Head coach Zach Holley had a message for the members of his Aiken County Post 26/153 baseball team Thursday night.
They had the upper hand in the American Legion Junior AA baseball playoff bracket, having won their first two games and earning the opportunity to host the championship.
That start to the postseason also meant they had the luxury of only needing to win once Thursday, while visiting Richland Post 215 White would have to beat Aiken County twice in one night.
That was a luxury Holley didn't want his players to take advantage of, especially considering Richland White posted two wins the night before just to reach this point.
He wanted them to finish the job, to play this championship game like it might be their last - another title shot in American Legion ball, for their respective high school teams or anywhere else isn't guaranteed.
They listened, and they delivered.
Aiken County jumped all over Richland White in the first inning, plating six runs that were way more run support than starting pitcher Caleb Viar would require. They finished off the summer season in style, with an 8-2 victory that makes them the Junior AA state champions.
"I told them before the game, I said you don't get to play for these often, and they're tough to win," Holley said. "I told them, throughout my whole playing career in every sport I ever played, I never got to play for any type of championship, so it's rare. For them to come out and take care of business tonight, stay in the game, jump on them early, play with enthusiasm, it's a good feeling."
The first inning was a tone-setter for Aiken County. Viar worked quickly through the top half, allowing only a single that was erased when catcher Jeremiah Yarborough threw out the runner attempting to steal second base. Then they sent 12 batters to the plate in the home half, using seven hits and two walks to push six runs across the plate for a big early lead.
"I just told them nothing changed from the last two or three games," Holley said. "We were going to run early, take pitches, make the pitcher work. He came out and did struggle a little bit, and we did get some key hits in that inning. They gave us a couple, and we took full advantage of it. He did come out for the next four innings and shut us down. He made it tough on us, so I was glad we were able to get those early runs."
Richland White pitcher McCall Daves got into a groove from there, facing only 11 batters over the next three innings and at one point retiring six out of seven to keep the game within reach and give his offense the chance to get them back into it.
The problem for Richland White was that Viar never really got out of his groove. He held Richland White scoreless until a couple of errors led to two runs in the top of the sixth, but that was about all Richland White could muster against him. He went the distance, allowing only five hits while striking out four and walking two.
Not bad for a kid who came into the championship game with an 11.81 ERA in only 5⅓ innings pitched so far this summer. Aiken County had practically everyone on the roster available to pitch, but Holley had a feeling Viar - who went 4-0 with a 1.25 ERA while playing for Holley on Midland Valley's junior varsity team this past season - was the right choice for starting pitcher.
He turned out to be the only pitcher they'd need.
"He struggled early in the season. We threw him a couple of times, and he didn't have great outings," Holley explained. "But something told me today, I know on Midland Valley JV he pitched well for us, about four complete games, I felt like he could come do it tonight on his home field. He'd feel comfortable and come throw strikes for us, and that's exactly what he did."
The offense found its stride again in the bottom of the fifth, adding a couple more runs to make it 8-0. Aiken County pounded out 13 hits for the game, with eight different players recording at least one. Dale Pearson, Caleb Arthur, Tyler Tindall, Chris Hair and Troy Stancel each had two, and Tindall also drew two walks to reach base in all four of his at-bats.
Aiken County didn't fret after its first defensive miscues of the night in the sixth. Viar retired the last two batters of the inning, then threw another zero onto the scoreboard in the seventh to bring home the trophy.
"Just continuing to stay within yourself," Holley said. "We kicked it around a couple of times and let them get that little bit of an advantage, but then Caleb came out and kept throwing, and we were able to get out of it. It's just all about staying within yourselves and not compounding too badly."
It's the second time Aiken is the Junior AA champion in the four years the 15-and-under league has existed. This one isn't exactly the same, though, because the inaugural title was won by Aiken Post 26. This group combined Aiken Post 26 and Midland Valley Post 153, as neither had the numbers for a full team - and neither fielded a team in the Junior AAA or Senior leagues.
Yet this group representing Aiken, Midland Valley, Silver Bluff and South Aiken high schools banded together to go on a second-half hot streak to get into the playoffs as the No. 3 seed with a 6-4 record, then didn't lose again. They outscored their three playoff opponents 31-10, with two of those wins coming on the road against higher-seeded opponents who were a combined 7-0-1 on their respective home fields.
The title game was the only one Aiken County played on its home grass at Midland Valley, where they went 4-1 during the regular season, and they made sure they only needed to play one.
"We knew that we needed this team to do well," Holley said. "Coming out and winning this thing this year - you see them, they're a team, they're a full team, they like playing together. Maybe that fires them up to come back next year and the next year and the next year, and we can get this thing going for a few years in a row."
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