Lions rolling after rough start

Coach Steve Renfroe’s words don’t seem to ring hollow.

Before leading an early April practice for his Briarwood Christian School baseball team, Renfroe spoke of how fond he is of the 2019 Lions.

Even as the losses piled up in the early weeks of the season — Briarwood began the season with 11 consecutive defeats — Renfroe told his players they were one of his “top 10 all-time favorite teams and climbing fast.”

A few days later, he amended his statement in another team meeting. This year’s group is now in the top three.

“You don’t always get to say that,” said Renfroe, who is in his 10th year at Briarwood. “A lot of times it’s ‘hey, you win a championship, everything’s great, praise the Lord.’”

Making the top three of Renfroe’s list is no easy task. Renfroe spent 25 years on staff at Auburn University and has spent the last decade at Briarwood.

But Renfroe’s demeanor at practice backs up his words. As he hits groundballs to the Briarwood infielders with his fungo bat, Renfroe joyfully recounts stories from his time at Auburn, like playing tennis with longtime Auburn coaches Hal Baird and Sonny Smith.

Once he moves on to the outfielders, he instructs Noah Whatley, one of the Lions’ senior pitchers who is feeding Renfroe soft tosses, to toss the ball further in front of him so he can show off his Albert Pujols swing imitation.

REJOICING IN THE JOURNEY

Perhaps it was easier for Renfroe and his team to be a little looser at that particular time. The Lions’ 6-12 record wasn’t necessarily impressive, but each of those six wins had come in their last seven games. 

Renfroe maintains that the team’s collective psyche was never significantly affected by the 0-11 start to the season. All 11 of those contests were played against Class 6A or 7A teams, a step above the 5A Lions. Oak Mountain, Mountain Brook, Hewitt-Trussville and Spain Park accounted for six of those 11 losses, and all four of those teams have legitimate championship aspirations in 7A.

“Obviously no one wants to go 0-11,” Whatley said, “but we always had it in our mind, with the schedule that we were playing … we knew that the teams we were playing are really, really good and we just had to stay with it, stay together, keep our heads down and keep pushing.”

The rough start provided many excellent teaching opportunities for Renfroe and his coaching staff. Examples from the Bible, such as the story of the righteous man rising many times over in Proverbs, allowed Renfroe to bridge the gap and help the team apply lessons learned to life outside of baseball.

“That’s the thing that’s really rewarding,” Renfroe said. “That’s really what matters. We want to win, but bigger than that is just our faith in Christ and letting them know that life can get tough, and that’s when you have to get up.”

'RELIEVED AND EXCITED'

After 11 losses, the Lions prepared for their first 5A, Area 8 contest, one of six that would end up having an impact on their playoff future. The time for lessons in defeat was over when Briarwood faced off with John Carroll on March 19.

John Carroll took the lead with a run in the first, Briarwood took a 2-1 lead in the fourth and John Carroll tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the fourth. 

“You could see the tension that night,” Renfroe said, “because they knew they had to win the area game. They couldn’t go in and lose the first game in their mind.”

Shortstop Sam Hamner called the game “nerve-wracking.” He’s the one that stepped to the plate with the game knotted in the fifth inning. On the first pitch of his at-bat, Bryce Perrien scored on a wild pitch to give the Lions their first lead of the night. Hamner’s groundout allowed Wesley Helms to score, and Briarwood took a 4-2 lead that it wouldn’t relinquish. 

Whatley came on in the bottom half of the fifth and preserved that lead. He allowed just two hits and struck out four hitters over the final three innings.

“We knew that we had the pieces to get it done, so we stuck to our approach and kept our heads down,” Whatley said. 

The floodgates were open after that. The Lions stretched their winning streak to five games and clinched the area on April 5 after sweeping Ramsay.

“Afterwards, they were really relieved and excited, then they came and put up a big number the next game [a 10-0 win over John Carroll] and played well in the [Hoover] tournament,” Renfroe said.

NOT JUST BASEBALL

As the adage goes, Renfroe has likely forgotten more about the game of baseball than most will ever know. But he connects so well with his players because he combines that experience with authenticity.

“He’s incredible,” Whatley said. “He knows so much about the game and he’s not just trying to teach us about being good at baseball, he’s teaching us about life and how to be better men, how to be men of God, how to act right on and off the field, how to inspire others.”

Hamner added, “He also just cares about each and every one of us as people.”

Whatley and Hamner, both seniors, believe the Lions have the capability of making a run in the 5A playoffs, considering how they’ve been playing in the latter half of the regular season.

But whether a state championship is in the cards or not, what the players on this year’s team have learned will extend far beyond the diamond.

“I think for them, it’ll be something they can look back on their whole life,” Renfroe said. “I think they learned a lot and are learning a lot. It’s been fun. Not easy, but fun.”