By Gary Lloyd
First-year Hewitt-Trussville head baseball coach Jeff Mauldin has a problem.
It’s a good problem, though.
He has too many pitchers. Mauldin said in years past — when he coached at Clay-Chalkville and then Pelham — he usually had about six pitchers, using three or four as “big-game guys” and two main relief pitchers.
Hewitt-Trussville senior Grayson Jones
photo courtesy of Jo Gatewood
This season at Hewitt-Trussville, he’s used nine pitchers. Eight of them through last week had wins.
In its first 21 games this season, Hewitt-Trussville allowed an average of 2.7 runs per game, including six shutouts. A team has scored five or more runs against the Huskies just five times in those 21 games.
Mauldin said he’s never had a staff this deep. It poses a challenge at times, especially when there are weeks in which only three games are played. A prime example came two weeks ago when Hewitt-Trussville played Carver and then a doubleheader the next day at Tuscaloosa County.
At Tuscaloosa County, senior Grayson Jones and junior Alec Talley each threw complete games, both striking out 11 batters in 4-1 victories. Complete games means no one else gets the ball, and few games each week means long stretches between appearances for some pitchers.
“I think the hard part for me right now as far as handling the pitching is keeping them all engaged and being ready,” Mauldin said.
Hewitt-Trussville senior Matt Gatewood
photo courtesy of Jo Gatewood
Jones, a University of Louisiana-Monroe signee, is the No. 1 guy for Hewitt-Trussville. Mauldin said he probably leads the Birmingham metro area in strikeouts
. Mauldin said pro and college scouts come to watch Jones, which gets other pitchers, like Talley, noticed.
He said the day after Talley’s complete-game win over Tuscaloosa County, three colleges called to ask about him. Talley has the lowest earned run average on Hewitt-Trussville’s team and is second in strikeouts.
“He’s made the most of his opportunity,” Mauldin said.
Senior left-hander Bill Brown, a University of South Alabama signee, has thrown well this season and is really good when he’s consistent, Mauldin said. Senior Matt Gatewood has dealt with some injuries but had a solid outing last week in a 6-0 win over Maclay (Fla.). Gatewood has some college offers and is making up his mind what he wants to do at the next level, Mauldin said.
Before last week’s Florida/Alabama Baseball Challenge, junior sidearm thrower Michael Busby had appeared in eight games as a reliever. The Huskies have also gotten wins from senior Will Pharis, junior Blake Bailey and senior Kane Morrow.
Hewitt-Trussville senior Bill Brown
photo courtesy of Jo Gatewood
Mauldin said he believes all eight will be collegiate pitchers with the exception of Pharis, who will be a first baseman at Huntingdon College in Montgomery.
Mauldin said the team doesn’t really have a closer because he wants all the pitchers to come out of the bullpen at some point. He said he wants them to know what pitching is like as a starter and reliever, since come area tournament and state playoffs, they may not know their roles those particular days.
Hewitt-Trussville hosts Vestavia Hills today, travels to Vestavia Hills Thursday for a 6:30 p.m. game and plays Saturday at Pinson Valley on Saturday against Pleasant Grove and Pinson Valley at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., respectively.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.
