By Thomas Sellers Jr.
As the clock approached 11 p.m., Munford Cougars Head Coach Scotty Yount was relishing in the joy of celebrating graduation day with his seniors.
Yount knew he would have at least two more games with his 12th graders after surviving the 2022 Class 3A Sectional Baseball game over the rival Millington Trojans 3-2. In contrast, in the opposing USA Stadium dugout, Trojans Head Coach Colter Millican was taking a moment with each one of his seniors to say goodbye.
“It wasn’t me it was them,” Millican said of turning the program around. “These 12 seniors have balled out and yes I saw that winning culture. Everybody here tonight saw it.”
Despite being the Region 8-3A champions, the Trojans were underdogs to the Region 7-3A runner-up Cougars. Facing tough odds, Millican said the mission was simple for his team entering the Sub-State game.
“Put your name on the map and give it all you’ve got,” he acknowledged. “Give it all you’ve got and we did that.”
Yount, who guided his Cougars to State back in 2017, knew his area rival Millington would be prepared to take the 2022 State spot slotted for the winner.
“First of all congratulations to Coach Millican and his team — unbelievable,” he said. “I told my guys they were going to be ready. Don’t take it for granted. And they didn’t, I’m proud of my guys because they played hard too. My hats are off to them.”
Millington proved Yount’s hunch correct by taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Trojan Matthew Johnson smacked a double with one out. Two batters later, Andrew Van drove Johnson home with a single.
“How did we survive,” Yount asked rhetorically. “We played our game. We bang it around a little bit. We had some strikeouts. We live with that. They made the plays. We had some other awareness things. How to win awareness and that sort of came into play tonight. That’s what got us the win.”
The Cougars tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the second inning employing a double steal. Owen Boswell crossed home plate reaching base on a single.
The starters Josh Laszacs of Millington and Owen Geiger of Munford matched each other pitch for pitch most of the contest. Munford finally took the lead in the fifth inning when Chase Spears put a ball into play to drive home Noah Lowry.
The Cougars 2-1 lead didn’t last too long.
“We did make a couple of mistakes in there that allowed them to come back and tie the game up late,” Yount recalled. “We didn’t come up to get the ball. We were just trying to make sure right there.”
Trojan Alex Jennings singled to score his teammate Brock Musgrove to deadlock the game at 2-2 after six innings.
“Then we had a freshman come up and make a big base hit right and get on in the top of the seventh,” Yount noted. “He made some things happen on the bases to score the winning run. I’m just tickled to death, this is the second time in six years, going back. As deep as we are on the mound I really think we have a chance to win it.”
Brodie Fortner singled to start the seventh frame for Munford. Then a passed ball allowed Fortner to cross the plate with the eventual winning run.
Yount said all the extra time working “the system” gave his catcher Phillips moments to shine, throwing out Trojan base runners. Working on the basics saved the Cougars in multiple shaky situations.
“It all paid off tonight,” he said. “They wonder why in practice it, why we run all that stuff over and over again. They found out tonight.”
Now the Cougars seniors have officially graduated from Munford High School but have some unfinished business as representatives of the school in Murfreesboro. Yount noted the pitching of Geiger, Garrett McKinney, Chase Spears, Trey Elliot, Gavin Boyles, Owen Boswell and Tyler Smith have the Cougars set up for a run.
“We have a chance,” he concluded. “I think we have a chance to go win it — I really do. What happens? You can go out and play great and get beat. You can go out and play bad and still win. What you’ve got to have is arms and be able to go deep into that tournament with arms.”
The arms of Laszacs and Jennings gave Millington a chance to make the school’s first appearance at State in baseball. But the Trojans were one pitch away from reaching their ultimate goal.
“My biggest takeaway from tonight is being sad,” Millican concluded. “I’m going to miss 12 dudes I really care about. Just to see it all come together for just one performance and just about had it, I’ll remember that forever. That’s a testament to those guys.”
