Finishing the job
The Hewitt-Trussville High School baseball seniors are eager to break a pattern.
In 2015, the Huskies failed to make the state playoffs. They followed that up in 2016 with a state championship. The Huskies missed out on the playoffs once again in 2017 and responded with a run to the state final series last spring.
If that repeats itself again, Hewitt-Trussville’s seniors would miss out on the postseason in their final season. And they’re having none of that.
“The seniors don’t want that trend to continue,” said head coach Jeff Mauldin.
Instead, Jacob Bishop, Julian Sauger, Grant Waid, Zach Defnall, Creed Parker, Jared Waites and Baylor Hancock have a return trip to Montgomery in mind. And they hope it’s one that results in a better outcome than the two-game sweep at the hands of Auburn in the 2018 Class 7A state championship series.
In order to make that happen, the Huskies will have to avoid any lingering complacency from advancing to the state finals a year ago. Hewitt-Trussville finished 2018 with a 32-11 overall record. The Huskies knocked off defending state champ Hoover in a thrilling three-game, first-round series before defeating James Clemens and Bob Jones in the following two rounds.
Making it to the finals was a great accomplishment, Mauldin acknowledged, but the temptation to be complacent must be overcome. And if Bishop’s words are any indication, the Huskies want to do one better this time around.
“Jacob Bishop said it best when he said, ‘We want to get to Montgomery, and finish,’” Mauldin said
Mauldin said Hewitt-Trussville is “young in some spots we’re not usually young in,” but the Huskies feel good about the quality of talent their lineup will contain on a daily basis.
On the mound, Hewitt-Trussville saw ace Carson Skipper move on to Auburn, leaving LSU commit and junior Michael Fowler to take over the top spot in the rotation. Mauldin said Fowler is “special” but wants him to just “be himself.”
Fowler is the only pitcher returning with a significant amount of experience pitching in a varsity game, but Creed Parker — a first-team selection to the All-South Metro football team — and Tyler Mauldin are also two arms the Huskies will rely on. Between the three of them, when one is not pitching, the other two are likely to be starting on the left side of the infield.
Tyler Mauldin has not played shortstop since he was in middle school. Ed Johnson manned the shortstop position for four years and is now playing at Auburn, leaving a void for the Huskies to fill.
“Managing those guys’ arms and playing on the infield will be a key to our season,” Jeff Mauldin said.
After that, there are more questions than answers heading into the season.
“It’s kind of an unknown,” Jeff Mauldin said.
Behind the plate, expect Sauger to log plenty of innings. The Snead State Community College signee is a solid defensive catcher that “pitchers love throwing to,” according to his head coach.
While the left side of the infield will feature familiar faces, the right side of the infield could see the likes of Jackson Holland at first base and Hudson Boren at second base. Jeff Mauldin said Holland, also a quarterback on the football team, has impressed early on despite being just a sophomore.
Bishop, Defnall and Keith Lanum all started in the outfield last year and return to the team, but Kerrigan Edmonson has thrown his name into the mix to potentially garner some playing time. Landon Berguson is another sophomore catching the eye of coaches, who hope to find a way to get his bat in the lineup occasionally.
After finishing as the runner-up in Area 7 last year, the Huskies return to Area 6, which could feature four of the top teams in the state. Mountain Brook, Spain Park and Vestavia Hills all have high aspirations just like the Huskies, and Jeff Mauldin wouldn’t have it any other way.
“I love it,” he said. “I want to play against the best and coach against the best. Our crowds are going to be better and more people are going to be excited about it.
“You could be fourth in this area and be a state championship-caliber team.”