Belton-Honea Path wins first ever softball state championship

 Lexington – Addi Vaughn was just along for the ride when the Belton-Honea Path High School softball team met up with Aynor High in the deciding game of the best-of-3 AAA state championship series on Friday at the White Knoll High field.

It turns out it was Vaughn who drove the Bears to the program’s first ever state championship.

The freshman who had seen little action on the varsity throughout the season came on and pitched four scoreless innings and hit a 2-run home run that ended up being the game winner as BHP rallied from a 7-1 deficit for a 9-8 victory over the defending state champion Blue Jackets.

“I was excited to get a chance to do something,” said Vaughn, who was the main pitcher on the junior varsity but had pitched in some tournaments for the varsity. “I've been waiting for this a lot.”

 And the opportunity came because of happenstance. Senior Kinsley Kay, Belton-Honea Path’s All-State pitcher, didn’t have her best stuff. When she gave up a leadoff home run to AHS All-State player Maddie Johnson in the top of the fourth to extend Aynor’s lead to 8-4, Bear head coach Jarad Jennings decided to make a pitching change.

 Jennings would have normally gone with sophomore Carli Smith. However, Smith had suffered a leg injury running out a base hit in the second inning and had to be pulled from the game. That meant Vaughn was the choice to take over in the circle.

“We didn't have much of a choice," said Jennings, whose team finished with a 31-4 record. “Our stud, our ace, our All-State pitcher, ran out of gas. We haven't had to do that (remove Kay from games) much. Three games in a week against this kind of team had something to do with that.

         "We had to let her {Vaughn) go out there and see what happens, and, dadgum, she did a heck of a job. She's pitched in some tournaments and stuff. We knew she had a shot to go out there and do her thing, and the moment wasn't too big for her. It was unbelievable.”

         Vaughn didn’t allow a hit or a walk, but did hit a batter in her four innings of work, but she had only one strikeout. That meant 11 of the outs she recorded meant her teammates had to make plays behind her.

         “We have a really good team, so I knew they were going to back me up on defense,” Vaughn said. 

          And they did, especially the outfield of eighth-grade leftfielder Madi Boggs, junior centerfielder Meg Griffin and senior rightfielder Alexis Jenkins. The trio combined for eight putouts over the final four innings and had 10 for the game.

         “They definitely made every play tonight,” Jennings said. “That's an eighth-grader out there in left field for those two outs, just big-time plays.”

         That would be Boggs, who made a nice play to end the sixth and a tremendous play in the seventh to preserve the lead.

         After freshman Martin Kinsley, who took over at third base after Smith went out with the injury, threw out the first batter of the inning, Alaina Brown reached on an error. That brought the left-handed Savannah Gerrald to the plate. She hit a shot to left-center that Boggs ran down and snagged with her back to the infield for the second out. Vaughn then got Caroline Gaskins to ground to her to end the game and set off a wild celebration.

         Prior to Boggs’ putout to end the sixth, Griffin had the other two putouts. Vaughn hit Riley Rabon to start the inning, bringing Johnson to the plate in her first at-bat since the homer. She hit a high fly ball that Griffin pulled in for the second out. Hannah Lewis followed with a deep fly to dead center on which Griffin found the fence and pulled in the ball at the base of the fence.

         “I was really proud of her,” BHP junior shortstop Emma Evans said of Vaughn. “It was like her first game on varsity to play. She came in and got that win. She basically gave us that win, and I'm really proud of her.”

         Vaughn did her part at the plate in the bottom of the fourth to cap off Belton-Honea Path’s 5-run inning. The inning started innocently enough for Aynor’s Johnson, who is committed to Clemson as a pitcher. She got Boggs to ground out to open the inning before giving up an infield single to left-handed slapper Jenkins. Johnson walked Evans before striking out Griffin for the second out.

         Chloe Maness singled to score Jenkins, and Evans scored on the play on an error. Johnson got Liv Hall to hit a ground ball, but it wasn’t handled, allowing another run to score and cut the margin to 8-7. Vaughn, who took over the fifth spot in the batting order, took a pitch the opposite way and sent it over the right field fence for the 9-8 advantage.

         “I was looking for a good pitch because I had two balls, so I was looking to hit it hard somewhere,” Vaughn said. “I’m normally a pull hitter. It was an outside pitch so I just took it. I knew I hit it hard, but I didn't think I hit it hard enough to be gone.”

         “She's got some pop,” Jennings said. “When the ball left the bat, I didn't know if it was going to leave, but I saw the rightfielder turn around. I knew it was going to be over her head and then it left the yard, That was unbelievable.”

         Aynor head coach Tony Mills for the way it rallied.

