The Airport Eagles baseball team is off to a hot start this season, clinching their region title and a playoff spot after a walk-off win against North Augusta on March 25. 

“We’ve pitched it and played defense pretty well, and we are having some timely hitting,” head coach Chris Bradwell said. “[We have] a bunch of older guys that know what their approach is and know what they are trying to do at the plate. We are just getting it done.”

Only 11 games into conference play, the Eagles are perfect in 4A Region 4 and 14-1 overall, with its only loss coming from a 3-1 game to Fox Creek earlier in the season. 

Airport continues their run after clinching the title on a current 11-game winning streak as they head into the last half of the season. 

Bradwell said reliable pitching and defensive performances have headlined Airport’s winning streak. The Eagles pitch a three-game rotation between its seniors, Hunter Epps, Miller Harrelson and Graham Whittle. 

They split time with around 26 innings pitched a piece, with Harrelson leading the way with a .525 ERA and 41 strikeouts on the season. Epps and Whittle aren’t far behind, striking out 25 and 39, respectively. 

The team also relied on junior Brice Gillette and sophomore Cam Atkins to come out of the bullpen and secure wins on the mound for the Eagles. 

“They have thrown the ball really well,” Bradwell said. “We have only given up 10 or 12 runs all year. They have done a really good job of just throwing it over the plate. That kinda sets the tone for us when you know you pitch it well and that kind of gives us the chance to win every game.” 

While the defense may give opportunities to win the games, Airport’s offense is capitalizing off that with their hitting. Bradwell said the team is swinging better than he thought they would this season. 

Sophomore Landon Jeffcoat leads, averaging .457 with 21 hits, 18 RBI and 11 stolen bases. Another key piece of the offense is senior Price Jackson who hits .381 with 16 hits and 13 RBIs. 

The bullpen has also proven to be essential for Airport’s offense as well with three of Airport’s best arms leading in batting average. 

Atkins averages .426 with 23 hits, Harrelson with .364 and 20 hits and Epps with .350  and 21 hits. 

“We worked really hard over the summer trying to get stronger, changing some swings and doing different things,” Bradwell said. “It’s paid off for us at the plate but you know the last 13 or 14 years we have been here we have won a lot of games just pitching and playing defense. In high school baseball, you win a lot of games pitching and playing good defense.” 

Things have come together nicely for the Eagles as they have strolled through conference play. The rest of the conference stands as Midland Valley (5-4), Aiken (2-7), South Aiken (1-4) and North Augusta (1-5). 

The competition is far from over for Airport as they were scheduled to face their toughest opponents of the season early this week in its spring break tournament. They were scheduled against the reigning 5A State Champions River Bluff, as well as good Dorman and Oceanside teams. 

In addition, non-conference will continue to be a challenge for the team as they face opponents such as Gilbert, Cardinal Newman and Brooklyn-Cayce towards the end of their season. 

Airport will be looking to its older leaders on the team as they begin to take on this next challenge this season.

“They show up every day and they go to work,” Bradwell said. “We have kinda set the standard on what it takes to win and so they know what it takes. The expectation is to win every game. Not a lot of playing around, we just go through it and try to win.”