Airport loses 1st game, wins 2nd to win Class 4A District IV baseball championship

Airport rebounded from losing the first game of the Class 4A District IV baseball championship against Belton Honea-Path to claim an 8-3 victory in the second game on Monday night, advancing to the Upper State championship series.

The difference came down to the depth on the mound. The Bears had to throw their best arms just to force the winner-take-all deciding game while the Eagles still had ace Justin Allen waiting on the wings.

Allen pitched a solid 4 1/3 innings and got the benefit of a five-run second inning to give Airport (21-3) the opportunity to host Wren on Thursday to open the four-team, double elimination Upper State championship bracket.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way we handled the adversity of losing that first game,” Airport coach Tim Perry said.

The Eagles strung together four hits in the second inning but also benefited from three hit batters and a balk to jump to a 5-0 lead. Parker Whittle got things started with an RBI single. Sam LaFrage added an RBI single and Brandon Caughman brought home a run by getting hit by a pitch. Tyler Corbitt finished the scoring with an RBI ground out.

Colby Key added an RBI double in the fourth and Whittle rounded out the scoring with a 2-run double in the fourth as well.

“It was a big lift to get those runs early,” Perry said. “We got some timely hits and we were able to take advantage of them hitting some guys and putting guys on base.”

That was enough for Allen. The senior lefty ended the season with 12 scoreless innings and added four more before the Bears scratched across three runs in the fifth inning. Caughman came on to pitch the final 2 2/3 innings to close things out.

The key for Allen was getting out of the first inning without giving up a run. The Bears had runners at second and third with no outs but Allen struck out the side to shut down any early momentum for BHP.

“We felt confident with Allen on the mound,” Perry said. “He’s pitched really well and had 12 scoreless innings to close the season. Then he was able to pitch out of that jam in the first inning, we felt really good.”

Belton Honea-Path (11-10) forced the decisive game with a 6-5 victory in nine innings. Ben Bear delivered a two-out double for the winning run.

This story was originally published April 30, 2018 at 11:01 PM with the headline "Airport loses 1st game, wins 2nd to win Class 4A District IV baseball championship."