against those guys. It's always, always a battle. To come out with a series-opening win over here is huge for us, so hopefully we can carry that momentum into the next one."
Aiken's batters showed plenty of patience at the plate, earning their way on base via walks or being hit by pitches. The Hornets ran the bases well to put pressure on South Aiken's pitchers and defense, and they bounced back from the mistakes they made to keep them from compounding.
"I don't know if I've ever been part of a group of guys that work harder. I really don't," Dawson said. "The stat sheet might not tell it. There's some situations that we didn't necessarily capitalize on, but it's never a lack of effort with these guys. Every single day, I don't have to tell them to lock in or tell them to focus. Every single day, they show up and they're ready to go. I think once we can put it all together, really and truly, this team's not even close to reaching their peak. Hopefully we can do that pretty soon."
They'll look to continue working toward that peak Wednesday when they host South Aiken for a 7 p.m. first pitch. There's still plenty that can happen in the playoff race over the next two games, making the senior leadership of Cameron Davis, Luke Jones, Reed McLain and Carver Vaughn even more important for a team that relies on five or six underclassmen at a time.
"Whether it's practice, game, it doesn't matter," Dawson said. "Those guys are the first ones there and the last ones to leave every single day, and they work their butts off. To have them for players to look to, and for me to look to even as a coach, it's been a blessing for a first-year coach, for sure."
