Berwick High's 2022-23 baseball players received their rings together at Thursday's pep rally at the school gym.
Berwick baseball players Jayden Milton, left, Carter Whipple, center, and Dawson Richard show off their rings and pose for a picture.
Dawson Richard, left, and Haden Robinson, the winning pitchers in Berwick High's state semifinal and final, try on their new rings.
Hayden Robinson gets a ring and hug from coach Seth Henry.
The Berwick High band played for Thursday's pep rally.
Members of Berwick High's 2022-23 state championship baseball team received individual trophies Thursday.
UPDATED WITH STORY: Berwick state champs get their rings
BERWICK – The Berwick High baseball team won a state championship in May. But the players didn’t get their championship rings right away.
They have them now, after a Thursday pep rally in the BHS gym in front of students, parents, teachers and the Sound of Pride band.
Rounding some of them up was a challenge. Some of the title team’s players were seniors who graduated not long after the Panthers beat Doyle 4-2 in eight innings for the title May 12 in Sulphur.
Haden Robinson, the winning pitcher in the Non-Select Division III semifinal win over Kinder, signed a pro contract and plays for a team in the Brewers organization in Phoenix. Dawson Richard, who got the win in the championship game, joined teammate Cru Bella at Southwest Mississippi Community College.
Jayden Milton, whose home run lifted Berwick over Doyle in the title game, is on the football team at Nicholls State.
But come the holidays, students and baseball players get time off. And they returned to Berwick High for Friday’s pep rally.
The band played the team into the gym. The audience saw a slide show of 2023 season photos on a big screen.
Then the individual players came forward to receive their trophies and, from head coach Seth Henry, the rings.
Finally, the players stood before the audience and opened the ring boxes together.
Berwick Principal Toney Linn, who was also an assistant coach, noted that Berwick was a preseason No. 1 pick.
The Panthers were coming off a 5-4 loss to Lutcher in the 2022 championship game, and they had lots of talent coming back.
But injuries slowed the team down.
“When things were tough,” Linn said, “this team never gave up.”
In the playoffs, Berwick swept playoff series against Port Barre and Sterlington, then downed Kinder and Doyle for the crown.
“It was a truly special season,” Seth Henry said, “with a special group of guys.”