Mavericks rally, finish strong in Florida
A trip to Florida’s Gulf Coast opened the 2024 baseball season for Anderson County High School last week.
The Mavericks got off to a slow start, dropping their first three games in Panama City. But they closed their trip to the Sunshine State with an 11-9 victory over Bay High School.
Slow starts are nothing new for the Mavericks (1-3) in recent years. They’ve endured early losing streaks in each of the last two seasons, but they rebounded to make the Region 2-AAA Tournament in both 2022 and 2023.
“I told the guys that we’ve gotten off to slow starts in each of my three years here,” Anderson County Coach Josh Boynton said. “So we started 0-3, but we’re not going to push the panic button just yet.”
The Mavs opened the tournament with a 3-1 loss to Belleview (Florida). ACHS took a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Easton Beatty came up with an RBI double that scored Lane Fletcher.
Ayden Bond and Ty Wilson both also doubled for the Mavericks, who had just four hits in the contest. The other hit was a single by Alex Bond.
The Rattlers tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third. They took the lead in the fifth and added an insurance run in the sixth.
On Tuesday, March 12, the Mavericks were shut out 4-0 by Fleming Island. In that contest, Anderson County managed just one hit, by Ayden Bond.
“We had a leadoff double and we couldn’t score, and as it turned out, that was the only hit that we got in the game,” Boynton said.
On Wednesday, March 13, the Mavericks came up on the short end of an 11-2 decision against Oak Leaf.
Beaty was 1-for-1 with an RBI, while Trey Rowe went 1-for-1 with a run scored and a stolen base.
On Thursday, the Mavericks picked up their lone win in the Sunshine State when they edged Bay.
There, Anderson County’s bats came alive as the Mavericks pounded out 11 hits, including doubles by Wilson and Ayden Bond.
Trailing 7-2, the Mavs scored seven times in the top of the fourth inning.
The Mavericks terrorized the Tornadoes on the bases as the Bond brothers combined to swipe three bases.
Morgan Clark stole two bases, and Fletcher stole one.
“I told my assistant coaches before our game on Thursday that I had a feeling, and I knew we were going to score at least 10 runs, and we did,” Boynton said. “Their poor catcher was having a tough day and we took advantage of that.”
Wilson went 3-for-5 with a double and three RBIs.
Alex Bond chipped in with two hits, and Ayden Bond had a hit and an RBI, while scoring two runs.
Reece Wilson had a hit, an RBI and a run scored.
Despite seeing his team endure some early struggles, Boynton said the trip was successful for his team.
“This is the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve left during spring break,” Boynton said. “Usually, we’ve stayed around here and played baseball.
“But this was good for us,” he said. “It gave the guys a chance to go to the beach and spend time with their families and their teammates, so they had a chance to have a little bit of a break.”