Sumter – Aynor High School has a young team returning from last year’s squad that went 30-2 and won the AAA softball state title after finishing second in the state in 2022. The Blue Jackets have just two seniors on the roster.
However, what Aynor does have are the two pitchers who led them to the championship. They are All-State selection Alivia Hess and Clemson commitment Maddie Johnson.
If the Blue Jackets, who are ranked No. 1 in the High School Sports Report AAA poll, can navigate their way through Region 7 this season like they did last year, there’s a pretty good chance they could be in position to defend their state crown.
Not only did Aynor win the region last year, they also had to win a mini region tournament to claim the lower state crown. Joining the Blue Jackets in the 4-team, double-elimination lower state tournament were region foes Loris and Dillon along with Region 6 champion Marlboro County. Aynor opened with a victory over Loris and then beat Dillon twice to advance to the state championship series against Crescent.
Loris is ranked third in the poll while Dillon is ranked sixth. Loris was off to a 12-1 start overall and was 4-0 in region play. The Lions had defeated Dillon 3-1 but had yet to take on the Blue Jackets prior to spring break.
Loris is stroking the ball offensively, batting .392 as a team prior to the break. They had five players batting .400 or better.
Leading the way was sophomore Caitie Black with a .513 batting average. She had two doubles, a home runs, and 21 runs scored. Right behind Black in average was fellow sophomore Kenzie McCoy at .488. She led in runs scored with 22 to go with four doubles, two triples and 14 runs batted in.
Freshman Jessie Cartrette was hitting at a .476 clip and led in runs batted in with 18. She had six doubles and 17 runs. Sophomore Haley Spence was at .444 with a home run, 16 runs batted in and 17 runs, while senior Karley Hand was hitting .425 with six doubles, 17 runs and 13 RBI.
Loris had 65 stolen bases with Black leading the way with 19. Spence and McCoy were also in double figures with 14 and 11, respectively.
The Lions have been splitting the innings in the circle between Hand, Cartrette and freshman Bellamie Gore. Hand had worked 36 1/3 innings with a 0.96 earned run average, Cartrette 21 innings with a 0.33 ERA and Gore 19 innings with a 1.84 ERA.
Defending upper state champion Crescent is the second-ranked team in the poll. The Tigers, who are led by reigning AA Player of the Year Emily Blackwell as selected by the South Carolina Association for Women’s Sports, were off to an 11-1 overall start and a 4-1 mark in Region 1, good for first.
Like Aynor, Crescent plays in a pretty stout region as well. The Tigers fell to No. 13 Pendleton 5-4, but beat No. 8 Daniel 8-5. Daniel joined Crescent in the upper state tournament last season.
Another strong Upstate program is Chapman, which is ranked seventh. The Panthers were 10-4 overall and 4-1 in Region 3.
They are led by two All-State selections in Autumn Fisher and Reagan Garrett. Fisher, a senior, was batting an even .500 with three doubles, two triples, a home run and 10 runs batted in. Garrett, also a senior, owned a .410 average with four doubles, two home runs and a team high 16 runs batted in.
Junior Krislyn Wilder was also having a strong start with a .488 average to go with 12 runs batted in and 14 runs scored.
Garrett does the bulk of the work in the circle. She had worked 59 innings and had a 2.14 ERA.
Another strong region is Region 2, which is up for grabs between No. 4 Belton-Honea Path, No. 5 Palmetto and No. 10 Powdersville. Each of those teams has just one region loss with Palmetto possessing four wins and BHP and Powdersville three apiece. Belton-Honea Path is 12-1 overall, Palmetto 11-4 and Powdersville 10-6.
All Rights Reserved | The High School Sports Report 1986-2021