By Thomas Sellers Jr.
It took more than a year, but Millington Head Baseball Coach Colter Millican finally earned his first victory as the skipper of the Trojans.
Although he coached his first game for the Trojans March 2020, it was the seventh game of his tenure with Millington on March 20, 2021 Millican guided his team to win. The Trojans dominated Germantown 19-2 for win No. 1 of the season and in the head coaching career of Millington.
Monday night, March 22 presented Millican with another chance at a historic personal first. Looking for his first District 15-2A victory, the Haywood Tomcats were not in the giving mood taking the contest 16-6.
The rematch came the following night at Miles Park. The Trojans returned the favor against their league foe winning 4-1 and giving Coach Millican his first home and district win of his career.
“We were lucky tonight to have things right for us on the mound,” Millican said. “They got us last night. Tonight we didn’t walk guys. Same thing I said a couple of weeks ago, we got in there and we filled up the zone. We give ourselves a chance. Last night we walked 12 guys. When you do that it’s very hard. They’re a very good ball club, especially the way they run the bases, you’re going to struggle no matter what.”
Josh Coates limited the Tomcat lineup from the mound only giving up a run in the sixth inning. By that time Millington was ahead 4-0.
In the fourth inning the Trojans jumped ahead with a two-out rally. With the bases loaded, Millington’s Brock Musgrove delivered with a bases cleaning triple.
The Trojans got an insurance run with the next batter Jayden Fiene. Fiene smacked a single to score Musgrove.
“Timely hitting is something we hadn’t been doing,” Milican acknowledged. “It’s going to take a lot more of it for us to make a move in our league.”
Millington improved to 2-5 overall and 1-1 in league play after the Haywood rematch.
“Up and down is the best way to describe our start, a lot of it starts on the mound,” Millican said. “Guys are competing but they’re not competing to the level they need to as far as filling up the zone, throwing strikes, just not walking guys, making competitive pitches. They are competing as far as physically. But they’re not executing the way they need.”
Millican, a Brighton pitching standout, has pitched on multiple levels and knows it has to come from within to challenge the best from the rubber.
“It helps that we have teams in our league who are very competitive,” he concluded. “They’ll just have to get in there and see those guys and learn it themselves. It’s not a way to teach that, you have to go out there and do it. It’s up to them if they’re going to accept that challenge. And I do trust these kids to accept that challenge. They’re pretty hungry and they’re ready to get this whole program rolling.”
