AAAAbaseball favorites still alive in postseason

Moncks Corner – Any team that is able to advance into the second week of the high school baseball state playoffs should be considered to have as much a chance to win it all as any other team.

However, while there are teams more favored to win, there also can be a dark horse contender, or two. Or three.

The Class AAAA baseball talk this spring has been about a few teams that most consider to be the team or teams to beat. Defending state champion Catawba Ridge is certainly near the top of the list as a veteran, talented team should be. The Copperheads have slipped a time or two, including in district play when they were knocked off by Laurens. Catawba Ridge will have to beat Laurens twice on May 6 to continue their title defense.

Laurens, while certainly a solid team all season, would likely be in the dark horse category simply because a lot of fans outside of Laurens know a lot about the Raiders. Laurens has won more than 20 games and won the region two championship so there is certainly championship level talent and coaching.

Another Upper State team with a great record but very little fanfare is Easley. The Green Wave have quietly won 24 games with a roster that includes eight seniors. Easley is hitting .360 as a team with a team ERA under two, certainly two major pluses.

Senior Kaleb Owens is a candidate for AAAA player of the year as he has contributed both on the mound and at the plate. Owens is hitting .418 with 18 RBI while boasting an 8-1 pitching record and a 1.03 earned run average.

Owens, however, has tons of help. Easley will soon have six players in their lineup with at least 20 RBI. Junior Aaron Tolbert leads the club with 34 runs driven in while hitting over .400. Senior Braxton Patton his hitting .409 with 26 RBI and sophomore Ayden Beeco is hitting .340 with 20 RBI.

Aiding on the mound is a bevy of arms, led by Brayden Owens, another senior.

Want a few more dark horses? Keep an eye on Lucy Beckham in the Lower State and Indian Land in the Upper State. Again, two talented teams that hardly anyone talks about during the season.

Two teams normally in the conversation, Airport and AC Flora, have been eliminated in the district play.

When looking at the favorites to win the Lower State look no further than defending Lower State champion North Myrtle Beach and James Island. Both teams have been dominant since day one of the season. The Chiefs of North Myrtle are 24-2 after three playoff wins while James Island is 24-2-1 with a preseason tournament tie on their ledger.

The wise baseball sage says it takes talent and some luck to win a championship. James Island has talent, that’s for sure. Lady luck also has been on their side in the playoffs.

The Trojans trailed Hartsville, 2-1, in the sixth with two outs before sophomore Trip Ostergard delivered a two-run single to push the Trojans to a 3-2 win.

Against West Florence, James Island trailed 5-1 early, rallied to take a 6-5 lead but entered the bottom of the seventh down, 7-6. After the leadoff batter was hit by a pitch, James Island bunted. An errant throw to first rolled down the right field line, allowing the tying run to score. Then, as the batter, Grayson Bennett, headed for third, an errant throw got past third and he scored the winning run.

“Our guys are just so competitive. They never think they are out of any game, no matter the score or the situation,” James Island coach Matt Spivey said.