In a Cinderella season to remember, the clock never struckmidnight for Brookhaven pitcher Scotty Smith. He waltzed all theway to the Class 4A state championship, shining on the mound and atthe plate.

Smith’s accomplishments have earned him the title of Mr.Baseball on The DAILY LEADER’s 2004 All-Lincoln County BaseballTeam. Lincoln County’s Most Valuable Player compiled a 12-2 record,winning two games over Pontotoc in the championship series.

Also recognized for their outstanding accomplishments on thediamond this season are Loyd Star catcher Matthew Delaughter, theDL’s Offensive Player of the Year; and Brookhaven catcher AdamOgden, the Defensive Player of the Year. Brookhaven field generalRandy Spring is the DL’s Coach of the Year.

Smith is joined on the DL’s pitching staff by Jared Britt andJustin Whatley of Loyd Star and Brooks Hall of Brookhaven. Thethird catcher is Dan Lofton of West Lincoln.

The all-star infield includes David Cuevas of Loyd Star, ToddDavis of Bogue Chitto and Grant McDonnieal and Cody Dunaway ofBrookhaven. The outfield features a Brookhaven trio in XavierQualls, W.T. King and Darius Perkins.

Josh Patrick of Brookhaven and Trey Allred of Brookhaven Academyare the designated hitters. Cole Hodges of Brookhaven is the team’sutility player.

On the mound, Smith (6-1, 210) located effectively. The strongright-hander compiled 103 strikeouts and 20 walks in 85 innings.His ERA was 2.45.

“I worked hard on locating my pitches this season,” said Smith.”Working hard makes you better.”

Wearing jersey No. 35, Smith usually played shortstop when hewasn’t on the mound. At the plate, he batted .397, hitting 2 homersand accounting for 31 RBIs.

“I got better batting by working hard in the cage,” said Smith.He has signed a scholarship with Copiah-Lincoln CommunityCollege.

Coach Spring has watched Smith improve and anchor his pitchingstaff in a banner campaign. “Scotty is a bulldog. He battles outthere on the mound. He’s a team leader.

“It has been enjoyable watching Scotty mature and channel thatcompetitiveness,” Spring added. “He has learned how to focus.”

Matthew Delaughter, a senior catcher, hassigned with Co-Lin. He batted .483 for Coach Sidney Wheatley’sHornets, collecting 10 home runs, 15 doubles and 41 RBIs.

“My power was better this year,” said Delaughter. “I lived inthe weight room and got stronger. Mentally, I learned to be patientat the plate and make the pitcher pitch to me.”

Adam Ogden, a senior catcher, also has signedwith Co-Lin. His .452 batting average led the Panthers at theplate. He hit 3 homers and had 34 RBIs.

“As a catcher I improved on my framing,” said Ogden. “To blockthe plate you have to get out of your comfort zone. You have tomake yourself get down and dirty.”

Spring said Ogden had improved his defensive skills from lastyear. “Adam is an outstanding receiver and he blocks the ball well.We knew that he would do a good job behind the plate everygame.”

Jared Britt, a senior southpaw, fashioned a 6-2record for the Hornets who won a third straight Division 6-2A titleand advanced to the state playoffs. He batted .385.

Justin Whatley, a junior southpaw, compiled a3-1 record for the Hornets.

Dan Lofton, a senior catcher, boasted the bestbatting average on the team at .556. He also hit 7 homers for CoachAndrew Redd’s West Lincoln Bears.

Brooks Hall, a senior right-hander, compiled a9-3 record, striking out 68 batters and walking 18 in 72 innings.He had a 2.43 ERA. At the plate, Hall batted .407 for the Panthers.He hit 15 doubles, 1 homer and amassed 35 RBIs.

David Cuevas, a senior first baseman, batted352 for the Hornets. He had 29 RBIs.

Todd Davis, a senior infielder, batted .435 forCoach Adam Moak’s Bobcats who finished 5-14.

Grant McDonnieal, a junior first baseman,batted .363 for the Panthers. He had 34 RBIs and hit 1 homerun.

Cody Dunaway, a senior third baseman, batted.310 for the Panthers. He had 20 RBIs.

Xavier Qualls, a switch-hitting seniorcenterfielder, batted .414 for the Panthers. He had 34 RBIs and 2homers. He stole 11 bases.

W.T. King, a senior right-fielder, batted . 317for Brookhaven. He had 27 RBIs and 3 homers.

Darius Perkins, a junior left-fielder, batted.405 for the Panthers. His 5 homers led the BHS squad. He had 37RBIs.

Cole Hodges, a junior, batted .380 for CoachStephen Cooksey’s Brookhaven Academy Cougars.

Josh Patrick, a senior designated hitter andsecond baseman, batted .348 for the Panthers.

Trey Allred, a junior designated hitter, batted.408 for the Cougars.

HONORABLE MENTION WITH DISTINCTION

Bogue Chitto – Joseph Hart, Luke Moak.

Brookhaven – Brandt Hinton, Elliot Warren,Marlon Dixon, Matt Walker.

Brookhaven Academy – Jonathan Strong, EricTerry, Hunter Posey.

Enterprise –Blake McKee, Scott Sasser, AlexPowell, Matt Floyd.

Loyd Star – Austin Fagan, Cody Cunningham,TylerWilliford.

West Lincoln – Landon Case, Robby Dees, DanielAllen, Shane Lynch.