CENTRE - Cherokee County High School junior catcher Aiden Bobbitt is fitting in to the Warriors' lead off spot in the baseball lineup quite nicely.
On Monday against Spring Garden, Bobbitt delivered a pair of hits, including a two-run double to left center in the top of the second inning, helping lift the Warriors to a 4-2 victory.
It's a move that Bobbitt has taken seriously.
"At the end of the day we're going to try and piece something together and make it work," Bobbitt said. "I led off a couple of games ago. I was a little nervous about it, but it's paid off."
"Aiden hit in the four-hole for us last year, and I told him coming into this year to expect being in the heart of our lineup," Cherokee County head coach Josh Decker said. "With what he's done, the work he's put in during the off-season, he's seeing the ball better than anybody we've got right now. He's accepted that role in the lead off spot well. He's been able to spark us the past week, and he's done a phenomenal job at it."
Speaking of sparks, the Warriors (3-4) have found one on the mound too in sophomore pitcher Cam Mayo.
Mayo held Spring Garden (2-5) scoreless through five innings and finished with nine strikeouts. He ran into a bit of trouble in the top of the sixth after walking Ben Baker with one out. Zane Edwards delivered a double to score Baker with two outs, then Edwards scored on a single to center by Zack Scogin to make it a 4-2 game.
But Mayo dug in to retire the side in the sixth without any further damage.
Mayo walked Joel Hunter with two outs in the seventh, but then closed out the game by striking out Brady Ruark for the final.
"That's a good bunch. They're aggressive at the plate," Mayo said of the Panther hitters. "They're not looking to walk. They want to get hits and they did. They see the ball really well, but the guys behind me were making plays. They were ready for the ball."
"Me and Cam have put in a lot of work this off-season throwing pens," Bobbitt said. "When he has his stuff, he has his stuff. The last two outings he's had, he's gone seven both times. He's been great."
It didn't surprise Decker to see the Panthers make a game of it. He warned the Warriors of just that after they took a 4-0 lead after three innings.
"You can't ever count that bunch out," Decker said. "I've played against them my whole life and coached against them the better part of five years now. That's just how they are. They've always been that way. It doesn't matter who they roll out in the their lineup. That's what they do."
Which made it all the more important that the Warriors struck for four runs early.
Bobbitt singled and scored on an error in the bottom of the first inning off Baker. He then delivered a two-run double to left center in the second. The Warriors added an unearned insurance run in the third.
"We came out and had excellent approaches at the plate up until the third inning," Decker said. "We kind of laxed off a little bit, but we started hot and got what we needed out of that."
Spring Garden coach Kyle Garmon said he wished the Panthers would've bunted more off Mayo like Hunter did for a base hit to begin the game.
"In a two-run ball game, it's always something little," Garmon said. "This team puts the ball in play pretty well, but we didn't bunt very well today. I thought there were some opportunities to move some people around and maybe squeak one or two (runs) early, but because we didn't get a bunt down here and there we weren't able to do that. We only got one bunt down the whole game in Joel's first at-bat. After that we didn't do a good job. We've got to get better at that."
Hunter went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Panthers. He also drew a walk. Edwards also contributed a pair of hits, including his run-scoring double in the sixth. Scogin and Dawson Ellzey had the other two Spring Garden hits.
Baker suffered the tough-luck loss for the Panthers. He went the distance, scattering four runs on seven hits with no walks and five strikeouts.
"I thought he pitched great," Garmon said. "He kind of settled in after the first couple of innings, and our defense behind him was good."
Nate Black and Evan Hill collected a pair of hits for the Warriors. Case Hill contributed a hit.
Cherokee County is at Glencoe on Tuesday, while Spring Garden hosts Cedar Bluff.