The Trojans turned in one of the most impressive baseball seasons in Magee history, finishing with a 30-8 record and a nearly 20 game win streak before falling just short of clinching the 3A State Championship.
Magee fought through a rain soaked playoff run that affected every series the team played on their way to finishing second place in 3A. After being forced to play five games in six days, the Trojans were restricted on their options on the mound due to pitch count rules that require pitchers to rest a certain number of days based on reaching a set number of pitches. Timon Kennedy, Adam May, and Luke West were not options for Coach Allen Eubanks due to throwing 90+ pitches just days before the State Championship Series. The top three of the Trojans staff required three days of rest each, putting them out until the third game of the series at the earliest.
Starting on the mound in a must-win situation for the Trojans was Brennon McNair. Opposing McNair for North Pontotoc was James Clay McGregor, who kept the Magee offense guessing all game. The big story of the game was the number of pitches seen by Magee batters as to those seen by North Pontotoc hitters. Magee batters were often overly aggressive, going after pitches early in at bats and struggled with plate discipline throughout the game. In the top of the first, the Vikings jumped out to an early lead. McNair got off to a strong start, retiring Sheffield Anthony via groundout and getting Kaden Wilson to fly out to right. Trouble began for McNair after hitting Ethan Dyer with a pitch to give North Pontotoc a free base runner. On a 3-1 pitch, the Vikings sent Dyer on the front side of a hit and run, opening a hole at second where May had to leave to cover second. Corley Hooper sent what would have likely been a routine grounder to second, if not for Dyer running on the pitch. The C. Hooper grounder ran up on Chandler Pittman in center and was bobbled by the normally sure handed Pittman, giving Dyer enough time to score after getting a good jump on the pitch. McNair retired Ty Roberson with a pop out to second to end the inning. In the home half of the first inning, the Trojans saw only four pitches from McGregor as they went three-up-three-down.
In the top of the second, North Pontotoc extended their lead while continuing to run up McNair's pitch count. Hence Hooper got things started with a leadoff single to center before being sent to second on a balk call on McNair for not coming set for a full second. McNair retired Braxton Sudduth on a fly out to Pittman, before issuing a walk on a nine pitch at-bat to Bo Howell to give the Vikings runners on first and second. Hayes Malone laid down a perfect bunt in front of McNair and beat the throw at first to load the bases. McNair fought and battled on the mound, but his defense let him down a number of times on the night with poorly timed and costly errors. Anthony rolled a hard grounder to May at short that was booted away, allowing Howell and H. Hooper to score to run the score to 3-0. McNair managed to recover and limit the damage at two after getting Wilson to ground out to first and Dyer to fly out to Cayden Bridges to end the inning. In the bottom of the second, Magee continued to struggle after Bridges and Seth Russell both grounded out to short. Bridges reached base thanks to a hit by pitch, before May finished the three-peat for Sudduth at short with his third assist of the inning via groundout to end the inning.
After a rocky start, McNair settled into a groove, tossing three straight scoreless frames as he waited for his offense to wake up as he kept the team in the ball game. Unfortunately, McGregor continued to deal on the mound as the Trojans offense continued to be impatient at the plate by going after pitches early in at bats helping McGregor keep his pitch count low. Magee's bad luck at the plate also came when the balls put in play continuously found Viking gloves. The Trojans continued to make solid contact, but it seemed as if the North Pontotoc defenders were placed perfectly with magnets in their gloves connected to the ball as nearly every Magee hit ended fruitlessly for the Trojans.
In the top of the sixth, Howell got the inning started with a ringing line drive for a double to left. Malone followed with a bunt back to McNair that he fielded and fired on to Josh Sanders covering first. Malone seemed to veer inside the baseline and collided into Sanders covering first, allowing Howell to score from second. After the collision, Sanders was shaken up and required attention for a laceration above his left eye but managed to remain in the game. As he had done all game, McNair refocused on the mound and pitched his way out of danger to keep the game within striking distance for the Magee offense. McNair sat down Anthony looking at strike three. Wilson then grounded into a fielder's choice to Sanders, who flipped on to May covering at second but was unable to complete the turn for the double play. Wilson stole second early in Dyer's at-bat, before advancing to third on a wild pitch by McNair. McNair won the battle with Dyer after an eight pitch at-bat that ended in a fly out to McNair. In the bottom of the second, the Trojans aimed to get into the ballgame while McGregor looked to continue his impressive outing on the mount. Landon Hayes started off the inning striking out on just four pitches. Sanders followed with a two pitch at-bat that ended in a fly out to Dyer in center. Zack Teater ended the inning with a fly out to Wilson in left on a four pitch at bat.
