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David Smith expected Loris to be here.

The Lions softball coach is also not surprised to see region rivals Aynor and Dillon in the same place. All three squads advanced in the 3A playoffs Wednesday, setting up a showdown of familiar foes.

鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of the same as last year,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淸In 2022], three people from our region made it to lower states. Three people again from the region are going to lower states. It鈥檚 a tough region, probably the toughest region in the state.鈥�

Loris (22-5) advanced courtesy of a 3-1 win over Gilbert. Across the county at Aynor, the Blue Jackets knocked off Swansea 6-4. And Dillon beat Camden 3-0, filling the lower state bracket with teams from the Grand Strand and Pee Dee (Dillon will play Marlboro County on Friday).

A year ago, Aynor prevailed in the lower state tournament before losing to Broome in the 3A state championship series.

Ahead of Friday's matchup, Smith is reminding his players that Loris can compete with anyone. They beat Aynor once last year, and although the Blue Jackets have defeated the Lions twice this season, their last meeting was a 3-2 nailbiter.

鈥淲e got them once last year,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淪o I鈥檓 going to kind of use that to let the girls know, 鈥楬ey, we can do this. We did it last year. 鈥� And we were pretty close the second time [this year].鈥� It鈥檒l be a great game on Friday.鈥�

For the Lions to continue their run, Smith knows his team will need to find an offensive spark. On Wednesday, the Lions got on the board quickly thanks to an RBI double by junior Karley Hand. Eighth grader Jesse Cartrette also drove in a run with a single, and Loris led 2-0 after one frame. Gilbert would respond with a run in the top of the second inning, but after that the Lions鈥� pitching and defense kept them at bay.聽

Meanwhile, Loris added an insurance run in the fifth. Ninth grader Kenzie McCoy hit a triple and then came home when the Gilbert shortstop dropped a popup that would have been the third out.聽

Although Smith said his team should have hit better Wednesday (they finished with four hits), the Lions didn鈥檛 need much offense with Hand dominating on the mound. She limited Gilbert to four hits and struck out 10 over seven innings.

鈥淚鈥檇 like to get a little more focused, but we鈥檙e playing well,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e had a great season. We鈥檙e over 20 wins. We haven鈥檛 done that in a while.鈥�

Smith said the strength of his team is how complete it is. And the Lions are young. Their lineup includes just two seniors and three juniors.

鈥淭he team as a whole is solid in all aspects,鈥� Smith said. 鈥淥ne through nine, I don鈥檛 really have a weak player. We鈥檙e great defensively one through nine, and all nine hitters that we hit, 10 hitters actually, they can all put the ball in play. A lot of teams, you go through their first five or six and you kind of have a letdown.鈥澛犅�

Aynor ready to take next step

At the beginning of the season, the Aynor players set their goals. The first was winning another region title, which the Blue Jackets nabbed.

On Wednesday night, they checked off their second goal, winning the district title and advancing to the lower state playoffs.

Coming into Wednesday鈥檚 game, the Blue Jackets were 24-1 and ranked No. 1 among the state' softball teams, regardless of classification.

Even with that impressive resume, Aynor coach Tony Mills聽said his talented squad still has not played up to its full potential.

鈥淲inning the district was one of our early season goals, so we鈥檙e happy to get that,鈥� Mills said. 鈥淏ut tonight, we did what we had to do to get the victory. A win is a win.鈥�

Wednesday鈥檚 victory came on the arm strength of starting pitcher Maddie Johnson and a solid defense to back her up.

Aynor took a 1-0 lead in the second inning and notched another run in the bottom of the fourth on a wild pitch.

It looked like the Blue Jackets were going to run away with the game in the fifth, racking up four more runs and a 6-0 lead.

But Swansea wasn鈥檛 ready to throw in the towel just yet, picking up four runs in the top of the sixth with an RBI single and a three-run homer.

But in the final inning, Johnson shut the visiting Tigers down in order to seal the win.

Mills credited Swansea with giving the Blue Jackets all they could handle in the district finals.

鈥淭hey鈥檙e a scrappy team,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey weren鈥檛 a 2 seed for nothing.鈥�

As for his team鈥檚 success this season, Mills said it came down to their effort and belief in each other.

鈥淭hey show up every day with a workman鈥檚 attitude and work hard to get better and better,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e one of four teams set to go for the lower state title and then hopefully beyond that. These girls truly believe they can do it.鈥