Three hats, one mantra: Hard work.
Even though Sam Taylor (Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College), Josh Stillman (Northeast Mississippi C.C.), and Payton Lane (Mississippi Delta C.C.) donned different caps Thursday that signified the next steps in their baseball careers, the New Hope High School standouts acknowledged they shared a bond that helped them realize their opportunities. That hard work has been on display the past two years as part of New Hope High’s back-to-back Class 5A state championships. All three don’t plan on changing anything this season and later this year when they realize their opportunities to play college baseball.
“I definitely know if I didn’t work hard, my size and my ability wouldn’t have just taken me to the next level,” said Taylor, who signed his paperwork to go to Mississippi Gulf Coast in Perkinston after committing to the school in October. “It definitely was hard work. It sounds cliche, but hard work definitely will pay off in the classroom and on the field. You get what you put into it.”
Taylor, who is 5-foot-9, 140 pounds, knows his size never was going to catch the eye of college coaches. He overcame that by hustling on and off the field, by playing a role and being a good teammate, and by working hard to get better so he was ready when he received his chance to play.
Last season, Taylor, the team’s second baseman, appeared in 26 games and scored 23 runs. He tied for second on the team with nine stolen bases. He also was a kicker on the school’s football team.
New Hope High baseball coach Lee Boyd said Taylor, Stillman, and Lane have done a lot more than the team does every day during the school year. He said other players might have overshadowed those three players the past few years, but he is confident they will excel this season when they have a chance to shine in their senior seasons.
“Josh can throw four pitches for a strike at any point in the count,” Boyd said. “I think that was really attractive about Josh for Northeast.
“As a sophomore, we really didn’t expect Payton to play at all. I thought maybe he would get a pinch-hit opportunity here or there, but we put him in batting practice and he was hitting the ball really well. I think he got a chance in the second week of the season and he has hit from that point until now. We have been really blessed with him.
“Last year, Sam pushed for time and some at-bats and we tried to put him in the outfield at time or two. Sam is a very smooth infielder. He always has been very good defensively. He is small, but he doesn’t use that as an excuse. The thing that I think attracts people to Sam is he is going to play hard.”
Stillman gave a verbal commitment to Northeast Mississippi, which is coached by Kent Farris, a former coach at Caledonia, Columbus, and New Hope high schools, in September. Last season, Stillman shared The Dispatch’s All-Area Baseball Player of Year Honors with future teammate and former Columbus Falcon Trace Lee. Stillman was 8-0 with a 0.92 ERA. He hit .337 with 31 RBIs while playing the infield and pitching.
Stillman was the winning pitcher in New Hope’s state championship-clinching victory against West Jones. In the 11-0, five-inning game, Stillman needed only 44 pitches and allowed one hit.
“As a team, we all worked hard,” Stillman said, “but you can tell the guys who put it the extra effort. Last year, our whole team put in the extra effort and it paid off.”
Stillman acknowledges some people might consider last season as a “breakout year” for him. He said he isn’t going to enter his senior year with a mind-set that he has to eclipse his statistics from the 2014 season because he knows that won’t allow him to be at his best. He said he is eager to move into a role where a little more might be expected from him. Instead, he said he is going to continue to throw strikes and keep hitters off balance with a variety of pitches.
“The biggest thing is throwing strikes,” Stillman said. “I have always been able to do that pretty well. Hopefully, I will continue to do that.”
Lane said he wasn’t sure how long the coaches from Mississippi Delta C.C. recruited him. He feels his performance the past two years at New Hope High and his efforts on the Golden Spikes and the Mississippi Braves travel ball teams helped prove to coaches he could play at the next level.
As a sophomore, Lane hit .333, had 31 hits, eight doubles, one triple, one home run, and 26 RBIs. Last season, Lane hit .357 and had 41 hits, 10 doubles, and 28 RBIs. He also was 4-0 with a 2.10 ERA in 23 1/3 innings. In addition to his time on the mound, Lane, who also played on the school’s football team, is versatile enough to play in the infield and in the outfield.
“I think my versatility helped me a lot because when (the Mississippi Delta coaches) were talking to me they said they saw me play first base,” said Lane, who has been playing baseball since he was 5 years old. “They said they see me playing first base and third base and right field and in left field. They also said they see me pitching.
“They also said they saw the want-to in how I play. They said they think I can do really well at any of those positions, which is going to help in trying to earn playing time when I get there.”
The signings give New Hope four players from the Class of 2015 who will play college baseball. First baseman Wells Davis will play at South Alabama.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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