Aiken County Post 26/153 juniors pick up key win, split series

The Aiken County Post 26/153 baseball team is in control of its own postseason destiny after a crucial comeback victory Thursday night.

Aiken County was in desperate need of a bounce-back after a mistake-filled loss to first-place Richland Post 215 Navy on Wednesday, a defeat that dropped them from second to third in the American Legion Junior AA standings.

It would have to be against that same Richland Navy team, and it would have to be done on the road - where Aiken County was yet to win a game this summer.

Aiken County led throughout, until some of those same mistakes popped back up again to lead to a seven-run Richland Navy sixth inning. That left Aiken County behind 10-8, and they were going to have to rally in the top of the seventh to have a chance to tie the game.

They did more than that, reeling off six runs and then finishing off the win with a scoreless bottom of the seventh that gives Aiken County a clear path to lock up second place and a postseason spot.

"It just fed off of that loss - that loss burned a little fire in them," said coach Zach Holley, referring to Wednesday's 11-7 home loss that snapped a three-game winning streak. "They didn't want to lose another game like that, so they were not in panic mode. They went up there and took that game back and took control of it."

Dale Pearson capped a 3-for-5 night by hitting the go-ahead two-run double in the top of the seventh after Richland Navy ran into some problems of its own with walks, hit batters and wild pitches.

Pearson led the way with three RBI, and starting pitcher Blake Freeland had two. Kingston Sweetnam had two hits, and Tyler Tindall walked three times - and had five of the team's 19 stolen bases, as Aiken County (5-3) stayed in motion throughout the game to put pressure on the Richland Navy defense, which committed five errors.

Freeland gave Aiken County a quality start, getting them to the bottom of the sixth with an 8-3 lead. He worked his way in and out of some jams to get there, and in doing so had to throw 94 pitches.

"He got up in pitch count, and we made the decision to pull him," said Holley, who then added with a laugh, "A couple guys came in there and were a little wild. I think in that bottom of the sixth inning we actually walked or hit eight batters, gave them a few runs and ended up going into that top of the seventh battling back and having to score two to get tied with them."

There was no panic in the top of the seventh, though, as Aiken County stuck to the same philosophy - have quality at-bats, be patient, don't chase - that helped produce the lead they held for most of the game.

Then they found an unlikely hero on the mound in Sweetnam, unlikely only in that he hadn't pitched yet this summer. He got the ball with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, and he closed out the victory.

"He kept coming up to us saying, 'Coach, I can pitch. I can pitch.' But he's our center fielder, and he's a lock-down center fielder," Holley said. "We got into a position where we kind of were forced to go to him. He got that final out in the sixth, and we felt pretty good about going back to him in the seventh. He came in, and it got a little hairy there, they ended up with a couple of guys on, but he worked through it and threw strikes when we needed it.

"He got those final three outs. Me and Coach (Richard) Abney talk about this all the time. These guys aren't used to playing full seven-inning games, and those last nine outs of a seven-inning game are hard to get. I think we might have found our guy to get those last few, if push comes to shove again."

Aiken County can't overtake Richland Navy for the top spot in the league, but they can secure second if they take care of business in their final two games - July 1 against Post 7 Irmo at Irmo High School, and July 2 against Post 79 Eagles at Airport High School.