The future looks bright for McComb Parklane southpaw pitcher LesDykes. Dykes, who stands a dominating 6-5 1/2 and weighs in at220-pounds, signed a baseball scholarship to play with theMississippi State Bulldogs and is a possible future top-round draftpick by the professional baseball league.

Dykes led his Pioneer baseball team to their second straightState Class AAAA Baseball title this spring. Parklane finished witha 32-5 record.

On the mound, the right-hander struck out 141 batters in 71innings pitched. He had a 1.67 era. His average speed is in theupper 80’s but Dykes has been clocked as fast as 93 mph. At theplate, Dykes batted .270 with 7 doubles, 2 home runs and a triplefor 22 RBI and 7 stolen bases. He also played for the MPSA SouthAll-Stars.

For his accomplishments, Dykes has been selected as theDaily Leader’s Player of the Year on the 2001 All-Area Baseballteam which includes players outside of Lincoln County. Input forthe team was provided by college coaches and sportswriters.

Dykes was named the South AAAA Conference Most ValuablePlayer. He made the MPSA All-State team.

Making up the rest of the All-Area pitching staff are ColeZumbro of Franklin County, Michael Edwards of Lawrence County, JoeyLindley of Parklane and Damien Givens of McComb. Zumbro was lastyear’s Player of the Year.

Behind the plate are catchers Dooley Simmons of Parklane andPhillip Coffey of North Pike.

In the infield are John David McCay of Amite School Center, KyleGinn, Jr., of Parklane, Michael Clements of North Pike and TrentSmith of Parklane.

Working the outfield are Vance Windom of Franklin County, NathanEvans of Lawrence County and Vince Graves of McComb.

The designated hitter is Buddy Van Norman of North Pike. Theutility player is Tyler Ball of Lawrence County

Dykes appreciates being named Area Player of the Year. ” It is avery special award. Being selected is a great honor.”

Dykes believes a winning attitude carried the Pioneers to secondstraight baseball crown.

“We were a gutsy bunch of guys,”said Dykes. “There were times wedidn’t play very well but we found a way to win. We had confidencein us.”

Coming into his senior year, Dykes felt confidence in histeammates.

“I thought the guys coming up would step up,” stated Dykes. “Ifelt pretty confident.”

On the mound, Dykes is the one the best. He averages 88-89miles-per-hour on his fastball. His fastest speed during the seasonwas 93 mph.

“My best pitch is my fastball,” Dykes explained. “I also throw aslider and changeup.”

Parklane head coach Ken Jackson says Dykes has all of the toolsto be a success on any level.

“He has the ability to be a great pitcher. Dykes has the heightand the size,” continued Jackson. ” He has everything you arelooking for in a pitcher. He is smart and that’s one of his biggestattributes. He can work batters very well. He can change his speedand locates pitches real well.”

Dykes says he is preparing to attend Mississippi State andhasn’t yet decided on a major. He said he would like to see formerhead baseball coach Ron Polk come back to coach the Bulldogs. MSUcoach Pat McMahon resigned this week to take the job atFlorida.

Dykes also excels in the classroom and graduated with honors. Hewas also drafted in the 23rd round by the Los Angles Dodgers.

“He’s a super kid,” added Jackson. “He is the ideal kid off thefield. He knows right from wrong. He makes good decisions. You getvery few of these kids like Less and the Albrittons (Jason andJeremy). They are luxury to coach. Great kids. It makes coachingeasy and fun when you have kids like that.”

Dykes learned all of his baseball skills from Jackson and hisfather, Jim who coached him until age 14. His father is in theforestry business.

“He (Jackson) is a real good competitor,” said Dykes. “He lovesto win. He loves just to play the game. He wants you to play itright. He enjoys being around kids.”

Before dedicating his future to baseball, Dykes played a littlegolf for recreation.

His mother Jan teaches first grade at South Pike. His20-yard-old sister Jennifer is a student at Mississippi StateUniversity.

