Battery Creek knocks off defending state champs Aynor

A big part of Battery Creek’s breakthrough season, coach Stephanie Cox says, is her players’ ability to feed off each others’ success. Sometimes it’s just a matter of finding the one to light the spark.

Saturday night, Michaux Gee filled the role in the Dolphins’ opening game of the Class 2-A Lower State tournament.

Gee’s leadoff home run in the third erased what was left of an early two-run deficit against Aynor, sparking a three-run outburst on the way to a 5-2 triumph over the defending 2-A state champions.

“That was a big inning for us,” Cox said, “and she was the spark that lit the fire.”

Emily Crosby and Journeigh Doray capitalized on Aynor miscues later in the inning to put the Dolphins in front, and Alexis Ortiz singled home an insurance run in the fifth.

Ortiz also kept Aynor’s bats in check after giving up runs in each of the first two innings. She gave up just three hits the rest of the way, pitching out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth and retiring nine of the 10 batters that followed.

“She’s a little bit under the weather, so we were a little worried about it,” Cox said. “But she came out and performed. She progresses as the game goes on and gets stronger and stronger. I couldn’t ask for more out of a pitcher.”

The Dolphins, who won for the 20th time in their past 21 outings, advanced to a winners’ bracket contest on the road Monday against the winner of Saturday’s Johnsonville/Dillon contest.

“Our team thrives on each other,” Cox said. “When one person does something good, it’s a chain effect for our team. They feed off each other very well.”

The Dolphins had to be patient, though, after Aynor jumped out to a 2-0 lead midway through the second inning. Battery Creek cut the deficit in half in the bottom of the inning when McKenzie Young slid home after shortstop Felicia Tracy mishandled Julianna Greer’s grounder.

That set the stage for the third, when Gee ripped a Layna Johnson pitch that eluded center fielder Morgan Elliott and rolled all the way to the fence. Cox sent Gee home, then held her breath when the play looked to be closer than first anticipated.

“I’ve never been more nervous to send somebody home in my life,” she said. “When she crossed the plate — whew! — I was overwhelmed with joy.”

So were her teammates, who got the spark they were looking for. Crosby followed with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch, and Doray came home on a third Aynor error.

“The girls’ faces when (Gee) came back to the dugout — everybody was ready to go out there and perform,” Cox said. “Like I said, they just feed off it.”

The Dolphins’ only anxious moments thereafter came in the top of the fourth, when the Blue Jackets got a pair of singles and Ortiz issued a two-out walk to load the bases. However, a grounder to second ended the threat.

This story was originally published May 7, 2016 at 9:11 PM with the headline "Battery Creek knocks off defending state champs Aynor."