When Clint Wilkerson took over as St. Aloysius’ baseball coach last summer, he had a simple plan for success.

Work hard.

That was it. No fancy slogans or gimmicks. It might take a few years to have success on the diamond, but hard work on and off the field would eventually pay dividends.

As it turned out, it only took a few weeks.

Wilkerson was the right coach at the right time for a young, hungry group of St. Al players. With his grueling workout routines and no-nonsense attitude he whipped the Flashes into shape and turned them into winners.

Despite a young team with three starters who were still in junior high, St. Al posted a 16-9 record this season – a five-game improvement from last year. The turnaround and effort from the Flashes earned Wilkerson The Vicksburg Post’s Coach of the Year award.

“It’s nice to have a situation where you have players who are willing to work. As a coach, what else can you ask for?” Wilkerson said. “There’s a lot of people in the St. Al family who love baseball and play a part in this, and I’m thankful for their support.”

Wilkerson might have needed it when word of his workout regimen started to get around.

His offseason program, known as “the core,” was a grueling 45-minute set of exercises for the legs and body. During football season – Wilkerson is also the school’s strength and conditioning coach – he would often use his free period to run unruly players.

The program paid off once baseball season rolled around. His players bought into what Wilkerson was preaching and they often wore opponents down and out with hit after hit.

The Flashes had six starters bat over .400 this season, and none of the regulars hit below .300. After a shaky 1-4 start, St. Al ripped off eight straight wins and eventually reached the playoffs.

“I think all of them kind of realized it at different times,” Wilkerson said. “But on a day-in, day-out basis we would just be wearing (opponents) down and they wouldn’t be tired. Win or lose, we finished games strong, and as a coach I can’t ask for anything more than that. At all.”

St. Al failed to get out of the Class 1A regional for a second straight year, but Wilkerson said a solid foundation was laid for the future. Only two seniors graduated from this year’s squad, and some of the Flashes’ best players aren’t even in high school yet.

Shortstop Ryno Martin-Nez, who hit .433 with 16 RBIs, and second baseman Pierson Waring are both seventh-graders. Catcher Sean Weaver, who replaced senior Rob Jones early in the season, is only in eighth grade.

“This year, I feel like we just broke the ice compared to what we’ve got,” Wilkerson said, adding that a grueling 34-game summer schedule that includes games against Clinton, Madison Central, Vicksburg and Warren Central will also help. “If we can continue to get better and get two-deep, and develop some arms, we’re going to be very, very competitive.”

Center fielder Jordan Muirhead, Warren County’s leading hitter with a .532 average, and Class 1A all-state selection Blake Tidwell, a senior-to-be, also return for St. Al next season.

And, Wilkerson added, even departed seniors Andy Wiles and Curtis Robertson will play a role in any success the Flashes enjoy in the future.

Wilkerson praised them for their leadership and the way they helped take the Flashes in the right direction.

“I feel like every game we’re going to win next year and the year after that, they are going to play a major role, because they set the standard,” Wilkerson said. “They bought into everything I said, believed everything I said, and never questioned anything.”

Arm injury kept Busby off mound for playoff push

As Porters Chapel Academy’s baseball season wound down, Michael Busby trudged out to the hole between second and third and did his best to help the Eagles win.

More often than not, he did. Spraying line drives like a machine gun, the sophomore played a key role in helping PCA advance to the second round of the Academy-A playoffs. It was what Busby wasn’t able to do, however, that was gnawing at him.

For 20 games he had been the ace of the Eagles’ pitching staff. Few teams could touch his 90 mph fastball, and fewer still could hit it often enough to actually score off him. Then, late in the year, his elbow started to ache. Unsure of what exactly was wrong, PCA coach Randy Wright kept Busby off the mound for the rest of the season.

“I felt like I couldn’t do my job for the team. Kind of like I was letting everybody down,” Busby said. “It’s more aggravating than anything. I could be the one out there pitching and helping my team. That’s what I’ve been doing all year.”

In the end, Wright’s decision to keep Busby off the hill was the right one. Although it may have cost PCA a shot at a state title – PCA, short on arms, lost in three games to Benton in the playoffs – Busby did in fact require elbow surgery after the season to repair a partially torn ligament.

The operation was performed by renowned Birmingham surgeon Dr. James Andrews, and Busby will have to rehab the arm for 6 to 9 months. He is expected to make a full recovery and be back next season.

In the meantime, he can celebrate what might be the first of several Vicksburg Post Player of the Year awards.

“It’s a real honor to get it,” said Busby, who has never lost a game as a atsrating pitcher on the high school level. “Hopefully there’ll be two more, but there’s no telling what can happen next year. I’m just happy to get it this year.”

After going 7-0 and helping PCA reach the Academy-A finals in 2004, there was a buzz in the air every time Busby pitched this spring. Onlookers marveled at his command and wondered just how fast he was throwing. Scouts pointed dozens of radar guns at him and even opponents marveled at his skill.

What else could they do as they marched back and forth from the batter’s box to the bench?

Busby pitched only 29 innings in his five starts this season, but still struck out 63 batters. He only allowed nine runs all season, and that might have been far less if not for a sometimes-shaky defense. Only two of those runs were earned, giving him a minuscule 0.44 ERA.

In his brief career at PCA, Busby has a 0.55 ERA – he’s only allowed six earned runs in 65 innings – and 138 strikeouts.

“I have to tell myself all the time that this kid is only 15 years old,” Wright said of Busby, who doesn’t turn 16 until August. “When Michael was 7, 8 years old, I think everybody knew what kind of potential he had. He has continued to develop over the years. We’ve known for quite a while that we had something special coming.”

While Busby’s pitching skill commands attention, his hitting and fielding abilities are sometimes lost in the shuffle.

He hit .488 and committed only three errors this season, and has a .471 career average. He seemed to be in a slump late this season, but was still hitting line drives that turned into long drives in the playoffs. In five postseason games, Busby hit three home runs.

“Everybody focuses on his pitching, but he may be a better shortstop and hitter than he is a pitcher,” Wright said. “He’s an absolute phenomenon. He gets it done, period.

“I consider it a blessing to coach a player of his caliber. I look forward to watching him practice and play every day.”

Such praise could easily go to a young man’s head, especially when talk of Busby’s draft status – still at least two years away – often crops up in conversations about him.

But Busby has so far been able to keep a level head. He knows there’s still work to be done before reaping any rewards, and plenty left to prove even to Wright.

“You have to keep your mind on what you’re doing and not let everything going on around you get into your head,” Busby said.

Bouncing back from his recent injury will also stoke Busby’s competitive fire next season. The scars are still fresh, including a long 6-incher that curls around the side of his elbow.

Busby knows the same people who wondered just how good he was before this season will line the fence in 2006 and wonder how good he’ll be again.

“Everybody will be looking to see how I bounce back from my injury,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll come back as strong as I was and nobody will be disappointed.”

2005 All-County Team

Zach Balthrop, IF, Sr., Warren Central

Moose Carney, DH, So., Porters Chapel

Josh Gordon, IF, Jr., Warren Central

Ryan Grey, IF, Sr., Warren Central

Hayden Hales, P, So., Porters Chapel

Jordan Henry, IF, Jr., Vicksburg

Ben Koestler, C, Jr., Warren Central

Chris Mixon, OF, Jr., Porters Chapel

Jordan Muirhead, OF, So., St. Aloysius

Steven Price, OF, Jr., Vicksburg

Blake Tidwell, OF, Jr., St. Aloysius

Parker White, P, Jr., Warren Central