Aynor softball beats Dillon to forge tie atop region

Shelby Cox’s miscue on a short pop-up in the final inning likely wasn’t going to cost Aynor in a crucial game against Dillon.

The Blue Jackets had already built a comfortable lead with a huge sixth inning.

What coach Sandie Jones noticed – and then described as a microcosm of the team’s mantra the rest of the way – was how Cox responded.

On the next play, the Aynor second baseman dove for a ground ball and tagged second base, pushing the Blue Jackets one step closer to their spot atop the Region VIII-AA standings alongside the Wildcats. For Jones, it was all about keeping your foot on the gas.

“We’re always going to use that message,” Jones said after Aynor’s 9-2 win Tuesday. “None of us are perfect. We’re going to make mistakes. There’s going to be an error here and there. But it’s after that error that makes a difference in the ballgame.”

As small as that play was, it was that type of hustle that led the Blue Jackets to the all-important win. The team moved to 7-1 courtesy of the split with Dillon.

If the two teams both win out, they’ll have a one-game playoff at a neutral field to determine the region title and a No. 1 seed for the playoffs. Aynor finds itself in that position after doing to Dillon what it did against Waccamaw last week.

The Blue Jackets, up 2-0 heading into the sixth, sent 12 batters to the plate and scored seven runs. Cox had two RBIs in the frame with a double, but most of the other damage was done one run at a time.

After winning a 10-0 game against Waccamaw last week, the Blue Jackets have now scored 19 runs in their last two games against teams generally considered to be the top two in the region.

“All of us had confidence and we were ready take on Dillon,” Cox said. “We were ready to make a name for ourselves in our conference. I think we did that tonight very well.”

Said Jones: “It was just a matter of time until we started hitting. What led us to some success here is – they expected us to do some hitting – is we started playing some small ball. It made a lot of critical things happen.”

Aynor can now finish no worse than second place in the region, regardless of what happens Wednesday against Loris or Friday against Mullins. If the Blue Jackets win both of those home games, they can avoid the one-game playoff if Waccamaw defeats Dillon on Thursday in Pawleys Island.

The team plans to hold up Jones’ message while also becoming a bunch of Warrior fans on the side.

“We will be,” Cox said. “I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. We have confidence in Waccamaw and that they can beat them on their home field. We’ll be cheering for Waccamaw.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 9:28 PM with the headline "Aynor softball beats Dillon to forge tie atop region."