Landon Boyd grew up at Trojan Field.
Not only did the future New Hope High School baseball player learn the ins and outs of the sport watching his brothers Lee and Russ at the park, he also enjoyed countless rides on the “gator,” or the mower coaches used to drag the infield before and after games.
Peyton Lee gleaned the same tradition-rich habits watching former Trojans, including his brother, Davis, who was a senior on the 2010 New Hope High baseball team.
This season, Landon Boyd and Peyton Lee are helping a new generation of Trojans carve out their piece of history. Their journey will start today with a long bus ride that will take them north for a 6 p.m. game against Lake Cormorant in the opening game of their best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North State playoff series.
New Hope (21-7) is coming off a two-game sweep of Jackson Lanier. Second-year coach Lee Boyd, who graduated from New Hope in 2001, admits he doesn”t know much about his second-round opponent, but he expects the Trojans to do things they have done all season, namely play hard and exhibit a never-say -die attitude.
“A lot of them have developed a good bit over the past year,” Boyd said. “You can attribute that to the way they worked in the offseason and in the summertime. These kids are constantly working on baseball.”
That mentality belies the youth on a team that lost considerable experience from last season. Despite the losses in talent and experience, players like Landon Boyd and Peyton Lee have stepped into bigger roles and prevented New Hope from missing a beat.
“I remember (Landon) riding the ”gator” when I was playing high school baseball, and Davis playing the last two or three years and Peyton seeing him and seeing him play and understanding what it takes and what this program is about,” Boyd said. “They get to see that at an early age.”
Landon Boyd, a sophomore, was 5 years old when coach Boyd graduated from high school. He leads the team with seven wins, is second in innings pitched (44 1/3), and has struck out 60 and walked 29 in eight appearances. He also is hitting .329 and had three doubles, two triples, and 15 RBIs.
Peyton Lee has equally impressive numbers. The junior is fourth on the team in hitting (.344), is second with eight doubles, and is tied for second with 25 RBIs. He also is 3-1 in 29 2/3 innings (eight appearances). He has 33 strikeouts and 21 walks.
Boyd initially said it was weird having his brother as a coach but that he has adjusted to it and that it no longer is a concern.
“I don”t even think about it anymore,” Boyd said.
Family ties are nothing new to Lee, who played for his cousin, Drew McBrayer, on the New Hope High boys basketball team before opting to concentrate on baseball.
“It kind of challenges me because we have to keep up the tradition,” Lee said referring to the success New Hope High baseball has had throughout the years. He said this year”s team is focused on returning to the state tournament after last season”s team was eliminated in the second round.
Boyd said the players used talk from people in the area that the program might be down this season as motivation. It has paid off, even though the Trojans have developed a knack for being “Cardiac Kids”, which has given coach Boyd a few more white hairs than he wanted.
“We just play hard no matter the situation,” Landon Boyd said. “I don”t say we try (to make things interesting every game). It just has gotten to a normal thing now.”
Said Lee, “Plus we play with a lot of heart.”
Coach Boyd said a number of teams at New Hope have had similar approaches to the game. He said this year”s team realizes that work ethic helped those teams to have great success, and he feels it motivates them to get to the same level. He hopes that ride will continue through the weekend.
n Autagua 6-10, Pickens Academy 0-8: At Autagua, The Pirates (11-14) had their season end in the first round of the Alabama Independent Schools Association playoffs.
Chase Davidson (4-3) suffered the loss in game one. He allowed six hits, walked three, and struck out seven in five innings. He also had a single. Joel Pratt, Jacob Acker, and Mark Johnson also had singles.
In game two, Bryant Fikes (4-4) suffered the loss. He allowed seven hits and eight runs in six innings. He walked one and struck out four.
Pickens Academy, which was the home team, led entering the top of the seventh inning, but Autagua scored three runs in the frame to take the lead.
Fikes had a single, Cody McDaniel had a double and two RBIs, Davidson had a single, Forrest Lewis had two singles, a double, and three RBIs, and Reese McGlowan had two singles and an RBI.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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