Cole Zumbro finished his injury-plagued seasonwith a 2-2 record for the struggling 12-11 Franklin CountyBulldogs. The 6-foot-2, 220-pound senior batted .507 with 13 homeruns, 5 doubles, 4 triple for 32 RBI’s and stole 10 bases. Heplayed for the South Class 1A-2A-2A All-Stars and was named theSouth’s Most Valuable Player.

Zumbro signed a baseball scholarship with the Copiah-LincolnCommunity College Wolves and was recently drafted in baseball’s36th round by the National League Montreal Expos.

Damien Givens pitched for the McComb Tigers and finishedhis senior year with an 8-4 record. His ERA was 1.08 with 68strikeouts, 21 walks and 2 saves. His fastball has been clocked at90 miles per hour and his changeup is 80. Givens batted .460 with 8doubles, 2 triples for 27 RBI’s and stole 5 bases.

Michael Edwards, a senior, played for Lawrence Countyand signed a baseball scholarship with Co-Lin. On the season,Edwards was 4-5. In 57 2/3 innings pitched, he recorded 53strikeouts and walked 20 players. Edwards batted .299 with 15 RBIsand scored 35 runs.

Joey Lindley, another 10-1 pitcher for Parklane,finished his senior season with a 2.05 ERA. Also playing thirdbase, Lindley held a .377 batting average with 10 doubles, 2 homeruns and 1 triple for 40 RBIS. He also stole 12 bases and had a.920 fielding average.

Dooley Simmons was the junior catcher for the Parklaneteam. Simmons held a .441 batting average with 16 doubles, 2 homeruns, 1 triple and 38 RBIs for the season.

Phillip Coffey provided power at the plate for NorthPike. The senior catcher averaged .380 at the plate with 3 homeruns, 10 doubles, 4 triples and had 30 RBI’s.

John David McCay, a senior pitcher/infielder, batted.393 for the ASC Rebels. He has signed a baseball scholarship withSouthwest Community College.

Kyle Ginn, Jr. played both short stop and second basefor champ Parklane. On the field, Ginn had a .920 fielding average.He batted .429 with 9 doubles and 2 triples for 41 RBI and stole 14bases.

Mike Clements played both pitcher and the infield forNorth Pike, the Division 6-3A champs. Clements, a repeater fromlast year’s team, was 5-0-1 on the mound with a 3.15 ERA. He batted.470 with 10 homers, 5 doubles, 3 triples for 45 RBIs.

Trent Smith, a sophomore from Parklane, played thirdbase and was designated hitter. At the plate, Smith had a .377batting average with 10 doubles, 1 triple and 2 home runs for 36RBI and stole 14 bases.

Vance Windom played in the outfield for Franklin County.Windom maintained a .485 batting average with 8 doubles, 3 triplesand 2 homers for 19 RBI. He was named to the All-Division 6-3A teamand received the Leadership Award.

Nathan Evans, of Lawrence County, finished his senioryear as an outfielder. He batted .426 at the plate with 49 hits,including 7 homers and 24 doubles for 44 RBI. On base, Evans was.526.

Vince Graves worked the outfield for McComb. Graves hada .460 batting average with 8 doubles and 2 triples for 27 RBI’sand stole 5 bases.

Buddy Van Norman, a senior pitcher, finished the seasonwith a 10-2 record including 109 strikeout for a 3.27 ERA. VanNorman batted .381 with 4 home runs and 5 doubles for 24 RBIs forthe Jaguars.

Tyler Ball wrapped up his senior year at Lawrence Countywith a .322 batting average, including 2 home runs and 37 RBIs. Hescored 19 runs and and his on base average was .492.

HONORABLE MENTION WITH DISTINCTION

Franklin County – Colby Beach, Kyle Trout, GreggWilliams, Bert Smith.

McComb – Pat Barnes, Jessie Boyd, DillonRoberts.

Parklane – Adam Steele, Jeremy Freeman, LandonWilson, Casey Ginn, Chris Edwards.

North Pike – Josh Matthews, J.R. Alexander,Brady Eldridge, Dusty Davis.

Wesson – Chris Peets, Nick Gunter.