Andrew Jackson Academy Begins Baseball Season 4-2 & Focused On Winning Region Title

Billy Baker • March 18, 2025

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By Billy G. Baker

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Ehrhardt—It is always great when you see progress made by teams in athletics, and such is the case with the Andrew Jackson Academy baseball team, who finished 0-18 last season, but after six games of the 2025 season the Warriors are 4-2 and favored to win a region title.

“When we beat Thomas Heyward 10-9 this season, it was our first region win in three years,” said head coach Jason Mathys, who played college baseball at Iowa State before playing a few seasons in the minor leagues with the New York Yankees. “We didn’t have any seniors last year so our players are all one year older and one year better.

“We also have two really talented 8^th graders (Kaiden Kinard & Channing Terry) who have blended in well with our older players,” said Coach Mathys. “Kaiden is starting at first base and batting around .380 and Channing pitched a complete game against Thomas Heyward with two strike-outs and only a couple walks, and that win was huge for the program.”

The Warriors participated in a pre-season tournament hosted at Orangeburg-Wilkinson. “We went 2-1 in the tournament with wins over Edisto and Calhoun County,” said Coach Mathys. “Our two losses this season came against Williston-Elko and Holly Hill Academy.”

The top all-around player on the team is senior Jack Walling who played legion baseball this past summer in Walterboro. Walling is the starting shortstop and also a right- handed pitcher. He is currently leading the team in hitting with a superb .614 average.

“Jack hit our first home run in three years in a recent win over Beaufort Academy,” said Coach Mathys. “Jack is the guy who makes things happen when others can’t. His hitting and pitching have improved every year since I took over the team four years ago. I feel like he can contribute to a college baseball program somewhere.”

Senior Hayden McClung had not played baseball in three years but he decided to come out for his senior season, after being a key player on the Warrior football and basketball teams the past two seasons. “Hayden is primarily our starting catcher but we had a rash of sickness on the team and he played in center field and did a great job,” said Coach Mathys. “He almost threw out a runner on first base from center field. He has a strong arm and he is super- fast. He leads the team in stolen bases with around 10 right now.”

Walker Terry is starting at third base and he has pitched 12 innings with a 1-1 record to date. Landon Stanfield starts at second base and he has scored seven runs so far this season.

Senior Tim Williams starts in center field but he has missed a couple game with sickness. Sophomore Eli Mathys starts in left field and he is batting .270 and he is also a right-handed pitcher. Junior Hall Sease is a returning starter on the team and he is also a right- handed pitcher.

Due to sickness on the team, Coach Mathys brought up freshman Jaxson Brandt from the junior varsity to add depth to the team. “Jaxson got two hits in two games and played very well,” said Coach Mathys. “He filled in at shortstop also. We plan to play him up-and-down the rest of the season.”

Some key reserves on the team include senior RHP Hunter Zorn along with junior outfielder Grayson Hays. Brad Hightower will see action “up and down” this season. Connor Mount is a junior RHP and 9^th grader Hunter Tucker is a back-up catcher.

“We are a three- team region with Thomas Heyward and Beaufort Academy,” said Coach Mathys. “We beat both of them on the road this season, so we feel good about having a shot at winning the region this year. After that a deep run in the play-offs would be great.”

The Warriors will play at Colleton Prep on March, 15 before playing at Coastal Home School on the 17^th. AJA will host Thomas Heyward on the 18^th and Horse Creek Academy on the 24^th. They close out the month of March with a home game against Dorchester Academy on the 26^th.

Coach Mathys is assisted by Kevin Kinard and Kip Terry.

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By David Shelton • July 30, 2025

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