NATCHEZ — Jake Brumfield’s high school baseball career ended with a bang April 13.

The senior pitcher belted a solo home run and gave up just two runs on the mound as ACCS crushed Brookhaven Academy 15-2.

Brumfield said the 13-run victory over Brookhaven was a bit of a consolation for the Rebels falling short of the postseason.

Brumfield’s home run Friday also bookended a great four-year career that started with a dinger that he hit as a freshman — one he will always remember, he said.

“My overall best memory (of my high school career) was when I was in ninth grade,” Brumfield said.

The Rebels were facing cross-river rival Vidalia High School, and Brumfield said the matchup was contentious even before the first pitch was thrown.

“It was early in the season and there had been some trash talking between Vidalia and some of the private schools,” Brumfield said.

Brumfield said the two teams were locked in a pitchers’ duel in the sixth inning until he stepped to the plate and belted a two-run home run to push ACCS to a 2-1 win.

“I used to live in Vidalia and my neighbors and uncles went to Vidalia, so that was probably my favorite high school memory,” he said.

In the next four years Brumfield would provide a steady, power bat for the Rebels while developing as the team’s top pitcher.

“My freshman year was by far my best year at the plate,” he said. “I couldn’t have asked for more from my freshman year. Then my 10th-grade year was another good year, and that’s when my pitching really came into my game.”

Brumfield said his senior season reached a peak both at the plate and on the mound.

Head coach Hunter McKeivier said Brumfield became a leader by the time his senior season rolled around.

“Jake is a great ball player,” McKeivier said. “He worked every single day at practice. He was a key to the foundation of what we’re trying to build here.”

Brumfield said his senior year was very special this season.

“My senior season has definitely been the most fun season I ever had,” he said. “We had seven seniors that were all on the field, and just being able to spend all four years with those guys and have everybody on the field was amazing. It was such a great year.”

Brumfield said one thing that played a role in his senior season being so fun was the fact that he was already signed to play college ball at Pearl River Community College.

“I didn’t have to worry about college or any of that kind of stuff, because it was already taken care of,” he said. “I still pushed my self, but I think not having to worry about that propelled me to have a great senior year.”

The Rebels failed to qualify for the playoffs despite finishing with a 16-6-1 record, and Brumfield said that was the only thing that dampened his otherwise perfect senior season.

“This is the best season we’ve had since I’ve been at AC,” he said. “It was one game (with Trinity) that could decide us being district champs and not making the playoffs, and it was a complete heartbreaker.

“I am competitive in everything I do, and I think we had the team to go deep in the playoffs. When you have something like that that’s just right there in the palm of your hand and then it’s gone it’s heartbreaking.”

Brumfield said he would also miss playing under the tutelage of his father, Spanky, who served as a volunteer pithing coach for ACCS.

“Dad taught me everything I know about baseball,” he said. “Since I was 2 years old, I have been playing baseball and just to have him out there (was special). He wasn’t a man that was going to holler at me all the time, and I thank him for that, but if he saw me drop my hands when I was batting, or I wasn’t quite bringing my leg high enough or dragging my elbow (when pitching) he would tell me. And sure enough the next pitch I would get a base hit.”

Brumfield said high school baseball taught him the importance of staying mentally focused during a game.

“You have to limit your excitement,” he said. “You can’t get too excited. If you get too pumped your brain doesn’t work right, and you can’t think about what to do if a ball is hit to me in this exact spot, and it could cause a mental error that could cause you the game.”

Brumfield said he would miss the more casual nature of high school baseball when he is working day and night to become a better college player next year.

“The atmosphere wasn’t lackadaisical but it was laid back, especially this year,” he said. “I know college is the baseball you want to play in, but like people said before, ‘When you’re in college you don’t play baseball or football you do baseball.’ It’s a 24-hour deal.”

Brumfield said he is looking forward to the challenge, however, and hopes to study either business management or landscape architecture at Pearl River, while he improves as a ball player.