Aidan Rush, the five-tool diamond for Lyon County baseball, signed with the Union College Bulldogs Friday afternoon at Lee S. Jones Park, in what was an inked commitment to second-year coach Ethan Utley in Barbourville, Kentucky.
Rush played in all 38 games of the 2021 Lyon County campaign — one that finished 30-8 and ended in a magnificent march to the KHSAA State semifinals. Showcasing a myriad of skills, he hit .402 with a team-best 42 RBIs, as well as 35 runs scored, 11 doubles, six homers and 14 stolen bases. He also pitched in 10 games with four starts — posting a 4.42 ERA with a 3-2 record, 22 strikeouts and 17 walks in 31 2/3 innings.
It was an incredible leap for Rush, who served as a key player in 2019 before missing 2020 alongside the rest of the Commonwealth due to COVID-19.
As a senior, certainly there were expectations. But it’s fair to say both Rush — and his head coach, Ricky Baker — were both pleasantly surprised with his final year of production.
“He played every position for us except first base and catcher,” Baker said. “And he did it unselfishly. And the positions he did play, he did to the best of his ability. Offensively, he was one of our top offensive guys in nearly every category.
“And a guy like that is a coach’s dream.”
Rush experienced two quite specific turning points during his 2021 senior season — and both were transforming for different reasons.
Flashback to April 12, when the Lyons — heavily favored to win the 2021 Second Region “All A” championship and push deep into the state tournament — were immediately bounced by University Height Academy 3-1 in the opening round.
Rush went 0-for-3 with a strikeout, and nothing went right.
“That really turned everything on for me,” Rush said. “Because I never wanted to feel that way ever again. And after that, I think something just clicked in me. I started paying attention more to what I was doing wrong. Take everything way more seriously. And that was the way to go to college.”
Lyon County proceeded to follow up with a close loss to stout Bowling Green, 6-4, on April 15 before the breakthrough: a 6-5, 8-inning win over third-ranked McCracken County on April 21 in Eddyville.
Rush went 1-for-3 with a stolen base and a run scored, and pitched seven innings while yielding nine hits and five earned runs with five strikeouts and two walks.
It was just the utilitarian performance he was capable of, and the type of skill-set he’s hoping to take with him to Union College.
“(Against UHA), I remember looking into the dugout and seeing chins low and hanging,” Rush said. “And I remember thinking, ‘That ain’t us.’ We’re Lyon County. We’re better than this. To be from Lyon County — a small school — and make it up to the Final Four, that was the biggest accomplishment in my life.
“And I joke around with my dad. I told him: ‘That’s going to be on my resume one day, that we beat McCracken County and went to state. It’s just one of those memories I’ll never forget.”
Part of the NAIA’s Appalachian Athletic Conference, Union College finished 19-27 in 2021 with a 13-16 conference record.
Rush, who claims third base as his natural position, hopes to do his work at several positions for the Bulldogs this upcoming fall and beyond — for a program he thought fit.
“I had a couple of decisions to make,” Rush added. “If I wanted to travel, or if I wanted to stay close to home. I visited Berea and started talking to Midway a little bit, but I went to Union College…and I just felt like, ‘I like this college.’ It felt right. I don’t like too big, and I don’t like too small, and it just felt like it was right in the middle.
“And coach Utley just talked about getting to business as soon as we get up there, and that’s what I’m about. I just like to get down and dirty with what we do, and it was just really serious talk. And I liked what they brought to the table.”
