Can BHP, Aynor meet for AAA softball state title again?
Aynor and Belton-Honea Path high schools have played for the last two AAA softball state championships, could this year be the tie breaker?
By Dennis Brunson
hssr.com Associate Editor
Sumter – Aynor and Belton-Honea Path high schools have played for the last two AAA softball state championships. BHP took home the title trophy in 2024 by winning the best-of-3 series 2-1, while the Blue Jackets won in a sweep last season.
Both teams are off to good starts again, but the path to a state championship can be a treacherous one. While the possibility of Aynor claiming the lower state title and the Bears the upper state title once again definitely exists, it won’t be an easy row to hoe for either.
Let’s take a gander at the six AAA regions and see how things are lining up with the start of the playoffs drawing near.
REGION 1
BHP was ranked second in the High School Sports Report AAA Top 10 poll, but it was actually third in the Region 1 standings.
The Bears were 2-2 in region play while Crescent was undefeated at 4-0 and West-Oak was unbeaten at 3-0. The 13-4 Bears lost to Crescent 5-2 and to West-Oak 5-4.
Crescent was 18-2 on the season and was sitting atop the HSSR poll, while West-Oak was 13-3 and ranked 10th. They were scheduled to play each other on April 14 and again on April 28.
REGION 2
Palmetto had put itself in position to bring home the Region 2 championship trophy. The fifth-ranked Mustangs were 5-0 in region play and 14-6 overall.
The real battle in this region will be seeing who claims second place. Southside Christian School was 3-2 while Powdersville, which was ranked fourth, was 2-2. St. Joseph’s was 2-3.
REGION 3
It appears this region title will come down to a showdown between seventh-ranked Union County and No. 9 Mountain View Prep.
Mountain View was undefeated in the region at 4-0 while the Yellow Jackets were 3-1. The Stars won the first meeting between the teams 3-2 in 11 innings.
MVP is 9-5 overall while Union County is 7-3. The rematch was scheduled for April 14 in Union.
REGION 4
This region title is going to come down to Aiken County schools Fox Creek and Silver Bluff. The Predators were 12-2-1 and 7-0 in region play while Silver Bluff was 9-7 and 6-1.
The teams were scheduled to face off against each other right after returning from spring break.
REGION 5
Like Region 1, Region 5 has three ranked teams as well. The aforementioned Aynor is ranked third, while Loris is sixth and Georgetown is eighth.
Aynor was leading the way with a 6-0 region mark. Loris was 5-1 and Georgetown was 4-2. Aynor beat Loris 10-0 and Georgetown 3-1 in the first meetings. Loris handed Georgetown its other region loss with a 9-8 victory.
REGION 6
The Region 6 championship will in all likelihood be decided on April 21 and April 24. That’s when Hanahan and Oceanside Collegiate Academy will face off against each other.
Hanahan was 5-0 in region play with a 12-6 overall record coming out of spring break. OCA was 11-9-1 overall and also undefeated in the region at 4-0.
