Mauldin finding positives in midst of canceled season

It all happened so fast.

One day, Jeff Mauldin was taking his Hewitt-Trussville High School baseball team on a road trip to play four games in three days, with a stop at Smiths Station before three games in Auburn. Two days later, his Huskies played their final game of the 2020 season, unbeknownst to anyone.

The first ominous sign of things to come came during the Smiths Station game on March 12. At the umpire meeting before the game, the coaches were told there would be no handshakes following the game as a precautionary measure, due to the COVID-19 pandemic that was beginning to sweep the nation.

“That was really weird,” Mauldin said. “After the game, that’s what we did. The coaches shook hands, but the players stood on each side of the field and kind of waved and tipped the hat.”

A planned team trip to the Auburn University baseball game for March 13 was shuttered after college athletics across the country were canceled. At the team dinner that night, rumors began circulating that high school sports may soon be altered as well.

But the Huskies arrived at Auburn High School on Saturday with a “business as usual” attitude, according to Mauldin. The Auburn parents and coaches had the foresight to recognize their program’s seniors before the contest against Hewitt-Trussville. In a moving gesture, they even offered to honor Hewitt’s seniors.

“I thought it was one of the classiest things I’ve ever been a part of for them to think about us,” Mauldin said. “They had a ceremony for our seniors, called our seniors and parents to the line, and put moms and dads on the first base line.”

By Sunday evening, school and extra-curricular activities had been postponed indefinitely.

“We were still in the mindset that we were going to come back and play,” Mauldin said.

Then came the news on March 26, when Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey and state Superintendent Eric Mackey announced schools would remain closed the remainder of the spring, including the cancellation of all spring sports.

“That was rough,” Mauldin said. “You hurt for the team. We had our ups and downs as a team like any other team, but you knew a team with the experience ... you felt like they would rise when we got to area play and hopefully the playoffs.”

Just like that, the Hewitt-Trussville careers of Tyler Mauldin, Kerrigan Edmonson, Keith Lanum, Michael Fowler, Kahlin Drake and Owen Boren were over.

Five of those six will play college ball, so they will still have a chance to play again, but Mauldin would have liked to see what they could have accomplished in their final ride together. In the last two years, they have been part of teams that went to the state championship and to the semifinals.

“Your mind goes to the seniors who did play their final game that weekend in Auburn and will never put on a Hewitt uniform again,” Mauldin said. “They didn’t have any closure. It’s kind of an empty feeling.”

Edmonson was on a tear the last week of playing, belting three home runs in the final stretch. Fowler saw plenty of time at third base despite not pitching much. Drake spent time at second base, third base and designated hitter. Boren pitched a handful of games, including a solid win over Bob Jones. Lanum was a constant in the lineup, and Tyler Mauldin pitched really well in addition to his normal second base duties.

Losing the 2020 season was a tough reality to endure for Jeff Mauldin. He said he talked with several close friends within the coaching community, as he searched for the proper way to handle the situation.

“As a head coach, you feel like you’re somewhat in control of practices and games and feel like you have something to do with outcomes. But in this situation, you have no control,” he said.

Mauldin has pulled some positives out of this unusual time, though. He has spent more time with his family, including his wife Chrissy and daughters Sara Grace and Caroline, this spring than ever before.

“I’m eating dinner with them every night or watching a movie or playing Uno, whatever. I’m finding the positives,” he said. “I’m able to do things as a dad, like just spending time with them.”

Like every coach and player of a spring sport, however, Mauldin knows and hopes this will not become the norm. He can’t wait for the day he can return to the diamond.

“The next day that we can get on a field and practice again, whether it’s summer or next year or whenever, it’s going to be the most exciting day for every player or coach involved,” he said.