When your baseball program boasts of a state championship in the last five years and a couple of near-misses, bowing out in the second round of the playoffs may be looked at as a letdown.

It should be anything but that for the 2000 Vidalia Viking baseball team, which lost to an exceptional Sibley team 8-0 Monday in Vidalia.

The Viking baseball team ran into a team capable of winning state and they were hitting on all gears.

Vidalia, 21-9, combined solid pitching from Rod Donald, Jarrett Hoffpauir and Kevin Laird with a .337 team batting average.

Usually, the Vikings relied on the long ball to pull out wins, hitting a record-setting 47 home runs, breaking the old record of 36 back in 1998.

Donald broke the career record for home runs with 27.

Donald also set the record for most times hit by a pitch in a season with 10. Sam Morse was hit nine times. The Vikings were hit a team record 39 times this year.

Junior Jarrett Hoffpauir, who led the Vikings with a .519 average (school’s fourth best) and had nine home runs (third best), broke the school single season record for RBIs&160; with 47, breaking the mark of 43 by Jason Hawkes in 1996.

Hoffpauir will probably own a few more records at the end of next year.

Senior Adam Probst was Mr. Steady for the Vikings all year, batting .365 and making the routine and tough plays in the field.

Seniors Matt Dillon and Terrell Williams were golden gloves in the outfield, while senior Collin Taunton showed his versatility and good glove at third and second base.

Laird came up with clutch performances on the mound and had several key hits and catches at first base to enable the Vikings to go as far as they did.

Senior outfielders Justin Strickland and Jason Exelby also provided senior leadership.

And that’s what makes Monday’s loss so tough.

After talking to his team following the game head coach Johnny Lee Hoffpauir gathered his seniors around thanking them for their efforts and time.

The players tried to console each other to no avail. Most of them had started playing on the varsity the year after Vidalia won state in 1996.

They came close themselves, going to the semifinals in ’97, but when you’ve been to the top of the mountain, getting close to the summit somehow doesn’t seem enough.

&uot;The hardest part is seeing it end for the seniors, especially when they play as hard as these guys have,&uot; Hoffpauir said. &uot;They are as good as any group I’ve had.&uot;

This year’s Vidalia team did well to win district for the sixth straight year. Crowville joined the district this year and many considered them to be the favorite to untrack Vidalia.

As a matter of fact, the two teams split during the regular season and had to go to a tiebreaker contest.

Vidalia lost 6-4, as 15 Viking batters struck out in that contest.

So when the time came where Vidalia players had to show some character or lay down, the Vikings jumped out to a 15-8 win.

The Vikings, who have been to the playoffs every year since 1989, looked like Sibley in their first playoff game, dominating North DeSoto 13-0.

Next year seniors Hoffpauir, Ryan Boles, Sam Morse, Casey Martin, Bubba Wyles and John Garza will have big shoes to fill.

As if they needed any more incentive, Johnny Lee Hoffpauir, who has been the head coach at Vidalia since the program started in 1979, has 276 career wins, 24 away from 300.

And if past years are any indication, he should be knocking on that door by playoff time next year. And you know what the goal will be at that time. Nothing less is acceptable.

Joey Martin is sports editor of The Democrat. He can be reached by calling 446-5172 ext. 232 or at joey.martin@natchezdemocrat.com.

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