By Dave Morrison
There aren’t many lists of top efforts if that effort doesn’t result in a positive play. That’s why they are called great plays and top plays.
Sometimes the effort is just as good.
Take the instance of Oak Hill’s Jayden McLain, who two weeks ago at Midland Trail had one of the best efforts of the season in the Coalfield Conference.
He didn’t get the reward of a completed play, but you would be pressed to find a better effort.
First, the speedy outfielder, a former shortstop who also pitches for the Red Devils, covered a lot of ground to get anywhere near the ball off the bat of Trail’s Alex Dempsey with one out in the third inning. McLain, at full speed, attacked the ball and never slowed down. With the fence approaching, McLain leaped and, for a split second it appeared he might have caught the ball. Then his legs were cut by the fence, and he summersaulted over the fence and disappeared.
McLain laid on the other side of the fence, as teammates and coaches from both teams went to his aid.
On the same play Saylem Blake, the leftfielder who also went over the fence.
He was down for over five minutes, but eventually got up and slowly made his way to the bench area.
He ended up with a deep bruise on his shoulder and forearm and didn’t want to leave the game but finally acquiesced. He steadfastly refused to go to the hospital.
McLain talked about the play Tuesday before Oak Hill’s game against Greenbrier East.
“I was tracking the ball down in left-center (field) and I thought I could get there,” McLain said. “The next thing you know I’m flipped over the fence, and it was a home run. I was talking to coach after the game, and he said it was a heck of an effort, but I just wish I would have caught the ball.”
That home run by Dempsey gave the Patriots a 4-0 lead and that ended up being the final.
McLain thought he could get to the ball before the fence got to him.
“The fence got me before I could get to the ball, but I thought 100 percent I could get definitely get there,” McLain said. “It just happened to be the fence before the ball.”
Most high school fields don’t have warning tracks and the fence at Trail is a standard chain-link fence with tubing around the top bar. If you hit it with any force, you are going over. As McLain found out.
Fortunately, he was not hurt bad, but did miss a mound start against Shady Spring.
“From what people were saying it sounded a lot worse than it really was,” McLain said. I had a bruise on my arm for a couple days but that’s it.”
Dempsey was impressed.
“I didn’t think it was going,” Dempsey said. “That was a heck of an effort.”
“Lights out man,” Midland Trail coach John Mark Kincaid said. “Impressive play. I love a gamer and he is a gamer.”
McLain left the game but would not leave the field.
“I’m against hospitals, I wanted to stay in the game, but I guess it was better if I just set that one out,” he said.
Oak Hill Chris Hendrick would understandably take all the Jayden McLain’s he could get.
“I wish I had another dozen of him,” Hendrick said. “He’s incredible. He’s played every position for me but third base. He’s done everything we’ve asked. I told the kids after the game we need to find ourselves and we need to do it now. We need the heart that he has. And if we can find that, we’re going to be fine.”
