By JIM STEELE
HUNTINGDON - Okay, so McKenzie got beat by Huntingdon Tuesday night 7-4.
To the untrained eye, some might say, "uh oh!" Some may have the uninformed opinion that the Rebels 11-1 victory over those same Mustangs was more anamoly than status quo. They may point to the "Bad News Bears" type of mistakes that plagued MHS Tuesday night as chinks in the Rebels' armor. They would be wrong.
Make no mistake Huntingdon has a fine team worthy of the praise and respect paid to it. But the Rebels suffered a 7-4 loss, didn't play well, yet were still in the ballgame. A break or two here or there and that game might have gone the other way. That should alarm Huntingdon and other contenders in West Tennessee.
You have to admire the heart of senior pitcher Parker Jones, who woke up with a healthy temperature Tuesday morning, yet accepted the ball Tuesday night. He threw 109 pitches and finished what he started. You could sense the Rebels thought losing that game was unacceptable. After the game, many groused about the shoddy play. One might get the strong impression that the Rebels will correct those problems moving forward.
Derek Carr has collected two homers and eight RBI in the last two games. There were big hits up and down the lineup again. It's getting to the point where the bottom half of the Rebel order is as dangerous as the top half. Huntingdon played just a bit cleaner and Mustang pitcher Blake Burke proved that he's tough to beat when he has a lead. He had good control and mixed it up quite well. But he wasn't untouchable.
Monday night was a breathtaking display of hitting, pitching and for the most part, fielding. The Rebels relieved stress on that fault line, ending a six-game slide to Huntingdon. COach Lynn Yarbrough suspected his troops were a bit flat Tuesday, but that's understandable. The Rebels were coming off a big win. Okay, maybe they were a bit flat, but they weren't that flat and played well enough to win the game offensively.
Furthermore, Huntingdon never could relax, even with two out in the top of the seventh. McKenzie is that dangerous. Put in perspective, Huntingdon is pleased with a season split while the Rebels are disappointed. If a tiebreaker for the District 13A top seed is determined by runs scored against each other, that bodes well for McKenzie. In two games, the Rebels have outscored the Mustangs 15-8.
This team has turned it around. Nobody likes losing, but as MHS principal Terry Howell said after Tuesday's game: "Sometimes you can learn from a loss." The Rebels have learned what they are made of. And it's not like Huntingdon has a poorly-coached substandard team. Mustang coach Alan Eubanks knows his stuff and his teams are always going to be prepared. Let's face it, Tuesday was Huntingdon's night. It's time to move on. The Rebels will get another shot at the Mustangs, rest assured. McKenzie has a track record of playing hot and cold in Huntingdon. Don't attach too much weight on this loss.
The Rebels should be recharged Wednesday night when they face Chris Wall's Central Tigers. Wall, a 2002 McKenzie alum, will make his first visit to the park where he had great moments as a prep star, this time in a different uniform. You know he'll have his troops ready. But the Rebels also have incentive. The Tigers beat the Rebels on their own turf a year ago.
McKenzie has picked it up. They are rolling inspite of the loss. I won't call Huntingdon's victory a fluke Tuesday night. That would be foolish. But I will say I'm inclined to believe that Monday's 10-run win was more the norm. McKenzie deserves a place at the top of the West Tennessee baseball totem pole. It's safe to say that most everybody in Class A is looking up at the top of District 13A these days.