WESSON – Senior catcher Aaron Oberschmidt and senior shortstopCayce Wallace were honored as Most Valuable Players on the 2001Brookhaven High School baseball team during Tuesday night’s awardsbanquet. The function was attended by 115 supporters of the programand it was held at the Anderson Building on the Copiah-LincolnCommunity College campus.

In making the MVP presentation, BHS head coach Randy Spring saidWallace and Oberschmidt were instrumental in leading the Panthersto an 18-9 record and a runners-up finish in the Division 6-4Arace. They advanced to the state playoffs and were eliminated byOak Grove, the South State finalist.

Wallace batted .366, with 6 triples and made only 6 errors theentire season, finishing with a .940 fielding percentage.Oberschmidt batted .361 and had a .980 fielding percentage.

Senior second baseman Daniel Boyd was named Best OffensivePlayer. He finished with a .427 batting average and had 29RBIs.

Wallace was recognized as Best Defensive Player. Oberschmidt andsenior centerfielder Fred Perkins were named Permanent TeamCaptains.

Junior James McCall was named Best Pitcher. He had a 2.48 ERAand walked only 8 batters in 48 innings.

Senior pitcher Miguel Banks was named Mr. Hustle. He had a 4-4record and a .380 batting average. “Miguel pitched some of ourtoughest games,” said Spring. “He could have easily been 6-2 or7-1.”

Junior catcher/designated hitter Kern Hoff received the PantherAward. Hoff made a strong comeback from knee surgery last fall.

Sophomore Justin Sykes was named Most Improved Player. Hecompiled a 4-1 record as a pitcher and batted .346. He also playedthird base.

Spring praised his six seniors for their accomplishments. “Theyhelped Brookhaven win 83 games and make four (state) playoffappearances.”

The Panthers finished 11-4 in the division race. Seven of theirlosses were to teams ranked in the Top Ten.

Banks, Boyd, Wallace and Oberschmidt were named to theAll-Division 6-4A First team. Sykes, Perkins, McCall and juniorfirst baseman Ben Goza received honorable mention.

Perkins has been selected to play in this summer’s Class 4A-5AAll-Star Baseball Game June 9, at Pete Taylor Park, on theUniversity of Southern Mississippi campus.

Spring opened his Bible, spoke on the challenges of life andquoted scripture from Philippians 3:12-14. “There are fourpoints I want you to remember. Paul (the apostle) realized he wasnot good enough. You must set goals. You must forget the past andreach forward.”

Spring recognized volunteer assistant coach DewayneOberschmidt and first-year assistant Jeremy Albritton for theircontributions to the team’s success. He also thanked his wife, Amy,and the assistant coaches’ wives for their support during theseason.

Mrs. Spring recognized the batgirls for their efforts andCoach Spring honored the team statisticians.

Diamond Club president Kenny Goza thanked the coaches,players and parents for their support. Greg Hoff is vice presidentand Connie Boyd is secretary/treasurer. The Hoffs were instrumentalin preparing a steak dinner for the banquet.

Andrew Hickman, Brookhaven’s new athletic director and headfootball coach, praised the baseball program’s accomplishments andhigh quality of play. He closed the banquet with abenediction.