Baseball season cut short but should not have been

by Macie M.

This spring, the Airport High School´s baseball team went 19-7 on the season and ranked in the top 10 of the SC Baseball Coaches Association. However, the Airport baseball team´s season was cut short due to a rules violation, according to a spokesperson in the Lexington 2 schools district. An article from The State newspaper quotes Lex 2’s statement on the matter: “An Airport player believed cleared for eligibility to play baseball was found ineligible by the SCHSL. The mistake was inadvertent, and while there will be no fines or penalties for next season, Airport’s baseball team will not be able to participate in the upcoming playoffs. We know this is not the way this outstanding team of players, coaches, and staff hoped to finish the season, but we remain proud of all they’ve accomplished.” Despite our acknowledgement of a violation, the situation was not fair for our baseball team, the players not involved in this incident should have been allowed to play in the playoffs, and there could and should have been a totally different verdict on the violation.

First of all, the baseball team was on track to potentially go all the way. The team played throughout this whole 2023 season without questions or concerns of rule violations, why is this stuff just now being brought to light. The team played 28 games throughout the 2023 season. They got disqualified the day before they were supposed to play their first playoff game here at Airport High School. We also have two of our seniors that are on the baseball team committed to playing in college. Josh Raines signed to University of South Carolina Union, and Corbin Wright committed to Coker College. Not letting these two players have a shot at going all the way their senior season is tragic.

Secondly, it's not fair that all the boys have to suffer for someone else's mistake. Everything should have been checked before the season began, not the day before their first playoff game. All of the players worked hard throughout the season working and getting prepared for these playoff games. They are in and out of the weight room, hitting in the cages, and working hard not only on the field but off it too by being students athletes and maintaining good grades in school while playing for their school team.

There could have been other solutions than just ending everyone's season. They could have negotiated everything and talked about the rule violations and things that the players did and accomplished already throughout the 2023 season. There could have still been a way for them to play in playoffs instead of disqualifying them so quickly. Just canceling the whole rest of the season does nothing but hurt the players and the school.

Others opinions on it are that they should have checked papers before the season and also the athletic director should have done his job better also by making sure things are finalized and good to start the season. But accidents happen and we really do not know what happened or what led up to the rule violations, but it is still not fair to all those families and players. Also there are fans who come and support the baseball team, whose chance to root for the Eagles is also ruined by this scandal. It is doing nothing but hurting the players and all their hard work that led up to the playoffs this season.

One freshman, Corley S. said, ¨I think it is dumb consequence for the whole team's playoffs to be ended because of some rule violation. I also think one of the other teams reported it in order to get Airport out of the playoffs to give them a better chance to win.¨ Another freshman, Aydan V. stated,¨I think it's not fair that they had to end their season especially since he was doing another sport in the fall and there was nothing said about it until just now and that it is weird that someone just now realized right before playoffs started.¨

Airport High School Baseball seasons should not have been cut short. They played throughout the whole season no problem, it is not fair to all of the players, and there could have been different solutions to the rule violation on their season ending. Although, ¨All good things come to an end¨ like British poet Geoffrey Chaucer famously said, the good Airport season should not have.