Aiken County Post 26/153 baseball juniors beat North Augusta Post 71 in playoff opener

The Aiken County Post 26/153 junior American Legion baseball team showed during a late-season winning streak that they were learning how to win together.

That led to confidence that trickled down from the No. 1 spot in the order to the No. 9, and it was something they were hoping would carry over into the four-team, double-elimination postseason for the 15-and-under league.

It bled into Monday night's playoff opener at second-seeded North Augusta, with Aiken County plating two runs in the top of the seventh inning to tie the game at 3 and then scoring two more in the eighth for a 5-3 victory in another game where they received clutch contributions with their backs against the wall.

"We asked before the game, who was going to step up and be the guy? And it ended up being, in the seventh inning, a guy that did not start the game," said coach Zach Holley, referring to Troy Stancel's game-tying double. "Came in and got a great two-out hit, tied the game, did what he needed to do. He stepped up. The rest of the guys, they just knew that we're never out of it. ... It goes a long way when guys know they can step up and produce and feel confident to get the job done."

Stancel's clutch knock, a rocket off his bat into left field, helped extend the game. Then Caleb Arthur helped end it. Arthur, who has been a thorn in North Augusta's side, drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth inning and then tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom half to finish off the victory.

This one was especially sweet for Aiken County, which split with North Augusta during the regular season. North Augusta finished above Aiken County in the standings by the slimmest of margins, with a tied doubleheader game leaving North Augusta ahead in the loss column.

Holley said one of the messages to his team before the game was to not get too caught up in the rivalry aspect, especially now with every mistake magnified during the postseason.

"That's our outlook," he said. "We tell them before the game, 'You've got to stay within yourself. You can't let the other team or the situation affect you. Play-by-play, stay within yourself and do what you're supposed to do.' Them guys being a rival, like I said last time, you always want to beat those guys. We've had a tough time getting it done the last few games, but got to like that."

Holley credited North Augusta pitcher Gray Parker, who kept Aiken County off-balance all game until Stancel's big hit. Aiken County finished the game with nine hits, but most of that damage was done in the seventh and eighth.

Aiken County took the lead in the top of the fourth when Brayden Johnson doubled to bring home Arthur. North Augusta tied it in the bottom half of the inning when Meyer Culbreath led off with a walk and eventually scored on a wild pitch.

North Augusta jumped ahead 3-1 in the bottom of the fifth after Aiken County committed two costly errors. Arthur took over on the mound and got out of a bases-loaded jam, then allowed nothing the rest of the way.

Arthur, Jeremiah Yarborough and Kingston Sweetnam had two hits apiece, and all three delivered in the eighth inning. Sweetnam singled, then moved to second base on a fielder's choice and stole third before Arthur drove him home with a single. Shortly after, Arthur crossed home plate on a Yarborough base hit.

Arthur made sure the eighth inning was as far as this game would go, sending Aiken County to a winner's bracket game Tuesday night against Richland Post 215 Navy, which picked up a wild 13-12 win Monday over Richland Post 215 White. North Augusta and Richland White were to meet Tuesday night in an elimination game.