 Submitted Photo The 2009 Starkville Stealers won the USSSA state baseball tournament June 21 in Canton. Team members are, front from left, Jonathan Gwatney, Payson Roberts, Drake Gordman, Justin Conner and Jamison Stennis. Back, from left, Colt Chrestman, Houston Clark, Carter Wood, Justin Kimbrough and Rashon Tate. From Staff Reports
The Starkville Stealers hit a hot streak as their travel ball season began to wind down in June, which meant trouble for the rest of the teams in the USSSA state tournament field.
The 11-year-old Stealers, on the strength of late-season tournament wins at Chesterville and Jackson, ran through the state tournament field on their way to the title June 21 in Canton. The four-day tournament culminated with an undefeated record, which resulted in a 12-6 championship game win over the North Mississippi Redbirds.
The Stealers (24-6, 24-2), mostly comprised of Starkville players, participated in tournaments in Columbus, Starkville, Jackson and New Albany this year following preseason training in February.
“When we started in February our goal was to compete for a state title,” Stealers head coach Aaron Conner said. “They worked real hard and got hot at the end of the year. We were already playing pretty good ball heading into the state tournament.”
Good ball was an understatement for Conner’s squad, which gave up a combined three runs in its first three games. The Stealers beat Corinth Advantage A’s 6-0 before edging the Gulf Coast Stingrays 3-2.
Jonathan Gwatney led the Stealers at the plate and on the mound in Game 1, going 3-for-3 offensively and turning in six innings on the mound. Houston Clark, Carter Wood and Justin Conner each recorded singles in the shutout win.
Drake Gordman led the Stealers in Game 2, turning in a 2-for-3 performance at the plate. Rashon Tate and Justin Conner shared the pitching duties, as the former went four innings and the latter turned in two innings.
However, once the third round hit, that’s when the Stealers’ offense began to light up the scoreboard.
The Madison Blaze were on the wrong end of the Stealers’ 13-1 win, the first of three-straight double-digit wins to end the tournament.
Gwatney and Clark each went 2-for-3 in the game, while Clark and Jamison Stennis each tossed two innings. Clark registered a home run in the win.
In their biggest offensive performance of the state tournament, the Stealers, in their first meeting against the North Mississippi Redbirds, cracked the double-digit barrier in a 15-6 win.
Gwatney was 2-for-4, while Stennis was 2-for-4 with a home run. Players registering singles were Payson Roberts, Colt Chrestman, Justin Kimbrough, Tate, Wood and Justin Conner. Clark turned in two innings on the mound.
That win sent the Stealers to the championship game, but knocked the Redbirds to the loser’s bracket, where they eventually clawed their way through to reach the championship game.
For Aaron Conner’s squad, the chance to enter the championship game with fresher legs was put at a premium upon entering the first round.
“It was big for us because we were only playing one game a day,” Conner said. “If you get sent to the loser’s bracket, you might end up playing two or three games a day. It was a priority for us not to end up going that route.”
Fresh legs, and an explosive offense carried the Stealers to a 12-6 win over the Redbirds, clinching the title with six players who won the 10-year-old Dizzy Dean title last year.
Gordman led the Stealers with a home run and was 2-for-4 at the pate. Gwatney was also 2-for-4, while Stennis rang up a homer. Wood, Roberts, Tate and Kimbrough all registered singles, and Conner and Tate shared the pitching duties.
For all the offense the Stealers produced, their head coach was more impressed, and pleased, with the team’s defense. According to Conner, it’s an area that was stressed from Day 1.
“We are real strong up the middle with Drake at second, Colt in centerfield and Payson at shortstop,” he said. “That’s how you build a team, and for us, we got good play up the middle. We are better defensively than most teams, and it’s something we spend a lot time on in practice.”
Gwatney, who registered multi-hit games in four of the Stealers’ five state tourney games, drew praise from his coach after going through a late-season slump.
“Just a couple of weeks before state Jonathan struggled a little bit, but boy, did he have an awesome tournament,” Conner said. “He really got hot and swung the bat well. He’s got a bright future.”
Louisville native Roberts, a 10-year-old, played up this season for the Stealers.
Starkville natives for the Stealers are infielders Gordman, Conner, Stennis and Clark, and outfielders Chrestman, Wood and Tate.
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