Odom, Spring Hill take down Carver in middle school rivalry baseball game

LAURINBURG — When a pitcher throws from start to finish and allows just one earned run, it’s an indication of a performance good enough for their team to prevail.

Such was the case Thursday night when Spring Hill’s Ayden Odom tossed all seven innings of an 8-5 win for his team over the Carver Eagles in the annual middle school “family feud” at Scotland High’s McCoy Field.

“It’s the best I’ve ever felt in my life,” Odom said after his team’s win. “It’s amazing. Really nervous because it’s a rivalry game, but I just did what I was supposed to do; went out there, threw strikes.”

Carver (2-2) came into the night averaging 14 runs a game, with double-digit scoring numbers in all three previous contests.

“Ayden’s energy on the mound is huge,” Spring Hill coach Greg Fowler said. “I think he’s given up a little less than a run a game. I mean, he’s had a great season. And under his pitching, I think we’re 2-1. The game we lost was a 4-0 game at Rockingham. So, I mean, he’s done a great job all year. Even when he had some tough moments, he battled through and came out with the pitches when he had to.”

Offensively, small ball has been what Fowler’s preached throughout the season. The Spartans provided more of the same against the Eagles — indicated by every scoring frame being two runs or less.

“It’s just always one run here and two, and that’s the way we coach them to play,” Fowler said. “Jaxson (Locklear’s) a great hitter, but he put the bunt down, moved a guy to third. That’s the stuff that we do here. We’re trying to coach these guys up. Be a team player. When the time calls for it to be a hitter, be a hitter. When it calls to play a bunt down and sacrifice yourself, you do that. The guys who played tonight and all the guys on this team are unselfish that way. So that’s why they’re a good team.”

Spring Hill (3-2) struck first with an unearned score by Dalyric McQueen in the first. Carver answered in the bottom of the inning after Briley Lewis put the ball in play, reaching first on an error, and scoring Jayden Bryant in the process. Moments later, Lewis came home for an unearned run to put the Eagles ahead 2-1.

In the second, Spring Hill retook the lead after Tyrne Brown and Jacob Hunt each scored on infield errors; the Spartans added to their advantage in the third when Brown made contact with the ball, making it to first on an error, and helped Colton Graves come home.

“They put the bunts down when they needed to. They advanced runners. They did all the little things. They came up with timely hitting all night. That was the difference in the game,” Fowler said. “We just happened to get a couple of timely hits. It was a difference in the game.”

After Leo Garcia’s unearned score cut Carver’s deficit in half in the third, and a scoreless fourth by both teams, Spring Hill’s Tremaine McLaurin hit an RBI double to bring in Odom, and Brown knocked an RBI single to score McLaurin in the fifth; following Locklear’s RBI hit that helped Chase Jacobs get home, McLaurin found paydirt again with an unearned run in the seventh to extend Spring Hill’s lead to 8-3.

Carver attempted a late rally with unearned runs from third by Bryant and Lewis but ultimately came up short.

“We did what we were supposed to do, had a good game,” Odom said. “We hit the ball good too. But they’re a good team.”

Player stats for both teams were unavailable.

Lewis suffered the loss for Carver after a complete outing.

The victory for Spring Hill comes at the perfect time with the Southeastern Middle School Athletic Conference tournament nearing. And, of course, nothing is sweeter than a key win coming against a rival.

“It’s huge for our playoff chances, and anytime you can win a county rivalry game it’s big for the kids,” Fowler said. “That’s a memory that lasts a lifetime for them. The eighth graders will always be able to say they won the game. So that’s what matters the most to me.”

Looking ahead, Carver visits Hamlet and Spring Hill hosts Ellerbe on Monday.