Burn the Ships: How a 1500’s Spanish conquistador is inspiring Eastside baseball’s success

Eastside players Gregory Bryant, Peter Mershon, and Lawson Shirley hold up ‘hooks’ after a 4-3 win over Dorman on March 12.

No turning back. Make something happen, now or never. Leave it all on the line in this very moment, or lose it all.

Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes made that message clear to his sailors some 500 years ago. Cortes led an expedition to Mexico in 1519, aiming to conquer the Aztec empire — the strongest empire in the world at that time.

Well, it was something along those lines, at least. Eastside baseball senior Gregory Bryant admits he isn’t a history buff. He can’t recall the exact details. But on Monday night against Riverside, it was a message Bryant found himself recalling at the plate.

“I wish I remembered the story better,” said Bryant, laughing. “I think it had to do with pirates or something? I do know it had something to do with Spain, at least.”

Eastside head coach Scott Erwin laughs. It was Erwin’s idea to tell the story of Hernan Cortes and his conquistadors to his players before the season. 

So, what exactly does a 1519 Spanish conquistador have to do with a 2025 high school baseball team from Taylors, S.C.?

“This season, we’re burning the ships,” said Erwin. “That’s what this year’s Eastside team is all about.”

Cortes, to ensure his sailors were all in on their mission of conquering the Aztec empire, ordered his entire artillery of ships to be burned immediately upon landing on the shores of Mexico.

Erwin is passionate about his team's motto this season. The hashtag is #BurnTheShips. It’s on almost every post Erwin and his players upload to social media.

Erwin, admittedly a history buff, proudly dives into the lore.

“When Cortes and his men showed up on the shores of Mexico, they were outnumbered by the Aztecs. They were tired. They were hungry. Cortes needed a way to get his guys’ attention,” said Erwin. “So as soon as they got off the boats, he told them, ‘Guys, we are not going back to Spain. We're here, and this is where we're going to stay. We're either going to die or we're going to take their treasure and land. There's no other option here.

“I think that story is so cool. My first thought was ‘How can I relate that to our team?’ And it’s a matter of every day when we show up, there is no other option but for us to be the best that we can be. We’re going to burn the ships every day out here.”

Peter Mershon, Eastside senior catcher and Mississippi State commit, remembers when Erwin sat the team down to explain Cortes’ story to them.

“It was like an entire history lesson,” Mershon said, smiling. “He really gets into it, and as the season has progressed, we’ve all really bought into the whole ‘Burn the Ships’ thing.”

Hernan Cortes, the Spanish conquistador who conquered the Aztec empire in 1519, is the inspiration behind the motto of “Burn the Ships”

Mershon isn’t wrong. The Eagles have certainly bought in.

During post-game celebrations, players wave a black flag that says ‘Burn the Ships’ designed with two cutlass swords underneath the Eagles’ logo. The team has a miniature stuffed animal parrot that sits in the dugout. 

After every win, Erwin awards the player with the most QABs (Quality At Bats) from the game by letting them wear an eye patch and a pirate’s tricorn hat. 

The players hold their fingers in the shape of a pirate hook in most post-game pictures.

“Burn the Ships” is becoming a tried-and-true mantra for Eastside baseball.

Eastside senior Gregory Bryant and head coach Scott Erwin hold up the team’s ‘Burn the Ships’ flag.

“The guys are starting to really identify with the motto,” said Erwin. “A little more and more after each game, they’re beginning to play with that mindset.”

That brings the story back to Monday night, back to the bat in senior Gregory Bryant’s hands. 

In the bottom of the 10th inning against rival Riverside, Bryant stepped to the plate with two outs. Eastside trailed 8-7, but it had been much worse just 15 minutes prior. 

Bryant was on the mound in the top half of the extra inning. He allowed five runs in the frame, helping Riverside jump out to an 8-2 lead. With just three outs left to play, Eastside needed a borderline miracle to win the opening game of the series. 

They played small ball — racking up walks and singles and HBPs — to somehow bring the score to 8-7 with two outs. The Eagles had men on second and third base. The responsibility fell right back to Bryant, up to bat just 15 minutes after allowing Riverside to balloon its lead.

“I’d honestly had a really rough game up to that point,” said Bryant. “I was 0-5 at the plate, and I kind of imploded on the mound that same inning.”

None of that mattered anymore, though. Bryant had one shot at redemption, a chance to wipe away everything bad from the game and turn the story into good. 

“I knew I had to leave it all out there,” said Bryant. “I had no other choice.”

No turning back. Make something happen, now or never. Leave it all on the line in that very moment, or lose it all. 

Bryant made something happen.

The senior ripped a fastball back up the middle and into the outfield, scoring the runners from both second and third. From down 8-2 with three outs left, Eastside had rallied to win 9-8. 

The Eagles burned the ships, with Bryant dealing the final blow as Eastside conquered its fiercest foe.

He described the celebrations after the game.

“All I remember was basically getting tackled after rounding first base,” said Bryant. “I also wear glasses, so I had to make sure those didn't get crushed in the madness. That’s probably the craziest game I’ve been a part of in high school so far.”

Gregory Bryant celebrates with teammates after hitting the game-winning 2-RBI single on Monday, March 17. Eastside downed rival Riverside 9-8 in 10 innings after being down 8-2 in the top of the 10th.

It was the third come-from-behind win for Eastside already this season — the second in extra innings.

“It would be really easy to go down 8-2 with three outs left and just waste some swings and call it a day,” said Erwin.“But that’s not this team’s mentality. This team never gives up. The guys in the dugout didn’t get quiet once. They were cheering for each guy that came up to bat.

“Win or lose, we were going to leave it all out there. That’s what burning the ships is about.”