By Robert Wilson
MADISON – Presbyterian Christian School baseball coach Jarrett Hoffpauir knows the sport. He was a star at Southern Miss in the early 2000s and still holds single season school records for most hits and most runs batted in, quite an accomplishment considering all the great players in the Golden Eagles program over the years.
Hoffpauir – who was drafted in the sixth round in 2004 by the St. Louis Cardinals and made it to the major leagues in 2009 – knows he has a future star in Bankston Walters on his Bobcat roster and saw Walters show off his talent Wednesday night against Madison-Ridgeland Academy.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound sophomore right-hander threw a five-hit, complete game with 12 strikeouts for a 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the three game, MAIS Class 6A conference series before an estimated 250 at MRA’s Patriot Field.
PCS improved to 14-3 overall and 3-1 in league play, one game behind nationally ranked and six-time defending 6A state champion Jackson Prep and Hartfield Academy. MRA – which has been 6A state runner-up to Prep for the last five seasons – dropped to 13-9 and 0-4 and lost its fourth game in a row. Prep swept MRA in a three-game series last week.
PCS and MRA play a doubleheader Friday, starting at 4 p.m. at PCS in Hattiesburg. PCS is scheduled to start sophomore left-hander Tyner Flynt (a 3-1 record and 1.57 earned run average) and junior left-hander JT Smith (1-0, 3.28 ERA). MRA is scheduled to start senior right-hander and Meridian Community College signee Ryan Carpenter (2-2, 3.65 ERA) and senior right-hander and Southwest Mississippi CC signee Camp Segrest (2-1, 4.27 ERA).
Walters came into Wednesday with a 5-0 record, a 0.82 earned run average with two saves and had 46 strikeouts and only four walks in 34 innings. He is second in 6A in strikeouts to Prep senior right-hander and LSU signee Konnor Griffin, who is projected to be the No. 8 selection in the major league draft in July. Pretty good company for a sophomore.
He was dominating against MRA, even the last two innings when he was nearing the 100-pitch count, Walters continued pound the strike zone. He struck out the side in the eighth – MRA senior designated hitter and Meridian CC signee Ethan Mallett hit a double off the centerfield wall with two outs – and retired three straight batters – ground balls to first base and shortstop and a strikeout – in the bottom of the seventh. The last pitch – his 112th – was a call third strike for his 12th strikeout of the game. Walters had 79 strikes. He had only one walk.
“Bankston is just a true competitor,” said Hoffpauir, who is in his sixth year at PCS after retiring from pro baseball. “He’s a strike thrower with all three pitches in any count. Bankston mixed it up well tonight. He was one of our guys last year and had a really good year on the mound (a 6-5 record and. Bankston just continues to get better and better.”
“Every pitch felt really good,” said Walters, who also plays football (offensive left tackle) and basketball (forward) for PCS and is the son of former Southern Miss first baseman and current Southern Miss Baptist Student Union director Kris Walters. “My curveball, slider and splitter were moving a lot and I was throwing them for strikes. My fastball felt really live, coming out of my hand. I have improved immensely from just long tossing and hitting the weight room.”
PCS sophomore centerfielder Jet Henderson hit a two-out single to score Drew Diamond to tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the fifth inning and Diamond hit a sacrifice fly to score Tyner Flynt in the top of the sixth inning for the 2-1 lead.
“We felt we had a chance as long as we were down by one run,” Hoffpauir said. “We talked about not panicking and just taking what they give us. We got a lead off runner on, moved him around and got a big two out single (to tie the game). We’ve been fortunate this year with some timely hitting and that happened again tonight. The guys are buying in to playing for each other and that’s why I think we’ve been successful so far. We think we can compete with anybody when we throw strikes and play defense.”
“We didn’t put the ball the play,” MRA coach Allen Pavatte said. “We struck out 12 times, six looking, and you can’t win when 12 of your 21 outs are strikeouts. One of our three goals was to cut our strikeouts in half over the past two seasons and we haven’t done that. You have to have the mentality that you aren’t going to strike out. Shorten up your swing and foul off pitches like (PCS senior shortstop and leadoff hitter Turner) Vance did tonight. He kept fouling off pitches and wasn’t going to strikeout. PCS does a good job of not striking out. Swing flat through the hitting zone. They battle, something we have to continue to grow into. Hopefully by the end of the season we will.”
MRA had trouble with strikeouts last week also, with 25 strikeouts in the three losses to Prep.
MRA did have some bright spots. Senior right-hander and Jones County JC signee Drew Lambert pitched well, allowing only three hits in six innings. He rebounded from a tough outing last week against Prep. Mallet had three hits – two doubles – and continues to swing a hot bat. He was hitting .312 coming into the game and hit .444 in the three games against Prep last week. Mallet missed seven games with an injury before getting healthy. He has now hit a sizzling .600 over last five games.
MRA senior second baseman and Northwest Mississippi CC signee Jack Dye scored the Patriots’ only run in the first inning. Dye singled and stole second and third base (continuing to build on his school record stolen base mark and now has 33 this season) and scored on an overthrow to third. He was so close to putting MRA ahead in the bottom of the fifth. With runners on second and third, Dye hit a hard line drive to right field that Jacob Baugh came up and made a run-saving catch for the third out.
“Drew pitched well,” Pavatte said. “It’s about the best I’ve ever seen Mallett hit. He and Jack are playing well.”
