How Aynor softball added to its rich history Wednesday, with potentially more to come
A year ago, Tony Mills said he fully believed his softball team would make another strong postseason run.
Three games into the 2018 slate, he was instead using the word “pathetic” to describe the Aynor squad.
On Wednesday night, Mills had pulled another much-warranted 180.
That’s because his Blue Jackets earned a fifth consecutive trip to the Lower State tournament with a 10-6 victory over Timberland in the Class 3A District VI championship game. Getting back to the Lower State tournament is expected at Aynor.
Of course, that’s because no current Blue Jacket has ever fallen short of that goal inside a program where winning ways have been a given lately.
“Our B-team has not lost a game in three years; our J.V. team has not lost a game in three years,” Mills said. “So we have the expectations that they’re going to win. I want them to see the senior leadership. I want them to see how to prepare. I want them to see them on the bus. It’s a long, long, long, long process. We’re still building, and we’re not where we want to be.”
Mills and his staff can debate that all they want, but at least they’ll be doing so while keeping the impressive streak of Lower State tournament berths intact.
That’s exactly what happened after his offense jumped all over Timberland and built a semi-comfortable cushion. Aynor scored three runs in the first, three more in the third and four in the fourth to lead by as many as eight runs.
The bulk of the damage came from the Nos. 2-6 spots in the lineup. Layna Johnson, Felicia Tracy, Peyton Rabon, Kennedy Ellis and Jules Johnson were a combined 11-for-15 from the plate, knocking in eight RBI while scoring eight of the overall runs.
The offensive burst kept Aynor undefeated in the district playoffs, which previously included a 5-0 win over Strom Thurmond and a 2-0 win over Timberland.
But what about that early season undressing?
That’s the part that can’t be ignored when talking about this year’s team and how it has gotten to a point where it will be hosting the Lower State tournament opener on Saturday against powerhouse Hanahan.
After the team started 1-2 – including a region-opening loss to Georgetown – it received a two-day tongue-lashing from Mills. The first came immediately following the loss; the next day at practice wasn’t much better.
“He said we weren’t going to make it far, that we were pathetic,” junior Layna Johnson remembered. “It felt really bad. I think that motivated us. We’re not used to it. … I know he was mad. He said he didn’t regret anything he said. But it made us better.”
Said Mills: “The staff was concerned. … They were not a good team. I think they were a little overconfident after [the previous seasons]. The problem we had was carrying that over.”
Mills made his feelings known. And it may have just been the trick for a school that can now say it has 12 all-time district championships.
This story was originally published May 2, 2018 at 8:27 PM with the headline "How Aynor softball added to its rich history Wednesday, with potentially more to come."