The Heritage Academy baseball team can feel the bullseye on its back.
Coach Chris Ball told The Dispatch on Friday that the Patriots are the best team in the Golden Triangle. He’s well aware what that title comes with.
“We know we’ve got that target on our back, but we’re just trying to stay inside ourselves and win every day,” Ball said.
When the Patriots take the field Monday for their season opener at Jackson Academy, they’ll be playing a regular-season game for the first time in nearly 11 months. That’s got everyone around the program — including Ball, in his first year as head coach — excited.
“They’re fired up. They’re pumped,” Ball said. “It’s been a long time coming.”
Last March, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out most of the season for “the best team that ever graced Heritage Academy,” according to Ball. The Patriots — the defending MAIS Class 3A champions — were participating in the Battle of the Beach tournament in Biloxi over spring break when two of their opponents canceled. At that point, they had to face facts: A promising year was no more.
“As a coach, there’s a big cliche of, ‘Practice and play every day like it’s your last,'” Ball said. “I’ve heard that my whole life. … When it finally happens and it’s taken away from you, it’s a slap in the face. We could have done maybe a little bit more and had a little bit more fun before it all happened.”
In addition to not being able to play out the remainder of the spring, the Patriots lost several key players to graduation. Blayze Berry and Seth Harris headed to East Mississippi Community College, and Banks Hyde went to Pearl River Community College.
But Heritage Academy hopes to make up for their absences with an influx of new talent and a strong core. Returnees like junior pitcher Cole Ketchum, an Ole Miss commit, and seniors Reed Brewer and Sam Hannon pair with West Point junior transfer Rhett Ketchum and former Hamilton righty Caleb Hall. Junior returnee Wesley Miller will be back once his recovery from a labrum tear during football season is complete, Ball said.
Iowa native and Mississippi State signee Aaron Downs, who transferred to Heritage Academy last year but did not play as he recovered from two leg surgeries, will get to play his senior season. Downs said the Patriots are capable of pretty much anything as long as they can mesh well together as a team.
“Right now, we’ve got a lot of studs, but there’s a lot of things we can grow upon,” Downs said. “There’s a lot of growing that needs to be done, but I think we’re going to be pretty good in the long run.”
The Patriots might get to find out early on just how good they will be. Their first two games are against the Raiders and powerhouse DeSoto Central, which produced Austin Riley and Blaze Jordan in recent years. Heritage Academy will also reprise its role in the Biloxi spring break tournament from March 18-20.
“Early in the season, before we get to conference games, before we make our run, I want them to play the best of the best,” Ball said.
Hannon said that strong competition right off the bat will serve the Patriots well in their quest to improve every day.
“It’s good to see where we are,” he said. “You’ve got to play the best to be the best.”
So far, the Patriots believe they are the best — until proven otherwise. Pro and college scouts abound at each workout at Trip Carson Field.
“It’s a good recognition for our school, first and foremost,” Ball said. “Every day that they come to practice, they know, ‘Hey, someone else might be here today.’ It keeps our energy level up and our expectations as far as working hard every day.”
According to Brewer, what the Patriots expect from this season is the same result they got in 2019 and strived to achieve last year: another state title.
“We’re hoping to win a championship,” Brewer said. “We try to work for it every day and just do what we didn’t get to do last year.”
Ball said he’ll just enjoy every game from his vantage point in the third-base coaching box as the Patriots try to make their way back to the top.
“‘I’ve got the best ticket in the house, and I got in free,'” he tells his players often. “I just want to watch them play.”
Theo DeRosa reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @Theo_DeRosa.
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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 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
