The Sumrall Bobcats celebrated a state championship after defeating Ty Long and the Ripley Tigers Saturday morning at Trustmark Park. (Photo by Keith Warren)
PEARL – A lot about Mississippi‘s sports landscape has changed in my more than half a century of chronicling all things sports in the Magnolia State. Little, if any, has changed more (or for the better) than high school baseball.
That vast improvement has been on majestic display over the past five days at the MHSAA State Championship at Trustmark Park, where baseball was played clearly and often by superbly coached athletes, many of whom you will watch and read about for years.
Rick Cleveland
There are several reasons why Mississippi college baseball teams are so successful year after year. Chief among them: the talent pool provided by Mississippi high schools continues to produce top-tier talent.
Think about it: Mississippi State and Ole Miss have won national championships the last three years. Southern Miss will play in its eighth consecutive NCAA regional next week and leads the nation in consecutive 30- and 40-win seasons. Delta State is a perennial Division II national power. William Carey is currently playing in the NAIA World Series. Four (count ’em, four) Mississippi junior colleges rank among the top 20 in the country.
Baseball talent abounds in Mississippi, where training, facilities and community support have improved dramatically. Gone are the days when assistant football coaches who didn’t even understand the infield fly rule were forced to coach baseball and were more than happy to play only a dozen games a season.
Sumrall coach Andy Davis, 44, whose Bobcats defeated Ripley 2-0 Saturday morning to win the Bobcats’ seventh state championship in the last 16 years, has witnessed firsthand the sea change in Mississippi high school baseball. “It’s amazing how much he’s improved,” Davis said. “I’m talking about the skill level, the technology, the coaching, the support, the facilities, the emphasis on baseball.”
Davis’ life in baseball has come full circle. Twenty-seven years ago, Andy Davis led Taylorsville to a state championship victory over Nettleton. This week, his 15-year-old ninth-grade son, Drew, helped launch and lead Sumrall to a championship in a thoroughly entertaining and ultra-competitive best-of-three series with Ripley.
Get this: Ripley’s Ty Long struck out 27 batters, allowed four hits and zero runs in 13 innings of a three-game state championship series, and lost. Said Andy Davis: “I’ve been a baseball coach for 24 years and he’s the best pitcher any of my teams have ever faced.”
Ripley’s incredible Ty Long struck out 27 batters in 13 innings of the state tournament. (Photo by Keith Warren)
But this state tournament has been a showcase of remarkable talent. There’s no telling how many games and championships Drew Davis will win before his high school career ends in May 2027. He was Sumrall’s top pitcher when he was in eighth grade, which says a lot when you realize that the No. 1 starter Bobcats 2 Leo Odom Drew Davis, 13-0 for Sumrall as an eighth-grader, played and pitched for Team USA (under-15) in international competition last season.
Sumrall’s No. 3 pitcher, Landon Hawkins, a junior who is also Sumrall’s football quarterback, threw a four-hit shutout on Saturday. “Landon is our leader and he has played everything but receiver for us,” Andy Davis said. “I would go into battle every day with him. He was a legend today.”
Future college and university stars were all over the Trustmark Park diamond all week. Brandon left-hander Walker Hooks, an Ole Miss signee, helped lead the Bulldogs to the Class 7A championship, beating Hernando, which was led by Mississippi State signee Topher Jones and another Ole Miss signee, Thomas Mitchell. Junior center fielder Jaumaurion Jones, a Southern Miss commit, scored the only run in Brandon’s 1-0 championship victory. St. Andrews won the Class 2A title, despite the expert pitching of Mississippi State commit Landon Harmon of East Union. There were a lot more stars shining brightly this week, but that gives you an idea.
None shined brighter than Ripley pitcher and shortstop Long, who signed to play his college ball at Southern Miss. Ripley coach Joel Gafford called Long “the kind of player you’re lucky to coach one like him once in your career. ”
Andy Davis, Sumrall’s coach, hugged Long after the game and then talked about their brief conversation. “I told him he’s a stud and I can’t wait to see him when he’s at USM. If they cloned him nine times, it would be a great baseball team because he pitches, he competes, he defends, and he’s hard to pick off. You just have to tip your cap to that kid.”
And while you’re at it, you can tip Mississippi high school baseball.
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