The Cougars had their season come to an end after dropping two of three to Wayne Academy last week, and head coach Eric Johnson characterized his first season with Columbia Academy (17-13, 4-5) in one word: disappointment.
“At the end we had a lot of guys try to separate from the team that we have to work on getting back together. I felt like we had some guys that didn’t perform to what they are capable of doing, and it really let them slow down at the end. The main word is just disappointment,” he said. “We had a chance this week, and I felt like there were plays that could have been made and the extra effort to get in playoff baseball we didn’t make.”
Johnson added that following the Bowling Green series, which CA was swept in, there were some players that didn’t buy in to competing anymore. However, the season wasn’t a lost cause as the Cougars still finished with a winning record and compiled playoff-worthy stats across the board, according to Johnson.
“Overall, that’s a plus. The players are just going to have to learn to buy in to what we’re doing and trust what we’re doing,” he said. “We need to learn how to compete.”
Johnson expects there to be improvement all around next season, but he said it’s going to take some leaders stepping up to get the Cougars rolling in the right direction. Columbia Academy is losing perhaps its best leader in senior center fielder Drew Havard, who played a big role on the championship team in 2017 and has been a two-year starter.
“Drew Havard has been the ultimate baseball player. As a coach, as a father, he’s a kid you want around you every day,” Johnson said. “That’s the kind of kid you hate to lose in a program because he has everything as a coach in my 17 years you could ask for.”
Havard is the only graduate, though, and Johnson said he expects first baseman Colby Thompson to be the leader of the team.
“Colby Thompson has been the MVP of the team this year. This is a kid that hit .220 last year, and he hit over .320 this year,” he said. “His ceiling is going to be unbelievable.”
But Thompson’s team-first attitude can’t change the culture alone, and Johnson says there a lot of players who have some growing up to do.
“They have to be able to set some things aside, have to be more into team baseball and not focus on the outside stuff that’s going on,” he said.
Johnson added Holden Sandifer has a lot of upside, and Tate Duncan will remain the glue that keeps everything together. He also praised Patrick Gill’s leadership and ability to call a game behind the plate and Robert Johnson’s development and character. He compared Robert Johnson to Havard, saying he’s a hard-working kid that will do anything for the team.
There are some reinforcements on the way in the form of three transfers who Johnson says will be difference makers that will don the orange and blue next season.
“One of them is a big-time recruit and big-time arm. Another one is an all-around great athlete who is a middle infielder, which is what we’re lacking. Then we have a kid from the Jackson area who is starting now at a 6A school and has some great numbers this year,” he said.
Johnson said he expects the state champion to come out of CA’s district next season, with the Cougars improving and Bowling Green and Wayne remaining strong. The Cougars will have to be more mentally prepared, though, according to Johnson.
“We weren’t as baseball knowledgeable this year as we should have been,” he said. “We have to go back to some one-on-one baseball and understand the little, small things I thought we were past in varsity baseball. We could be sitting here in the playoffs with a play here or there, but we’re not.”
The Cougars went into last week needing to sweep Wayne or win two out of three while receiving outside help to clinch a playoff berth. Their chances took an immediate hit in Game 1 as a nine-run fourth inning led Wayne to a 12-8 home victory April 9. Thompson ripped his first career home run to lead the CA offense, while Slade Wilks took the loss on the mound, allowing 10 runs (three earned) while striking out six in 3 1/3 innings.
A monster fifth inning allowed CA to keep its slim hopes alive in the first game of a doubleheader April 11 as the Cougars topped Wayne 10-9. Duncan tied it at 6-6 with a two-run single through the right side of the infield before Wilks gave the Cougars the lead with a sacrifice fly. Then Ras Pace connected for his fifth big fly of the season, a three-run shot to right center, to make it 10-6. Pace allowed three runs in the final two innings but got a strikeout to end the game. Riles Stuart got the win for five innings of work and allowed five earned runs and had 6 K’s.
CA came out swinging to start Game 3 as Wilks scored Havard with a double off the wall and Thompson plated Wilks with an opposite-field single, but that was the only offense the Cougars could muster in a 3-2 loss that ended their postseason hopes. Duncan took the loss despite allowing just one earned run and striking out eight in six innings, with two errors accounting for two unearned runs.
The Cougars concluded their season Saturday at West Marion in a 9-4 loss even though they connected for three home runs — all solo shots. Wilks crushed two dingers to bring his season total to 12, which was tied for tops in the country as of deadline Tuesday, and Stuart lifted his second of the year. Wilks took the loss on the mound in three innings of work, allowing four unearned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out five. Kyle Herring allowed five runs in three innings in relief.
Pictured Above: Columbia Academy first baseman Colby Thompson flips the ball to first for an out against Wayne Academy April 11. | Photo by Joshua Campbell
