Tristan Little worked hard to become Fike High's No. 1 pitcher by his senior season this spring. Southern Nash senior A.J. High did what he could where he could to help the Firebirds enjoy one of their best seasons in years.

Those two, along with Southern Nash junior Landen Baker and the C.B. Aycock duo of senior pitcher Carson Gipson and sensational sophomore Cameron Aycock, were among the 32 players selected to the North Carolina Baseball Coaches Association 3-A all-state team. Aycock is the only repeat selection among the group. Baker was the 3-A Player of the Year while South Brunswick's Aubrey Smith was voted 3-A Pitcher of the Year. The 3-A all-state team was comprised of players from 24 different schools. Only coaches who are NCBCA members may nominate and vote for all-state teams.

For Little, the honor was a cap to an impressive career that saw him work his way to the top of the Golden Demons staff.

“Tristan has worked extremely hard with his craft, even through COVID and around COVID,” Fike head coach Buck Edmundson said. “He really got hungry about it the fall of his sophomore year, going into that 2020 season.”

Little said that he asked Edmundson if he could throw a bullpen session and,when given the chance, he said he “threw a really, really good one and ever since then I've kind of dedicated myself to trying to be one of starting pitchers.”

Little finished this season 8-2 overall while in 3-A Quad County Conference games, he posted 2.47 ERA and 54 strikeouts in almost 40 innings. Fike finished tied for second in the QCC at 9-5 while posting a 16-7 overall mark.

“I felt pretty good about it. I just hate that it's over,” Little said of his season. “I honestly think it was better competition than what we had in the last conference. We kind of pulled it together after the first couple of games.”

Little is the seventh Fike player to earn all-state honors under Edmundson since 2017. The Demons mentor said that Little worked hard to master the mental aspect of pitching while developing four quality pitches that he could mix up on his way to 103 total strikeouts. Edmundson praised Little for becoming consistent and resilient in his approach.

High and Baker are just the fourth and fifth Southern Nash players to earn any kind of all-state honors for baseball, Firebirds head coach Todd Brewer said. While Baker's achievements earned him deserved honors, including 2-A/3-A Big East Conference Pitcher and Player of the Year, High quietly got the job done wherever he was asked to do it.

When sophomore Keegan Wallace, who was expected to be Southern Nash's starting catcher, suffered a leg injury during football season, the Firebirds went into the season unsure who would end up behind the plate.

“We were searching for a catcher in preseason workouts,” Brewer recalled. “A.J. got the bullpen and was catching guys in the bullpen and stuff. He took it over and said I'll do it and turned out to be just awesome. He had never been a regular catcher.”

High also helped out on the mound, making seven appearances and posting a 1.75 ERA. He led Southern Nash with a .477 batting average and 31 hits while knocking in 18 runs and scoring 17 as the Firebirds went 16-7 overall and 10-4 and tied for second in the Big East.

“There's no way we win the amount of games we win without him behind the plate,” Brewer said. “He was our senior leader, senior captain, just kind of the heart and soul of the team.”

Gipson and Aycock led CBA to the 3-A Quad County Conference championship, winning QCC Pitcher of the Year and Player of the Year, respectively. Gipson went 7-1 with a 1.15 ERA and 67 strikeouts while also starting at shortstop when he wasn't pitching.

Aycock was indispensible as the Golden Falcons' starting center field who also pitched and played short when Gipson was on the mound. Aycock batted .439 with 23 RBIs, seven doubles, four triples and a home run while stealing 23 bases. On the mound he went 1-0 with two saves and a 1.62 ERA in 8 2/3 innings.