Deonteau Rieves learned from some of the best Columbus High School had to offer.
Whether it was Christian Dale, Isaiah Farmer, Trace Lee, Chris McCullough, Hunter Mullis, Greg Sykes, or Gavonta Webb, Rieves spent his first two years on the school’s varsity baseball team with plenty of talented players who helped Columbus establish a school-record streak of four consecutive playoff appearances under coach Jeffrey Cook.
Rieves has put the lessons he learned under those players to use the last two seasons. Even though the Falcons have won only four games in that span, Rieves has matured from the quiet middle infielder/pitcher who took a back seat to the older players to a more vocal leader on and off the field.
Rieves’ development produced tangible returns Monday morning, as the Columbus High senior signed a National Letter of Intent to play baseball at Coahoma Community College in Clarksdale.
“I showed leadership to my team,” Rieves said when asked what he thought he did to realize an opportunity to play baseball at the next level. “I played hard and worked hard for everything.”
Rieves said he took what all of the older players told him and taught him and passed it down as he matured. He said the lessons were invaluable as he learned how to talk to his teammates and to encourage them to aspire to a standard that helped everyone be successful. He said his development was a process that saw him “come out of his shyness” and bide his time as an underclassman before he took on a bigger role as a leader.
“I think I came out to be a great leader,” Rieves said. “I could have done better, but I think I did enough for my team.”
Rieves said he talked to the coaches at Coahoma C.C. about playing second base and third base. He played second base as a freshman and as a sophomore at Columbus. He hasn’t played as much at third base. In fact, he has to go back to his days playing baseball at Propst Park and to tournament ball with the Mississippi Braves to the last times he saw more action at that position.
Columbus High first-year baseball coach Lee Davis has known Rieves since his middle school days. He said Rieves led the team in just about every offensive category, including a batting average of about .380. He said Rieves transformed from a quiet member of the team into someone who was willing to speak up in huddles and on the field to keep his teammates going in the right direction.
“He had a good year,” Davis said. “He was a team captain and our shortstop. He took control. He held the kids accountable for stuff. It made it a lot easier for us.”
Davis said Rieves is a good kid who has been blessed with great hand-eye coordination and baseball IQ. He believes Coahoma C.C. is getting a steal because Rieves has loads of potential. He said Rieves stayed positive at the plate despite not having a lot of protection in around him in the batting order.
More importantly, Davis said Rieves spoke up at the right times during the season, which helped the Falcons overcome the adversity they faced this season with a young team.
“All the way through middle school we knew he was a good player, but he has been so solid for us,” Davis said.
Rieves saw playing time on the varsity roster as a freshman. He hit .250 in 30 games as a sophomore and .297 as a junior. Rieves said the biggest adjustment he will face will be learning how to watch and to listen to the older players to stay on track, but he is confident he will be able to do that because he learned how to do that in his time at Columbus High.
“This season made me work harder and be a better person,” Rieves said. “It made me learn how to take every opportunity and make the most of it.”
n Starkville 4, DeSoto Central 1: At Southaven, Austin Campbell pitched a complete-game three-hitter to lead the Yellow Jackets (19-9) in Game 3 of their opening-round Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 6A State tournament best-of-three series against the reigning state champions.
“It was a really, really good high school baseball game,” Starkville High coach Travis Garner said. “We played really good defense.”
Starkville advances to face Tupelo in the second round of the best-of-three playoffs. Game 1 will be at a time to be determined Friday in Tupelo. Game 2 will be Saturday at Starkville High. If needed, Game 3 will be Monday in Tupelo.
Rashon Tate had a two-run single in the top of the first inning to give Starkville all the runs it needed. Milton Smith Jr., Carter Bentley, AJ Smith (two runs, RBI), JD Taylor, and Will Murphree contributed to the six-hit attack.
Campbell surrendered an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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