May responds for Eagles as a hitter and on mound

Baseball is quite the funny sport at times as it can be filled with ups and downs.

It’s important for players not to dwell on either the good or the bad in their seasons or things begin to unravel and can snowball. Eupora’s Brett May took that to heart after dropping into a 1-for-10 slump over a three-game stretch against Bruce, Winona and Starkville Academy.

Staying the course led to a huge week for May both on the mound and at the plate as he helped his team to two wins over Winona and Noxapater with a 6-for-6 swing knocking in five RBI, hitting two home runs and driving a double.

To top it off, May pitched a complete-game gem against Winona for another district win. His work over the last several days made him the OCH Athlete of the Week.

“You have to keep your head up and forget about what happened earlier,” May said. “I know what I can do, but I just wasn’t doing it, so I stayed focused, kept fighting and good things happened.”

After going 0-for-3 at the plate against Starkville Academy last Thursday, May responded just a day later. In a 5-0 victory over Winona, the senior went 3-for-3 with two RBI, a home run and a walk. He started the game on the mound and threw seven scoreless innings allowing just three hits and striking out a season-high 13 batters.

“I always do well against Winona for some reason,” May said. “I was feeling it from the beginning of the game and had the off speed pitches working. It just went really well for me all game.”

If that wasn’t enough to get him the Athlete of the Week honor, May made sure to keep the fire burning. Against Noxapater on Monday night, May led his team to a 17-4 win with another 3-for-3 evening knocking in three runs, hitting another home run and a double and walking twice.

For the season, May is hitting .333 with 20 hits, 17 RBI, six doubles and three home runs. He’s been the Eagles second-best pitcher behind cousin Tanner Knight and has thrown 34.2 innings with a 4.24 ERA and 41 strikeouts.

Playing at a high level has May and the Eagles feeling good about things moving forward. He mentioned that his performance over the past couple of games can only help as

they build towards the playoffs, but he’ll be mindful not to get too high on his recent success.

“Everybody is confident in Tanner and I right now that we can go out and get done what we need to get done,” May said. “We’re all coming together as a team right now and becoming more like a brotherhood which is a good thing to have.”