By Thomas Sellers Jr.
BROWNSVILLE — The irony of Wednesday’s finale for a team like the Millington Lady Trojans ready to take flight is that their 2017 season was done in by a Byrd.
After winning their opening round game 12-9 over Haywood May 5 to reach the main bracket of the district tournament held at Haywood County, the Lady Trojans were defeated by the Ripley Lady Tigers May 9 setting up a do-or-die scenario against the Liberty Tech Lady Crusaders.
Liberty sent senior standout Amber Byrd to the rubber to keep its season alive. The Lady Trojans countered with underclassman Kaylee Bone.
Bone matched the highly-recruited Byrd pitch for pitch for seven innings. But Byrd’s raise ball had the Lady Trojans neutralized most of the game with the senior recording three strikeouts in the seventh inning to help Liberty survive 2-1.
“We just didn’t execute at the plate,” Millington Head Coach Whitney Horton said. “We left a lot runners in scoring position. Most of everybody who came up there didn’t execute to get the runs in. That’s about it.”
The Lady Crusaders were ahead 1-0 heading into the fourth inning when Liberty managed to score an unearned run to make the score 2-0. That run would be the difference maker.
In Millington’s half of the fourth frame, Paige Hall drew a walk. After Byrd recorded another strikeout, Lady Trojan catcher Hannah Clifton stepped to the plate.
The sophomore was able to connect with a Byrd offering driving a double to the outfield to score Hall. The score was 2-1.
The Lady Trojans managed one more hit the rest of the game when Clifton hit an infield single in the seventh inning. Her teammate Haleigh Boykin was able to reach base with a two-out walk.
Byrd settled down with the winning runs on base and recorded the final K of the game.
The season of improvement for the Lady Trojans was over. Despite clear signs of improvement and doubling the wins from 2016, Millington endured some low points like upset defeats, injuries and losing senior starting pitcher Jessie Strickland.
“These kids they know how to face some adversity,” Horton noted. “They come in as a team. They’re up with each other. They’re down with each other. We had a lot of ups and downs throughout the season. But I think this program is progressing little by little. They come in and give me hard work and dedication, 110 percent everyday. As a coach that is truly all I can ask for.”
Staying together the Lady Trojans had highlights like beating Collierville and Briarcrest out of league. In reaching double digits victories, the program celebrated senior Marquisha Sanders signing with Christian Brothers University. And Millington earned a home district playoff game beating Haywood 12-9.
With underclassmen like Clifton, Hall, Bone and Olivia Ballard just some of the players contributing to the growth, Horton said the future is promising.
“I got a lot of kids coming back who are going to be able to fill the spots that we’re losing this year,” she said. “I’m looking for big things from TZ, Paige Hall, Keyona Jones, Hannah Clifton and Haleigh Boykin.
“We’ve just got to get our bats going,” the second-year Coach acknowledged. “I know we’re a better hitting team then we’ve shown the last couple of nights. We need to execute the small things, be able to adjust and see the ball at the plate. But also I have a lot of incoming freshmen who are going to be able to help my program out a lot. I’m very excited to see what will come from that.”
Despite a bright future, Horton was in the moment as she left the dugout reflecting on her six seniors Sanders, Ashley Hernandez, Angela Healy, Jessica Trice, Camilla Irizary and Kasey Gallo.
“These seniors mean a lot to this program,” Horton said. “They welcomed me with open arms last year. They did everything I asked them to do. When I told them to run their butts off, they ran their butts off. They never complained even if they were sitting on the bench. They were always up for the players who were out on the field. There’s a lot of leadership that will be missed next season.
“I’m hoping that my younger ones can fulfill that role,” she concluded. “They’ve just brought a team mentality to this program. They showed what we’re capable of being. That sets a high bar for next season to continue to get better. My first year we won 5 games. This year we won 10 games. We’re not going down. We’re going up. You can’t build a program in one, two or three years. You’ve got to keep asking for them to get better each and every year. And that’s what I expect.”
