Baseball standouts shine at Trustmark

Published 12:00 am Sunday, June 7, 2009

PEARL — Saturday’s Crossroads Diamond Club All-Star baseball game at Trustmark Park was good for a lot of reasons.

It made teammates out of former enemies and allowed some players to don their high school uniforms for the final time. It also allowed college scouts to get a look at some of the top talent in the state.

And it allowed a trio of Warren County baseball players to return to the place where state championships are won.

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St. Aloysius catcher Sean Weaver, who won a Class 1A state title just a few weeks ago at Trustmark, played in the Class 1A/2A/3A game and went 0-for-3 for the South squad. The North won 6-4.

Amory’s Kyle Montet won North MVP honors by going 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Taylorsville’s Billy Hamilton was the South MVP.

Vicksburg second baseman Blake Hynum and shortstop Bowen Woodson, who lost to East Central in the 2008 Class 4A state title series, played in the Class 4A/5A game and had a base hit apiece for the North squad, which lost 9-4.

In the 4A/5A game, the South All-Stars jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first and never looked back, adding four runs in the fourth inning to salt the contest away.

“It was fun,” Woodson said. “Getting to hang out with all the guys, really getting to know everybody that we’ve played against — that have been our enemies — it’s great to get to know them.”

Picayune’s Jared Bales went 2-for-2 with a double and four RBIs to earn South MVP honors, while West Lauderdale’s Darren Farmer went 2-for-3 to take North MVP honors.

Despite the loss, the lure of playing in Trustmark and getting to play on an all-star team still made for a great day of baseball.

The Vicksburg pair checked in for the sixth inning, with Woodson going to shortstop and Hynum going to center field.

In the bottom of the frame, with Hynum batting in the nine hole, he poked a chopper up the middle for a base hit.

Woodson, who was hitting leadoff, got the call for a hit and run but was unable to make contact and Hynum was tagged out easily at second.

Woodson later lanced a single up the middle for his hit and returned to the dugout at the end of the inning for a little ribbing from his VHS teammate.

“It was pretty cool, except for his first at-bat,” Hynum said, laughing. “We had a hit and run and he didn’t do his job.”

All three will be playing baseball at the next level. Weaver and Hynum will be teammates at Hinds Community College, while Woodson will be heading to Tulane.

Woodson will be playing for summer ball team in Jackson, the 96ers, working out and trying to bulk up for a spot in the Green Wave infield.

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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com