In the top of the seventh, North Pontotoc broke the game wide open. C. Hooper led off reaching base via hit by pitch. West Sutton came on as a pinch runner for C. Hooper. Roberson then launched a rocket over Teater's head in right that reached the warning track to move Sutton to third on the double. H. Hooper grounded out to May to score Sutton from third and move Roberson up 90 feet. McNair's day came to an end after 6 1/3 innings when the sophomore was replaced by Pittman for the final two outs. Pittman was greeted by Sudduth, who sent a liner to center for a base hit that scored Roberson to put the Vikings lead up to 6-0. Howell tacked on another run with a grounder to Russell at third who booted the ball allowing Sudduth to score and Howell to reach base safely. After recovering momentarily by getting Malon on a bunt attempt that moved Howell to third, Pittman hit Anthony to put men on first and third. After walking Wilson to load the bases, Pittman surrendered a two-run single to Dyer to push the lead to 9-1. Pittman then walked C. Hooper before retiring Roberson on a fly out to Bridges in center to mercifully end the five run top of the seventh. McGregor returned to the mound in the bottom of the seventh as he looked to lock down the State Championship for North Pontotoc. McGregor started the inning by getting Pittman to fly out to Dyer in center. In his final high school game, Luke West was called on to pinch hit for fellow senior Kennedy. West was hit by a pitch and replaced by another Trojan playing his final game, Thomas Smith. As West returned to the dugout, he shared an emotional hug with Smith and the Magee coaching staff before tipping his cap to thank the Trojan faithful as he made his way down the dugout steps. McNair followed with a ground out to McGregor that moved Smith into scoring position as Magee looked to erase the zero in the runs column. The Trojans finally broke through after Russell sent a hard grounder past Howell at third for a double that scored Smith from second to put Magee on the board. The game and season came to an end as Bridges sent a soft liner to Sudduth at short to clinch the 3A title for the Vikings.
As North Pontotoc flooded the field in jubilation, the Trojans shared tearful hugs in the dugout as the emotion driven run came to an end. Magee fought a tough road just to reach the State Title Series, as energy had vacated the players’ bodies and emotion was the driving force that drove them through the first four rounds of playoffs. The Magee players provided the city of Magee a mesmerizing season that captivated the fans as well as the city as a whole. The following for the Magee baseball team grew and grew as the spectacular season moved along, unifying the city behind a group of young men that were playing a kids’ game and loving every second of it. The Trojans entertained all who saw them before the game started with the wave and other cheers as the team's personality spread infectiously through the crowd. During games, Magee put on a show with an electrifying offense and spectacular performances on the mound backed by a stellar defense that proved to be a force to be reckoned with as the team reached the number one ranking in 3A for the majority of the season. Sadly, the magical run ended with a team that was a shell of themselves thanks to a grueling stretch that forced the Trojans to play game one of the State Championship Series roughly 14 hours after a 14 inning thriller in the South State finale that lasted four hours. Magee gave a valiant effort with what they had left and have nothing to be ashamed of after having their chance at gold all but ripped from them due to the mishandling of the scheduling by the MHSAA. The 2019 Trojans will always hold a special place in the hearts and the memories of those who followed them of this season, and it will long live in the minds of the players who lived it. The players will go on to bigger and better things in college and life, but there will always be a unifying force that will connect these men as brothers for life.
Even though the record books may never reflect it and the MHSAA will never apologize for how they gave the Trojans a raw deal, one thing is very clear to the citizens of Magee and the surrounding area and that is that these boys are now and always will be champions to us.
