Wednesday was another good day for the baseball teams in the Golden Triangle.
The defending Class 5A state champion New Hope High School baseball team finalized plans for a third player to play in college, when senior J.C. Redden signed a National letter of Intent to play at East Mississippi Community College in Scooba.
Earlier in the day, Columbus High senior infielder/outfielder/pitcher Chris McCullough and senior pitcher/outfielder Hunter Mullis signed their NLIs to play at EMCC and Meridian C.C. respectively.
Redden, a 5-foot-9, 155-pound right-hander, joins Will Golsan (Ole Miss) and Taylor Stafford (Mississippi State) as players who already have signed to continue their baseball careers in college. All three played key roles last season in helping New Hope win a state championship.
Redden’s role came primarily on the mound, where he was 7-2 with one save a 4.01 ERA. In 68 innings, he allowed 64 hits, walked 32, and struck out 74. He also had a .292 batting average with six doubles and five RBIs.
“It is the result of hard work and playing with the teammates I have,” Redden said. “We have been playing together since we were in elementary school, and the chemistry we have and the kind of ballplayers they are is going to make you a better ballplayer.”
Redden said EMCC contacted him last summer and has followed him ever since. In the offseason, Redden has stayed busy playing with the Golden Spikes and Mississippi Braves travel ball teams. All of the work has helped Redden show college coaches he is going to bring his best every day and work as hard as he can.
“It just proves you don’t always have to be 6-2 to get the job done,” Redden said. “I just like to prove the small guy can get the job done.”
New Hope baseball coach Lee Boyd used the words “crafty” and “unpredictable” to describe Redden. He said Redden has a “live arm” and command of a fastball, curveball, and a changeup, which makes him a candidate to pitch at the next level. He said Redden’s ability to incorporate a changeup into his arsenal allowed him to keep hitters off balance.
“For someone J.C.’s size, he throws the ball well and he has a good, breaking curveball,” Redden said. “I think developing a changeup was a key to his success.”
Boyd said Redden blossomed between his sophomore and junior seasons and emerged last season as the team’s No. 1 starter. He feels EMCC saw Redden’s potential to throw strikes. He also is confident he will add velocity to his fastball, which should help him because he understands how to hit his spots and to mix pitches to keep hitters guessing.
“He knows with his velocity, which is not bad at 81-82 mph, that if he gets predictable we’re in trouble,” Boyd said. “He knows even next year if he picks up a few miles per hour and gets up to 85-86 that college guys hit 85-86, so he is going to have to be unpredictable. As long as he stays unpredictable, he is going to be successful.”
Redden came on late in the season to be a fixture on the mound. He won his last five decisions, including victories against Lake Cormorant, Ridgeland, Hernando, and Pascagoula in New Hope’s run to the title. He said he likes to be “crafty” and bring something different to the mound every outing.
McCullough, a left-handed hitter and pitcher, and Mullis, another left-hander, have played integral roles in making Columbus a playoff contender the past three seasons.
“They are both four-year starters,” Columbus High baseball coach Jeffrey Cook said. “I remember going to watch their group in fifth- and sixth-grade All-Stars. That was a good group. They had good junior high coaches, and you could see as a group they were going to be really good.
“Hunter has just worked so hard to improve. I remember four years ago when he was a freshman and he was 5-1 and he looked like he weighed 80 pounds out there pitching.
“Chris has matured so much. He always has been a physical presence, but his character and his attitude have so greatly improved and matured over the years. We are extremely proud of both of them.”
Mullis went 6-2 with one save and a 2.89 ERA last season. In 55 2/3 innings, he allowed 63 hits, walked only eight, and struck out 58. He also hit .352 with two doubles, one home run, 20 runs, and 20 RBIs.
With a score of 30 on the ACT, Mullis feels he found a perfect fit in academics (possibly majoring in accounting) and athletics in MCC.
“They have the academics I am looking for and they have a great baseball program,” said Mullis, who played travel ball with McCullough on Team DeMarini out of Tennessee. “I have had to work really hard. I am not a very big guy, so I knew I would have to make up for it in strength and determination.
“I have done pretty well, but you can always get better, and I think Meridian will help me get better.”
McCullough, who was an All-State selection in Class 6A, was one of the team leaders in hitting with a .459 batting average. He also had 15 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 34 RBIs, and scored 19 runs. On the mound, McCullough was 3-2 with one save in seven appearances.
McCullough said he has developed a good relationship with EMCC coach Chris Rose. He said Rose seemed to be at nearly every one of the travel ball events he attended, even in Oklahoma at the Junior Sun Belt Classic, and in Massachusetts. McCullough feels all of those travel and exposure events helped him develop his skills to realize an opportunity to play baseball in college.
“I feel like I have prepared for (college baseball), and when it is time I feel like I will be able to perform at that level,” McCullough said. “I feel I have done enough training to get to the next step, and I can push East Mississippi over the edge and that I can be one of the assets there.”
McCullough said he has talked with Rose about playing first base and being the Lions’ closer. To realize those dreams, he said he will follow the advice of Mississippi State pitching coach Butch Thompson, who told him, “if you are going to fail, fail high.” He said that stuck with him and motivates him every day to reach the ultimate heights. He doesn’t know if he will wind up at a four-year school like MSU or Florida, but he knows he is going to keep pushing to get better.
“EMCC had the best offer (out of MCC and Jones County Junior College),” McCullough said. “I really like the school, and coach Rose made me feel comfortable. … I feel like I am going to go down there and do my best.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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