The Parklane Pioneers were a series away from bringing home a state baseball title in 2011.
Jackson Academy doused those dreams beating the Pioneers two straight games to win the MAIS State Championship.
For five Pioneer seniors, Bradley Wall, Zach Smith, Landon Mabile, Shane McKinley and Hunter Aultman, finishing and winning the state title in 2012 is definitely on their minds.
Although the five have not played together through high school, they all agree that this year’s squad has jelled nicely.
“With this being my last year, I want very badly to win a state title,” Smith said. “We came close last year but we all want to win it all this season.”
“This year our team is a little closer and we are really starting to play a lot better together, Aultman said. “We have some really good talent on this team and we can rely on each other. We also have a lot of depth, and that has helped get us to where we are.”
No. 4 Parklane took a giant step in the direction of making its dream come true by sweeping No. 1 Jackson Prep last week.
“This week has been an emotional, exhausting and physical week,” said Parklane coach Michael Clements last week. “Jackson Prep has always been a rival with Parklane. Just getting prepared to a series like that was stressful. But the guys played very well and got the job done.”
Parklane swept the Patriots by scores of 10-2, 8-3 and 10-6 to improve to 14-5 overall, 9-0 in conference action.
“It felt great to beat Prep last week,” Wall said. “It is something that all the Parklane fans dream about and have been trying to do since I’ve been in the 7th grade. To sweep them gives us a lot of confidence heading into the rest of the season.”
“When we played Centreville at the beginning of the season, we weren’t clicking as we are now,” Mabile said. “Those losses to them have helped us to overcome and made us stronger.”
The 19-year-old Mabile recently signed a scholarship to play baseball at Southwest Mississippi Community College. McKinley signed with Co-Lin.
Smith pitches and plays left field.
“I have always wanted to play baseball somewhere after high school and Southwest has given me that opportunity,” Smith said.
“Zach provides a huge push for us offensively,” said Clements. “He is the drive behind the offense. He knew what his role was this season and he’s run with it. He does a great job at driving in runs and executing his role.”
Offensively, Smith hits .477 with 31 hits and 24 RBI.
Pitching, Smith has a 2.14 ERA. He has allowed 16 hits, 6 earned runs and fanned 20.
McKinley transferred from Northshore High School in Slidell, La.
“Shane came to us last summer from Northshore, a school that always prides itself on a winning tradition,” Clements said. “He is a hard-nosed player that provides a lift to our pitching staff.”
“When I got to Parklane, the guys took me in as one of their own. I feel right at home here,” McKinley said. “I left a winning program in Slidell and stepped into another one at Parklane.”
McKinley said his best pitches are a fast ball and slider. He has a 1.66 ERA with 63 strikeouts. He has allowed 9 earned runs and 22 hits.
“As a pitcher, you always want to be able to produce strikes and provide everything to help your team to be successful,” McKinley said.
McKinley is hitting .317 with 20 hits and 21 RBIs.
“Playing at the next level is a dream that every kid growing up has, and I am excited about the opportunity,” McKinley said.
Wall returns to the team after not playing since he was a freshman. He is the starting second baseman and pitches.
Wall said his best pitch is his two-seam fastball because it has a lot of tailoff at the end.
“He is a very hard worker,” Clements said. “That is just one of the reasons that got him back on the team. He was a bit rusty at first, but after seeing his great attitude, hard work and desire for the game, I knew he needed and deserved to be on the team.”
Wall hopes to attend SMCC in the fall and then attend Mississippi State and study forestry or agriculture.
Mabile and Aultman attended McComb High School their freshman and sophomore years .
Mabile also plays second base and pitches, while Aultman is the starting center fielder and also plays third.
Aultman played on Parklane’s 2011 South State championship team.
Aultman plans to attend USM and major in physical therapy or sports medicine.
Mabile plans to attend either Southwest or MSU and study mechanical engineering.
Mabile hits .361 with 22 hits and 9 RBIs. Aultman hits .233 with 14 hits and has 4 RBIs.
The seniors said they appreciate the fans, especially those in the Left Field Lounge.
“We have the best fans in the world and the best coach,” said Smith. “He lets us know when we need to do better, but never hollers at us. He knows how good we can be.”
Parklane begins a three-game series with Hillcrest on Tuesday. Parklane hosts Hillcrest for a single game on Tuesday starting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday’s twinbill in Jackson begins at 6:30 p.m.
“We are going to get some rest this weekend and be ready for next week,” Clements said. “Last week against Prep took a lot out of the kids. They need some rest.”
“Baseball is in my blood and I bleed red, white and blue,” Smith said. “We want to finish the season with a state title.”
“We are just clicking right now,” Mabile said. “We are doing all the little things right, but are never satisfied with where we are. We have set our goal to finish what we didn’t finish last season and bring a state title home for the Pioneer fans.”
