Stay within yourself.
It sounds so easy. But when you recognize a fastball coming right down the middle it is natural to have your eyes open wide and imagine the possibilities.
Michael Sturdivant had to catch himself and make sure he stuck to his two-strike approach and didn’t try to do too much.
An inning earlier, Hunter Mullis took the mound with a similar mind-set. Locked in a 3-all tie with Grenada entering the eighth inning, Mullis knew one pitch could mean the difference between the Columbus High School baseball team losing the lead or keeping the game tied, so he stayed focused and didn’t overthrow.
The approaches Sturdivant and Mullis took proved equally effective Thursday in helping Columbus earn a 4-3 walk-off victory against Grenada in nine innings in a Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A, Region 2 game in Columbus. Sturdivant’s single up the middle scored Mullis, who threw two innings of scoreless relief and helped the Falcons improve to 10-3 and 1-1 in the region.
For their efforts, Sturdivant and Mullis are The Dispatch’s co-Prep Players of the Week.
“It was a fastball right down the middle,” said Sturdivant, who had two strikes on him. “It was perfect. I hit it right back where it came from and scored the winning run. It felt pretty good coming out with a victory on a walk-off (hit).”
Mullis leads a pitching staff that includes senior Christian Dale and junior Trace Lee with a 4-0 record and a 2.55 ERA. The junior left-hander had allowed 28 hits in 24 2/3 innings. He has walked three and struck out 33. Now in his third season as a pitcher with the varsity team, Mullis has honed his control and his ability to change speeds to keep hitters off balance.
Mullis also has been a key contributor at the plate. He had three of Columbus’ five hits in the victory against Grenada. He also struck out three and allowed only one hit in earning the victory.
“We knew it was one of the most important games because our goal is to win district,” Mullis said. “If we lost that game, we knew our chances would become a lot slimmer, so we needed to rally and win that game. I tried to keep everybody up as much as I could.
“I tried not to do anything too spectacular. I just tried to play regular ball.”
Mullis uses that same approach when he is on the mound. He said he relies on his defense and his command to stay in control, even in clutch situations where one pitch can produce drama. He said the Falcons will take plenty of confidence from the latest victory to know they can win at any time if everyone does their part.
Sturdivant, a junior, plays left field when Mullis isn’t pitching and right field when Mullis takes the mound. Columbus High School coach Jeffrey Cook said Sturdivant didn’t have a spot in the starting lineup secured entering the season, but he said Sturdivant has worked hard to embrace the two-strike approach and the concept of trying to hit the ball where it is pitched. He said Sturdivant’s swing, which he said is like that of Chris McCullough in that it packs a special punch, gives him the potential to do special things — like in the ninth inning against Grenada — when he sticks to the fundamentals.
“There was a lot of pressure,” Cook said. “In the bottom of the seventh, he popped out after he tried to do too much. … He has a tendency to pull off the ball and try to hit everything down the line. … He did an outstanding job with the pitch and had a clutch hit at a big time.”
Sturdivant said he has learned the value of taking a two-strike approach. He said his ability to hit the ball where it is pitched enables him to stay back on the ball and not be so overanxious that he is out in front of the pitch and gets himself out.
On Thursday, Sturdivant was right on time for the first walk-off hit of his high school career.
“I have been learning and learning and have been progressing and prospering,” Sturdivant said.
Cook said the Falcons have talked about the importance of winning the game, especially after he felt Columbus “gave one away” Tuesday when it committed four errors and allowed Grenada to score two runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 4-3 victory. The win helped Columbus avoid another 0-2 region start that it had in 2012. The Falcons rallied from that start to finish 5-4 in the region and tie Grenada for the title. Grenada won the tiebreaker and took the top seed. Columbus went on to lose in two games to Warren Central in the first round of the Class 6A North State playoffs.
This season, Columbus wants to build on its back-to-back postseason appearances by winning the region title. Sturdivant and Mullis are ideal examples of how the program has matured in the past three seasons. They both agree that the latest victory will help keep the Falcons on track to realizing their goal.
Cook also feels both players have made strides and have become integral components of Columbus’ success.
“We saw flashes of it from Michael during the year and during the summer,” Cook said. “A lot of that was maturity and growing up. He has really improved in the outfield. I think he saw how much hard work guys who left last year and the year before put in to get a spot. It wasn’t going to be given to him and he had to earn it. He has worked hard and put in extra batting practice on Sunday afternoons. You can tell the difference with Michael.
“Hunter is Hunter. He works hard all of the time. … Hunter has been a leader for us. This is his second year being a captain. Not only does he lead with character, he leads by example and is one of our hardest workers. His success is because of that.”
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.