The last time the Jones County High baseball team hosted ‘Senior Night,’ the celebration was short-lived.

As the regular season drew to an end in a year in which the Greyhounds would reach the round of eight in the AAAA state playoffs, the ’Hounds, undefeated in sub-region play, hosted the Baldwin Braves, who were without a win against a sub-region opponent.

The Braves walked away with a 4-3 win. The seniors walked away with a bad taste in their mouths on their night, and coach Barry Veal walked away with a motivational tool for every ‘Senior Night’ to come, such as last Friday’s 11-1 win over Upson-Lee.

“I was real worried about this game because I remember what happened last year on ‘Senior Night,’ Veal said. “Our focus early on might not have been as strong as it should be, but the guys came out and took care of business.”

The five seniors honored before the game, all fourth-year members of the school’s baseball program, each contributed in some way to the victory.

They combined for three of the team’s seven hits and scored five of its runs.

Wilson Taylor won his seventh game of the season, pitching all five innings, allowing two hits and two walks, striking out 10, and shutting out the Knights.

“I thought Wilson pitched real well,” Veal said. “He’s had some game this year where he’s walked a few guys. I know he walked two tonight, but for the most part he threw strikes.”

“My curveball finally felt like it was doing good,” Taylor said. “I felt like I could throw it whenever I wanted to. In the past it’s felt like it was slipping out of my hand, and I haven’t been able to control it much.”

Usually on ‘Senior Night’ some fourth-year bench players will get the starting nod as a sign of appreciation for their hard work and leadership, but this season Veal did not have to adjust his lineup card at all.

“It’s nice when you have a senior class where all of them start and you don’t have to worry about this senior not playing or this senior not playing,” Veal said.

“It’s good to have everybody playing, so everybody in the senior class can say they contributed to all our wins,” Jackson Hamlin said.

This small but talented group took the field at the beginning of the season inheriting the load carried by a nine-man senior class that filled seven starting positions, signed five college scholarships, won a region championship, and had 28 victories.

“They had a good season, and we felt like we had to have a season like them,” Taylor said. “We lost five games, and everybody else was thinking we’re not going to be as good as them.”

“There are a lot of people that come to the games, and they’re looking for Brendan Hampton. They’re looking for something big to happen,” Dusty Lanford said. “There aren’t as many fans here as there were last year, because they don’t believe in us right now.”

Ken Nesbitt said he believes the team thrived off of the pressure.

“We looked on the Internet and saw that we were number two coming into the season. That boosted our confidence a lot and showed us that we could be really good this season,” he said.

Hamlin said he didn’t feel much pressure at all.

“I don’t think a whole lot of people expected us to be that great this year. So it kind of just allowed us to play loose and do whatever,” he said.

Trey Whitehead said he wants this year’s class to be remembered for its work ethic as much as its talent level.

“These guys have been extremely fun to be around. They love the game,” Veal said.

The seniors take their leadership role very seriously, as well.

“All of (the underclassmen) look up to us, and they pretty much listen to what we’ve got to say, don’t backtalk us or anything,” Lanford said.

“They actually kind of step up on their own, so it’s not like we have to stay on them or anything. We do every now and then, but for the most part, they do their job,” Whitehead said.

On of the issues during the team’s 15-win and five-loss season has been depth in the pitching staff, and Nesbitt said that senior pitchers feel that is their responsibility to fix.

“Me and Wilson and Trey – being the only senior pitchers – we figured we’d go ahead and try to lead the team, try to strike everybody out instead of depending on other people, and to try to go the distance in the games,” he said. “The burden is on us, and we should be used to it since we’re older guys and more experienced.”

Veal said everything this year’s seniors do they do to help the team win. They aren’t ever focused on padding their own stats.

With the playoffs on the horizon, winning is the only option.

“I want to win state,” Nesbitt said. “I don’t know what everybody else said. I’m trying to win the big one. That’s what I want.”