NATCHEZ — Whether the decision to have Caleb Upton catch for pitcher Randy Bell at Hinds Community College was made purposefully by the baseball coaching staff or not, it certainly calmed each player in the heat of the battle.

The sense of familiarity between each player was a rare bond shared at a two-year program like Hinds, especially considering Upton was a sophomore and Bell was a freshman. Add in that Upton rotated with another player at catcher, playing half of the games behind the plate and the other half as the designated hitter, and an initial strong bond is hard to come by.

However, that’s exactly what occurred between Bell and Upton every time Bell took the mound with Upton looking back at him from home plate.

“It was that sense that you could throw any pitch at any time and know that he was going to block it up,” Bell said. “I felt so comfortable with him back there.”

Their chemistry was crafted at a young age. When Upton was 10 and Bell was 9, both players played on a tournament team formed by Upton’s dad, the Mudcats. They played for four years together, then played against each other in high school when Upton was at Cathedral High School and Bell was at Wilkinson County Christian Academy or Centerville Academy.

Fast-forward a couple of years and both players are at the NJCAA College World Series, wondering how they even got there. Heading into a regional against Jones County Community College, who defeated Hinds in the state tournament one-week prior, confidence wasn’t exactly brewing amongst the team.

“No,” Upton said, laughing. “It was our goal to win state and get to the world series, but we never thought that would actually happen I don’t think. We lost the state championship to Jones, but we knew we could beat them. But going into the regional with Jones and LSU-Eunice, we knew our chances were slim.”

Then Hinds caught fire, stormed through the regionals and won four straight in the world series.

“We looked up and were like, ‘hey, we only have three games left to win this thing,’” Upton said. “It was an amazing ride.”

Upton shared a range of emotions during the series. The high of reaching the world series met an extreme low when Upton’s back gave out on him, keeping him from contributing in three world series games. For a player that averaged a .289 batting average and six home runs as the cleanup hitter in 2014, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

“I wanted to play really bad,” Upton said. “That’s what I waited two years for, and you don’t get opportunities like that back. But when I saw I wasn’t going to be 100 percent after that first game, I was hesitant but more than willing to hand the torch off to the next guy.”

Bell, who finished with a 9-4 record, 64 strikeouts and a 4.98 ERA in his freshman season, felt for his teammate, wishing Upton could have had a different outcome to a great career at Hinds.

“It was unfortunate,” Bell said. “To see him come through in big situations all year, like the go-ahead home run against LSU-Eunice, it was really tough to watch him sit out those games. He was a team leader.”

Without Upton in the lineup, Hinds eventually fell to Mesa Community College 7-9 in the championship game.

Though it wasn’t the magical ending Upton and Bell had hoped for, both were equally grateful for getting to the championship game, and the fact that they did it alongside each other made the moment that much better.

“In the middle of things it’s hard to take a step back and look at what’s happening,” Upton said. “But my parents always made mention of where we started and how we got to play together in college.”