         “There's a reason why Belton-Honea Path is a state championship team,” said Mills, whose team was playing in its third straight state championship series. “There's a reason why they're here. There's a reasons why they won 30 games this year. Their kids are well coached over there, a lot of very good athletes. They got a run here, a run there and had a couple of hard-hit balls.

         “They got the momentum back. They changed pitchers and we just couldn't put the bat on the ball. We couldn't get anything to fall. They made some really nice defensive plays also.”

         Aynor, which finished with a 24-6 record, took a 2-0 lead in the first. Gaskins started the game with a single before Kay retired the next two batters. Johnson drew a walk before a single by senior MacKenzie Brown loaded the bases. Lewis followed with a single to drive in Gaskins and courtesy runner Caroline Gerrald.

         The Bears got a run back in the bottom of the inning. Evans was hit by a pitch to start the inning and scored on an infield single by Griffin.

         After a scoreless second, both teams got things going again in the third. Aynor scored five runs, all of them unearned. Sophomore Alivia Hess reached on an error to start the inning before Kay retired the next two batters. However, the next seven Blue Jacket batters reached base.

         MacKenzie Brown delivered a single to score Hess. A walk to Lewis and a single by senior Lainey Squires loaded the bases. Alaina Brown singled to drive in MacKenzie Brown and courtesy runner Zoe Moore to make it 5-1. A walk to Savannah Gerrald reloaded the baes and Gaskins and Hess had consecutive RBI singles to make it 7-1.

         BHP got three of the runs back in the bottom of the inning. Evans drew a walk to start the inning, stole second and went to third on an infield out. She scored on a fielder’s choice by Maness, beating a throw to the plate, allowing Maness to reach.

         Hall sent Maness to third with a double and she scored on a Kay groundout. A single by Emily Brown drove in Hall to make it 7-4.

         Evans was not surprised at how she and her teammates rallied.

         “I knew that we would come back,” said Evans, who has been on the varsity for five seasons, four as a starter. “We have good offense, and I knew we would get some runs in. And that's what we did.”

         “We had to battle. We knew it was going to be a battle,” Jennings said. “We made some adjustments in the box and it was the third time around seeing their pitcher too. We knew she was going to throw it hard, and we just had to be on time. We came up with some timely hits tonight.”

         Evans reached base four times, scoring three runs for Belton-Honea Path. She had a hit, walked twice and was hit by a pitch. Emily Brown was the only Bear with two hits, and she drove in a run. Maness had a hit, two runs and two runs batted in, Griffin had a hit and an RBI, Hall had a hit and two runs, and Jenkins had a hit and a run. Vaughn had the 2-run homer, Smith had a hit and Kay had an RBI.

         “I'm proud of my kids for the grit they showed tonight,” Jennings said. “Our kids were ready to play today. They didn't sweat when they got down. Everybody came and did their part. We moved kids around and sometimes you got to do what you got to o to win a game. and they were all bought in. 

         It was a rare off night in the circle for Johnson. She allowed nine hits while walking four and striking out seven. Five of the nine runs were earned.

         “We made a couple of mistakes behind her, but sometimes you have to ask yourself is it something your kid did wrong or is it something the other kid did right,” said Mills, whose team had allowed just 36 runs on the season coming into the game with Johnson and Hess sharing time in the circle. “When they squared the ball up like they did and they were able to get the bat on the ball, you have to give them credit.

         “We did everything we could do. They just made one more play. Sometimes we make one more play. Tonight was different. I give them all the credit over there. They just made more plays than we did.”

         Gaskins and MacKenzie Brown both had two hits to lead Aynor, both finishing with a run and an RBI. Alaina Brown and Lewis both finished with a hit and two RBI, while Hess and Johnson both had a hit, a run and an RBI. Squires had a hit and a run.

         MacKenzie Brown and Squires are the Blue Jackets’ only seniors, so the future looks bright. However, Mills said the duo will be missed.

         “We recognized two seniors and what they have done for this program,” Mills said. “They have played for three straight state championships. We told them how proud we are of how they represent their community, how they represent Aynor High School. When they put that jersey on, they represent Aynor the right way. I love them to death. I've had them since seventh grade.”

         Jennings is a BHP graduate, having won a state title as a baseball player in 2009. He was an assistant coach for BHP baseball teams that won consecutive state titles in 2015-16. He just completed his third season in charge of the softball program.

         “It's unbelievable,” Jennings said of claiming the state title. “Our first goal was to be region champions, but we fell a little short of that. I kept telling them if we get hot at the right time we can hang a banner at this place. Dadgum, we did it tonight.

         “It's special. We knew (as a coaching staff) what it takes to get here. The girls, their grit and resiliency they've shown throughout the playoffs is unbelievable.”