Ring-chasin’ the motivation for Gordon Lee baseball
The past decade has been one of tremendous success for the Gordon Lee Trojans baseball program, but the last five years have been especially noteworthy.
The past five seasons have seen the Navyand-White win 125 games against just 38 losses, including a 5911 mark against region competition with a pair of region titles (6-AA in 2016, 6-A in 2017). Gordon Lee went to the Elite Eight in Class AA in 2015 and finished as the Class A Public School state runners-up in 2013 and 2014 before making the finals again last spring.
But it’s that last piece of unfinished business that Gordon Lee head coach Mike Dunfee is hoping to rectify in 2018.
“Do I want to get a (state championship) ring? Yes, of course,” said Dunfee, whose team finished with a 27-8 overall mark in 2017. “But more than that, I want these kids to get rings. I enjoy just being at here at practice with them and the games are fun. I like seeing each group grow from beginning to end. I just love the game and I want to see these kids get rings because of all the hard work they have put in.
“It’s definitely easy be motivated to come back try and to win one.”
There are a handful of key players from last year who will have to be replaced, but Dunfee will return quite a bit of experience as his team looks to make noise in the postseason once more.
Like all good machines, the Trojans will start with a solid battery.
Gordon Lee will have 2017 Walker County Player of the Year Dylan Minghini, a Lafayette (Pa.) University signee, behind the dish and 2017 All-State first team pitcher Austin Thompson on the mound.
Minghini hit .385 overall a year ago with 12 doubles, three homers and 39 RBI, while throwing out 30 percent of wouldbe base stealers. Meanwhile, Thompson emerged as one of the best pitchers in the entire classification as he went 12-1 with 2.36 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 60.1 innings pitched. He also handled the bat, hitting .313 with two doubles, a triple, a
homer and 19 RBIs.
Thompson is coming off an injury from football season, but is rounding back into form.
The other three seniors will also be keys cogs in the machine. Caleb Hopkins (.341, 2 HR, 20 RBIs as a junior), a Hiwassee College signee, will bat in the middle of the order and play first base, in
addition to seeing an increased workload on the mound. Mason Pettigrew also be back in the outfield and will see time on the hill, while infielder McCain Barbie will likely start out the year at second base and could also pitch some innings.
Among the juniors, Hunter Hudson will slide into the vacant shortstop position and will bat near the top of the order. Chris Potter, a natural catcher, will see a good deal of time at third base
in order to get his bat into the lineup. Logan Streetman will pitch, while Justin Wooden, Braxton Ledford and Haven Howard will all see time in the outfield. Howard will also get some innings on the mound.
Sophomores Jake Wright and Will Sizemore will add depth to the pitching rotation and will both see action in the field. Weston Beagles will man a middle infield spot and could be a designated hitter, while Austin
Crowley will also play in the field.
Among the freshman looking to make an impact on the team are Jake Poindexter, Cade Peterson, Brody Cobb, Griffin Collins and Cody Thomas. Off the 30 players currently in the Trojans’ program, 15 are freshmen.
“These guys have really picked it up in the last couple of weeks of practice,” Dunfee said. “All of them have taken some big steps and that’s a credit to our coaching
staff. We figured out that we just needed to slow down and let the upperclassman lead them.”
While the Trojans would love to add another region championship - and pick up the automatic state playoff berth that comes with it - they also know that with the GHSA power rankings for Class 1A, every game will count.
They also know that due to their recent run of success, they will have a bull’s-eye
on their backs every time they take the field, no matter who the opponent is.
“We know we’ll have the target, so these guys better be ready to play every day,” Dunfee added. “Even the first game of the year matters, so we just have to keep working, keep coming together and keep getting better every day.
“If you’re going to be successful, that’s what you have to do.”