Aynor baseball tops Edisto in Game 2 to win district title

Chad Sarvis never bought into the idea that his team wasn’t supposed to be here.

Even though Aynor was the fourth-place finisher in region play, his Blue Jackets baseball team followed his lead.

Aynor – despite an uphill climb based on the current format used to conduct the state playoffs – advanced to the Class AA Lower State bracket with a 11-1 win over Edisto at home in five innings on Wednesday. The Cougars had forced a winner-take-all scenario by winning the first game 2-1.

But thanks to that second game, it will be Aynor and the No. 4 seed it entered the playoffs with that is still alive for a state title.

“Playing in our region, anywhere between a one through four team, you’ve got a chance to be competitive [in the playoffs],” Sarvis said. “Region VIII-AA is just a tough region. It prepares you for the playoffs.”

The Blue Jackets are about to find out if they can fare as well in the next tier of the postseason. Fellow region teams Dillon and Waccamaw will also be there, rounded out by Bishop England.

For Aynor, though, Sarvis and Co. could be considered the surprise team. This is its first Lower State appearance since 2006 (when it played for the state title).

Two years ago, Region VIII-AA squad Loris made it as a No. 4 seed. But to say this is a regular occurrence would be inaccurate.

The Blue Jackets can throw their hat into the ring because they didn’t repeat the same mistake twice Wednesday.

Recipients of 10 free passes via walks and batters hit by pitch in the game one loss, the Blue Jackets failed to make Edisto pay, leaving the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings. Meanwhile, Edisto scored a run in each of those two frames.

The second game was a different story. It took the Blue Jackets all of three batters in the top of the first inning in game two to match their game one totals for hits (two) and runs (one). A few batters later, the rout was on.

“We just couldn’t get that timely hit in that first game,” Sarvis said. “We couldn’t get that momentum going. But in the second game, we came out, it was on our normal routine around 6:30, 7 o’clock, and they did what I’ve asked them to do all year.”

It produced at least two upcoming Region VIII-AA rematches, including Aynor’s opener Saturday, when it will face Dillon at home, in the new double-elimination tournament.

“We’ve got the best region in the Lower State, by far,” senior Andrew Lovell said. “It’s going to be tough early. Dillon’s stout. We split two games with them this year. Same thing with Waccamaw. But it’s going to be interesting to see.”

Aynor beat both of those two teams at home in the final two weeks of the regular season. It shook up the region some. And while the Blue Jackets could climb no higher than fourth in that division, they’re able to call themselves district champions for the first time in nine years.

To do more, they’ll have to have even more success against regular-season opponents.

“It definitely makes it harder,” Lovell said. “We know their weaknesses. They know ours. But that’s what’s going to make it interesting. We’re going to have to play good defense and have timely hits.”

Essentially, what they did in the district title clincher.

This story was originally published May 6, 2015 at 10:38 PM with the headline "Aynor baseball tops Edisto in Game 2 to win district title."