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Even early in the season, North Myrtle Beach baseball coach BA Alderson wanted to see how his team would handle adversity.

In the final game of the preseason East Coast Invitational Tournament at 黑料社入口 on Sunday, March 9, the Chiefs were handed a lopsided loss from Fort Dorchester, a 9-0 shellacking that didn鈥檛 exactly push North Myrtle Beach into 鈥淥pening Week鈥� of the baseball season with positive momentum.

With that loss in mind, Alderson was quite satisfied with Wednesday鈥檚 decisive 10-0 home victory over South Florence.

The Chiefs looked every bit the part of contender in the win over the Bruins, 鈥渨alking it off鈥� with a 10th run in the bottom of the fifth inning to activate the 10-run-rule. Alderson鈥檚 group picked up the victory in their final tuneup before the first region series of the year against Conway next week.

鈥淚 think this was important,鈥� Alderson said. 鈥淲e dropped a game pretty bad on Sunday and I was wondering how these kids were going to respond. Obviously we still have a lot of pieces from last year鈥檚 team, but there are still a lot of question marks. And you just don鈥檛 know. Every group is a different group and they are going to respond differently.

鈥淲e took one on the chin on Sunday. But we responded tonight exactly the way I would hope we would respond.鈥�

The star of the show on Wednesday was Gabe Priest, the team鈥檚 junior left-handed pitcher who started against South Florence and tossed three scoreless innings. Priest is in his first season with the Chiefs after previously attending Whiteville High School, and he鈥檚 already shown flashes of being one of the Beach Region鈥檚 top threats on the mound.

Priest showcased his smooth, effortless delivery against South Florence with the three shutout frames, showing off a plus fastball from the left side that can reach into the upper 80s on the radar gun.

鈥淗e was a huge addition,鈥� Alderson said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 really, really good. I think he鈥檚 going to be the next arm that everybody is going to be looking at coming out of North Myrtle Beach. The kid can pitch. The kid can pitch. His arm is electric, and he鈥檚 just going to get better. He鈥檚 only a junior, and birthday-wise, he鈥檚 a young, young junior. He鈥檚 only going to get better, so we鈥檙e excited that he鈥檚 going to be here.鈥�

Helping Priest along in his first year in Horry County is catcher CJ Oxendine, a Virginia Tech commit who will be one of the area鈥檚 most impactful athletes in 2025. Oxendine was excellent again on Wednesday, at one point tossing out a South Florence runner attempting to steal a base by what felt like a mile.

As the Chiefs enter region play, Oxendine will continue to be the pulse of the group.

鈥淥ur kids love throwing to him, I know that,鈥� Alderson said of his catcher. 鈥淗e鈥檚 one of the best around at receiving the baseball and he can throw. Everyone can see the arm talent he has. But he鈥檚 just an all-around natural baseball player. He鈥檚 our guy. He鈥檚 our guy and everybody knows it.鈥�

The Chiefs have talent up and down the roster ready to step in and make an impact. Returners like Asa Board, Peyton Gallup and Sawyer Smith will help anchor the group, senior first baseman Brown Reaves (a Coastal Carolina football signee) looks set to offer veteran leadership, and newer standouts like Kaden Lank and Porter Anglin should provide positive contributions right away.

The Chiefs made it to the Class 4A state championship series in 2023 (losing to Catawba Ridge) and fell in the Class 4A Lower State title series last spring. This year, now competing in Class 5A and the all-Horry Beach Region, Alderson is optimistic that his group will be up for the challenge.

After region play begins next week against Conway, the Chiefs will battle Socastee and Carolina Forest in three-game sets in the two weeks that follow.

鈥淚 think every team who feels like they鈥檙e pretty good, you have to want to be challenged. This region that we鈥檙e about to start playing, that鈥檚 exactly what it鈥檚 going to do,鈥� Alderson said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to challenge us. And you have to want to be challenged. It鈥檚 only going to help you once you get to the postseason.

鈥淎nd, you like to see how your kids handle the pressure situations. You grow from them, whether you fail or succeed. You learn from those experiences.鈥