As the sun started to drop below the horizon on July 25, the sound of chatter and laughter echoed throughout a small corner of Propst Park, only broken up by the distinct ping of an aluminum bat hitting a baseball.
Kevin Long stood just a few feet back from the field and smiled as he took it all in.
To most passersby, there’s nothing special about the field. It’s a big fenced-in patch of grass complete with three bases, a home plate and a dirt infield with a heap of more dirt in the center for the pitcher’s mound. Standard stuff. But to Long and the rest of the 1990 Columbus Southern youth baseball team – it’s hallowed ground.
It’s the site where they shocked onlookers and defeated an unbeaten Pascagoula Nationals squad in the 1990 Dixie Youth 9-10 state championship with a walk-off grand slam. Daniel Beard delivered the heroics, stepping up and sending the ball over the fence in left field, now where a row of trees are growing, to give Columbus the 8-6 upset. They team lifted Beard into the air when he finally got across home plate and then they got to lift that coveted trophy.
It was a magical moment that only baseball can provide – a moment that has stuck with the entire team.
The sport has a way of bringing people together through moments like that.
Whether it be the players on a team trying their best to win every game, and hopefully a championship, or spectators from all over the map coming together for a common purpose, the highs and lows of a season can form a lifetime bond with those who dare ride the rollercoaster together. Each dip, climb and drop provide the power to forge unforgettable memories.
35 years of memories
“I still remember (the grand slam) 35 years later and where it went,” said Ricky Crowder, who was an assistant coach on the team.
That’s why 35 years later, to the day, the team linked up for the first time since then to hang out, reminisce on their wild championship run and let their kids have their turn at playing on the field that gave them joy and a lifetime of memories.
But before the joy, Columbus Southern had to endure heartbreak. In the opening round of the week-long tournament, McGee knocked them out of the first and into the losers’s bracket by the score of 16-7. To make matters worse for the 9- and 10-year-old boys, McGee’s second baseman was a girl.
“We were like, ‘We’re done,’” Long said. ‘“We’re not coming back from that.’”
Doug Long, Kevin’s father and assistant coach of the team, said Columbus was caught off guard that game against a good team and a good second baseman.
“The second baseman, she was good. She should have been out there,” Doug Long said. “She held her own.”
The boys couldn’t believe they were already staring down the barrel of an early exit. Seeing that his team needed some verbal support, head coach Jackie Taylor gathered them up and gave them a little pep talk to boost their spirits.
“I said, ‘One more loss and we’re out of it,’” Taylor recalled. ‘“All these other teams that came in here will be playing in our park and we’ll be gone. So, we’ve got to step it up.’ And they all did.”
Bounce-back wins against the Columbus Nationals, 11-4, and Northwest Rankin, 10-7, put Southern back on track and set up a semifinal showdown with McComb. Then disaster struck. Utilizing some Columbus errors, McComb raced out to 5-0 lead, and Columbus’ season was in jeopardy once again.
“I got in the dugout and said, ‘Look here. We have to hold them to that right there for the rest of the game,’” Taylor said, holding up his hand in the shape of a zero.
Well, Columbus didn’t exactly match Taylor’s demands. They allowed McComb to score one more run – but in return they added seven runs of their own to steal the game 7-6 thanks to some nifty bunting. With the game tied at 6 in the bottom of the sixth inning, Kevin Long was walked and was soon joined by Carey Upton, who bunted to get on base. Long managed to steal third and was brought home for the winning run when Beard laid down another bunt.
Their efforts and comeback wins all culminated with a showdown for the title with Pascagoula – the reigning and unbeaten champs from the year before.
The Cardiac Kids versus Goliath
Columbus had to win two games and all Pascagoula needed was one victory to repeat. Physically, Pascagoula was much bigger, and Kevin Long said his team was nervous.
“You talk about Pascagoula, but we had some talent too,” Long said. “We had some talented kids as far as good defense up the middle to turn double plays, had enough pitching depth to get us there and we hit. We had some guys who were gamers.”
In front of a large crowd of onlookers, Columbus squeezed out a 2-1 win in Game 1 to force a winner-take-all in the following match thanks to Long’s three-hit performance from the mound and the quick thinking of catcher Blake Koenigsberger. A Pascagoula runner at third tried to get across home plate to tie the contest while he struggled to haul in a passed ball. At just the right moment, Koenigsberger got a hold of the ball and immediately turned toward home plate and tagged the runner out before he was safe.
Pascagoula was unbeaten no more.
“I think confidence built after that,” Doug Long said. “Going into that final game, we thought we could beat them.”
In Game 2, Pascagoula pounded the ball, including a home run, for a 4-1 lead heading into the third inning before Columbus finally found some offense and tied the game at 4, sending it into extra innings. The Nationals tacked on two more runs for the 6-4 lead and all hope seemed to be lost. But Eric Ballard bunted to get on base and was soon joined by Koenigsberger and Kevin Long, who were both walked. Then Beard emphatically brought them home. Both of his first two home runs were game winners. The first won the game that got them into the state tournament, the second won it.
Beard, who is now 45, remembers that at bat like it was yesterday.
“At the time I wasn’t thinking, ‘Hit a home run.’ I was thinking, ‘Don’t strike out. Put the ball in play. Make something happen,”’ Beard said.
When he made contact, he didn’t even know it was a homer until he got around first base. When he saw it fly over the fence, he cheered and raised his arms into the air in excitement as he made his way around the bases.
“I remember touching second, touching third. It was crazy,” he said, watching as the kids played around on the field.
When he got to home plate he was lifted into the air in celebration, something he’ll always remember.
“It was one of those things that, as a 10-year-old, it kind of impacted my life,” Beard said. “It was something that as I grew older, I always looked back on that moment. To win the state championship is a big deal. Nowadays, everybody plays tournament ball. City league isn’t as popular as it was back then. Back then, this was it; Dixie Youth Baseball was it.
“It’s just one of those things I always look back on and draw strength from and thought, ‘That was a time when we faced adversity and we got through it.’ I’ve always kind of built off of that a little bit. I mean, here we are 35 years later, and obviously it impacted all of their lives too. It means a lot and means so much to everybody on the team.”
He took a moment to soak in the field again with his son John Taylor, who had been swinging the bat his dad used to win the title.
“That’s what baseball’s all about,” he said. “Coming out here with your kids and sharing moments. That’s what makes baseball so special. We were 10-years-old, and here we are at 45-years-old and we’re still enjoying it and remembering it.”
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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 35 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
