Chris Ball knows the caliber of baseball played in the Greater Golden Triangle area.
As an infielder, Ball was member of the New Hope High School baseball teams that won state titles in 1996 and 1998. He then went on to play baseball for two more seasons at East Mississippi Community College before becoming a coach.
From New Hope to now at Heritage Academy, Ball has seen the rivalries bring out the best in players. Now he will get a chance to bring some of those players together as coach of the District 4 All-Star team that will play later this month in the State Games of Mississippi in Meridian.
Ball will join Ackerman’s Brad Mitchell and Winona’s Cole Surrell as coaches for the 18-player squad that will play seven other All-Star teams from the state’s other districts beginning June 20 at Q.V. Sykes Park in Meridian.
New Hope’s Landon Boyd, Heritage Academy’s Parker Dunaway, Columbus’ Jimmy Cockrell and Hunter Mullis, Starkville’s Max Bartlett, and Starkville Academy’s Hunter Bolin will represent the Golden Triangle on the team.
“I think the Golden Triangle area is the biggest area to pull from and that it has the best baseball in the area anyway,” said Ball, who is an assistant baseball coach to Bruce Branch at Heritage Academy. “I think realistically there were going to be that many people who made the team. There probably could have been more (from the Golden Triangle) if more of the better kids had tried out.”
Ball said all of the State Games teams will work out Wednesday in front of college coaches in Meridian. He said players also will get a chance to hit in batting cages for about an hour later in the day. Unfortunately, that likely will be the last chance the teams have to come together before they begin tournament play.
Despite not having a lot of time to get to know the players, Ball said he plans to call coaches to get a sense of what everyone will be able to do. With Bolin, Boyd, Dunaway, and Mullis, Ball knows the District 4 team already has four pitchers. He feels the rest of the squad will provide even more depth on the mound.
“I think we got the best 18,” Ball said. “I believe we got the best kids there at the tryout.”
Ball said the high school coaches asked for the input of college coaches to help pick the teams. He said he and the District 4 coaches received feedback from coaches at East Mississippi Community College, East Central C.C., and Hinds C.C. in selecting their players.
“We got them more involved,” Ball said of the college coaches. “They said this more than any other year they were more involved.”
Ball is looking forward to his first experience with the District 4 team. He said he also is eager to help represent the Greater Golden Triangle area and showcase its depth of talent to the rest of the state.
“There is so much competition among all of the teams (in the area) and they do a good job of playing,” Ball said. “They play a lot (in the summer), and a lot of them stay with their high school teams.”
Boyd was a second-team All-State pick in Class 5A of the Mississippi High School Activities Association. He was 8-3 with a 2.23 ERA for the Trojans this season. He allowed 55 hits in 72 1/3 innings, and walked 34 and struck out 79.
“Landon pitched well and gave us a chance to win all year,” New Hope coach Lee Boyd said. “About the middle of the year to the end of the year he was throwing a complete game almost every time out.”
Dunaway and Bolin were named to the All-Mississippi Association of Independent Schools baseball team, while Bartlett played a key role at shortstop and as a leadoff hitter for the Yellow Jackets.
“When he did his job (as a leadoff hitter) we won,” Starkville High coach Danny Carlisle said. “He made all-division at shortstop and was a pretty darn good player for us.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.