2020 Wolves shined in brief season
WESSON, Miss. - On March 9, the Copiah-Lincoln Community College baseball team swept of pair of contests from the Delgado Community College Dolphins at Sullivan Field in Wesson. The two victories pushed Co-Lin's winning streak to nine straight games, the longest streak since a seven-game spurt in March of 2013. The Wolves' pitching staff had found a solid rhythm and the team was dominant in the batter's box going into MACJC play. Unfortunately, the wins were the last for Co-Lin in 2020 as the season was cut short by the NJCAA due to the novel coronavirus. The team finished the year with an 11-4 record.
"I really hate it for our guys, they had worked so hard throughout the year and I feel like we had a chance to have a really good season," said Co-Lin head coach Clay Smith. "As bad as this is, the health and safety of our student-athletes are what is most important though. This is a lot bigger than baseball."
The Wolves had many stand-out players at a variety of positions through the abbreviated season with three batters posting a .400 batting average. Justin Johnson led the way with a .442 average with seven extra-base hits and 13 RBI. Clint Stephens was 10-for-23 on the year for a .435 batting average, while Keagan Ward was five-for-12 with one homer on the year. Other breakout players included Peyton Parker, who drove in 13 runs on 19 hits, Kylar Fielder, and Landry McQueen.
On the mound, Caleb Rutledge led the Wolves in innings pitched and strikeouts with 21 Ks through 17.2 innings. The 6'5 freshman finished with a 2.55 ERA and a 2-1 record. Peyton Parker was another starter that posted great numbers. Through 14.2 innings he had 19 strikeouts, a 2-0 record, and a staggering 0.61 ERA. Weston Acey also shined in the short season as he fanned 16 batters through just 9.1 innings on the bump on his way to a 2-0 record. Several other arms were vital for the Wolves' success in 2020 with strong outings from Tucker Jones, Jay Smith, Brandon Brown, Micah Parker, Adie Goodman, Konner Allen, and others.
"Everyone is in the same situation that we are in, so we just have to make the best of this terrible situation," said Smith. "We have been in touch with our guys through text and FaceTime making sure they are staying on top of classwork and continuing workouts. All of our sophomores are on schedule to graduate and a lot of them will have a good place to play next season. We do not have a lot of details from the NJCAA or MACC on what the immediate future looks like so everything is at a standstill for now, but looking forward, we have a great class of freshmen coming in so we are very excited about next year and the future of the program."
Though the season was cut short, the Wolves made a splash in 2020 with stellar play in the field, on the mound, and at the plate that had the fans at Sullivan Field constantly on their feet.
The 2020 sophomore class includes Joshua Day of Natchez, R-freshman Tucker Jones of Pearl, Adie Goodman of Meridian, Cameron Hill of D'Iberville, Lane Hanna of Union, Clint Stephens of Bogue Chitto, Brooks Italiano of Ridgeland, R-sophomore Konner Allen of Brookhaven, Trey Frierson of Canton, Jay Smith of Crystal Springs, R-sophomore Weston Acey of Terry, Brandon Brown of Grand Bay, Ala., Justin Johnson of Brandon, Landry McQueen of Collings, R-freshman Keagan Ward of Laurel, Bryce Henry of Florence, and Kylar Fielder of Bogue Chitto.