When you have been a member of the New Hope High School baseball program for as long as Joe Harvey and Thomas Woodruff, you know inexperience is a relative term.
In one sense, it is easy to consider Harvey, a second baseman, and Woodruff, a first baseman, inexperienced because both are in their first seasons as significant contributors.
But don’t be fooled.
Rather than be overwhelmed by the challenge of helping to carry on New Hope High’s baseball tradition, Harvey and Woodruff have embraced the opportunity. Their efforts have helped solidify the Trojans’ defense and have helped set an example younger players can emulate.
“Both kids are good kids,” New Hope coach Lee Boyd said. “They both have 4.0 grade-point averages and work very hard in the classroom and work very hard out here. They are the kind of kid who is going to give 100 percent every time they come to the ballpark. That is special.”
Harvey and Woodruff will try to make their sixth and final season as Trojans last a little longer when New Hope plays host to Starkville at 7 p.m. Friday in game one of the best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North State playoff series at Trojan Field.
Boyd said Harvey and Woodruff are “special” in that they have paid their dues. He said some players may feel their seniority gives them license to put the individual before the team. He said that hasn’t happened with Harvey and Woodruff, and that both have matured into key pieces to the puzzle this season.
“Last year, Thomas got into the mix from time to time, and we used Joe mainly as a courtesy runner,” Boyd said. “These guys took this opportunity to play their senior year, and worked extremely hard to get where they are.”
Boyd said both players have worked hard in the weight room. He feels Woodruff has put on about 15 pounds since last year and has improved his speed.
Boyd said the Trojans couldn’t ask for a better second baseman. He says Harvey attacks the baseball and offers insight to younger players so they know what it takes and what it means to be a Trojan.
Harvey said hard work is a key ingredient in that mix. He said he has bulked up to a robust 150 pounds thanks in part to training in the weight room. He said Boyd stresses lifting weights and staying in shape, and that work has set the mentality for a program that is the sum of its parts and relies on every team member to make a contribution.
Defense has been Harvey’s calling card. He has made only two errors at second base and has allowed the fact he hasn’t received many at-bats to affect his focus.
“Coach really pounds in us to hustle,” Harvey said. “I love being able to help my team any way I can.”
Harvey felt he would have a good chance to live up to Boyd’s expectations. He said he has realized that goal because he has remained positive and hasn’t allowed bad decisions to get him down.
Woodruff feels he and the rest of his classmates — Dusty Dyson, Peyton Lee, Austin Oglesby, and Ben Veazey — have learned from previous classes and know they have to do things the right way to maintain the standard. Woodruff has lived up to that mark, hitting .280 with 23 hits, 11 RBIs, and five doubles.
“This group of guys is the best you can ask for,” Woodruff said. “The coaching staff is great. We come out every day and work hard to achieve the goal, which is to get all of the way to the stat championship.
“To be here these six years and to start out young and then work all of the way up to the senior year and get a lot of playing time is just the best opportunity you could ask for for a high school player.”
Harvey admits seeing all of the championship signs on the outfield wall at Trojan field could be an “overwhelming” sight for a seventh-grader. This year, though, those thoughts have been replaced with a desire to win a state championship. Woodruff said the pressure remains because the New Hope name still is one that is known throughout the state, but that it living with that “pressure” becomes commonplace and something players of all ages can settle into.
Judging from Boyd’s comments, Harvey and Woodruff have performed with poise beyond their on-field experience level.
“I didn’t know what we would get out of both of them being they really are first-year starters,” Boyd said. “One thing I did know is we were going to get 110 percent out of them, and I could live with that They have exceeded my expectations. Not that I didn’t have high expectations for them, but Joe has done a great job. Joe is everywhere at second base. He is backing up and he can play outfield. He has improved his arm strength, and you never have to worry about Joe standing around and watching the game.
“Thomas has turned into more of a vocal leader for us. He is a quiet kid. You can tell, for the most part, he leads by example. Every now and them something has to be said and he’ll say it. They both have done excellent jobs of being leaders in our program.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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