HAMILTON — Once you”ve won it all, second place is hard to accept.
Hamilton High School baseball coach Lewis Earnest has won three state titles in the 17 years he”s coached the Lions. But there”s something about the other eight times he”s left Jackson as a runner up that almost makes him forget how dominant his program has been.
“We hadn”t won it since 2001, so yeah, it”s disheartening,” Earnest said. “I feel like I”ve had teams that should have won it. This year”s team had just as good of a shot of winning it.”
The 2011 Commercial Dispatch Small Schools Coach of the Year guided the Lions (16-9) to the Class 2A North State title game this season, where they were swept by Mantachie.
Though the Lions fell short of another trip to the 2A title series, Earnest feels this year”s team ranks in the top 5 of the 17 teams he”s coach at Hamilton.
The Lions had senior pitcher and University of Mississippi signee Chase Reeves and senior catcher Parker Rye. Then, there were two seniors, Austin Earnest and Graham Pritchett, manning the left side of the infield.
As a team, the Lions hit over .360.
To Earnest, he had all the pieces needed to win a title.
“Talent-wise, this team ranks up there with ”97, ”99 and ”01,” he said. “Honestly, I think the difference was me. With those past teams, I was much tougher and we had more discipline. There was little things I didn”t let slide. It might be my age, I don”t know.”
Earnest takes the blame for the team falling short this season, and he points to the North State title game as proof his methods might need to change for the Lions to win another title. Against Mantachie, the Lions made three errors in each game, which ended in 9-7 and 6-1 defeats.
“What really made it tough is that up and down the order, we were better offensively than most teams I”ve had,” Earnest said. “We just didn”t get it done at the right time. Those errors came at costly times when one or two runners were on base. We pitched well enough to win but didn”t play the defense that got us there.”
Earnest”s star player, Reeves, is one of a handful of seniors to get to Jackson and leave empty-handed. His assessment of Hamilton”s performance at North State is just as critical as that of his coach.
“Honestly, I think we underachieved,” Reeves said. “The type of season we had, we picked the worst time to have our worst games. That first loss to Mantachie was rock bottom, but we just didn”t get it done that second game.”
The comfort for Earnest is the standard of success he”s created at Hamilton, which is a perennial playoff contender and a threat to make it to Jackson each year.
“We had to settle for the same old thing, but then again there are a lot of other teams sitting at home,” Earnest.
The standard set in the late 90s and early 2000s has drawn praise from area coaches, especially coaches at programs that have had similar success.
“Coach Earnest”s teams are always talented and prepared to play,” East Webster coach Wes Johnson said. “I have a lot of respect for what he”s done there. It”s not easy to have that kind of success year in and year out.”
Sustained success also makes Earnest”s job easier, as his players are keenly aware of the tradition and know they”ve got to work hard to get on the field.
“I don”t have to motivate them,” Earnest said. “These kids don”t want to be the first ones to not make it or miss out on the playoffs. I”m proud of what we”ve done, but it”s never gonna be enough unless you win it all. You can”t help but feel that way once you”ve been there.”
At the beginning of the season, Earnest was concerned his team would struggle to make it to the postseason after going 0-3-1 in a preseason jamboree.
The Lions rebounded and beat Saltillo, Amory and New Hope early in the season and got on a roll, but Earnest still wasn”t sure he had a team that could contend for a title.
“It was right after spring holidays when went up to ICC”s tournament,” Earnest said. “The first game we played Shannon shelled us 16-6. We had to go up there two days later to play Amory, and after the way we played the first day I didn”t want to go back. We turned around and run-ruled Amory and beat New Hope 3-2. It spoke a lot about the character of our team and them stepping up. I knew we”d have a good year from that point.”
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