It would be hard for a team to start a baseball season in a better way than the Henry County High School Patriots squad did on Monday.

With new head coach Curtis Copeland coaching his first regular season game, the Patriots banged out a 10-0 win at Clarksville Northeast in a game that was ended by the 10-run rule after five innings.

But the real story was HCHS pitcher Truitt Webb, who hurled a no-hitter in the season opener. 

Webb struck out nine Eagles batters in his five-inning masterpiece.

The Patriots open a two-game set against Calloway County (Ky.) with a 5:30 p.m. game Friday in Murray, then host the Lakers at 2 p.m. Saturday.

Copeland has taken over as head coach after being an assistant for the departed Shane Kemp last year.

Copeland talked about the team’s development in a Monday phone interview while on his way to the team’s opener.

He said there are 18 freshmen and sophomores out of the 31 total players in the program.

“So we're still relatively young, but they’re all close knit people for kids, and we have a good team atmosphere, I believe,” Copeland said.

In spite of their relative youth, the team has some returning seniors who will bring some leadership to the club.

Webb is one of the leaders. He recently committed to play college baseball at Southeastern Louisiana University.

“We're going to be leaning heavy on Truitt on the mound and at shortstop, and at the plate,” Copeland said. “He’s a really polished pitcher. He’ll be one of the best in our district and region for sure. We’ve got a whole lot of pitchers in the state of Tennessee that are really good, and he’s one of them. He’s an 88-to-90 (mph) guy.”

The other leader, Carter Hedges, didn’t get many chances at pitching last year, Copeland said, but will this season.

“He’s a really good hitter and a talented outfielder,” Copeland said.

Brock Archie, who caught every game for the Pats last year, should get some time away from the backstop position, as Noah McClure looks to get into the lineup as catcher.

“He’s worked really hard, and he’s going to be able to spell Brock and give him some time out from behind the plate,” he said.

That would give Archie a chance to explore other roles, including playing third base and working as a designated hitter.

Another senior, Javion Boyd, is making his debut as a high school baseball player this year.

“He's been a pleasant surprise, and he picks up on the game really well,” Copeland said.

Copeland, who has more than 20 years of experience in Memphis-area travel ball organizations, plans to run a tight defensive game with the Patriots.

“That’s my forte — throwing strikes and making routine plays, and that’s how we practice; throwing strikes and making routine plays,” he said.

He also focuses on a positive mindset, and player accountability.

“You can make guys better if you just make them believe they're better than they are,” he said. “It’s just the accountability of everyday coming out and making yourself better than you were the day before.”

That also crosses over to skills like warming up the same way each day.

“When you warm up, you learn to warm up the correct way every day, and that's what makes you a better player,” he said. “If you can warm up better every day, then you’re going to make the throws in the game. So my biggest deal is for the players to be accountable for themselves — it’s not me out there running the ball, and it’s not me hitting the ball. You’ve got to go out there and believe in yourself and hold yourself accountable and the response we're getting is them getting better every day. 

“And they make mistakes,” he added. “That's how you learn.”

All in all, Copeland sounded very optimistic about the team’s future.

“I think they’re prepared; they've been given the right direction and they're all on the same wavelength,” he said. “I think we’ve got good things coming this year, and in the future I think it's only going to get better as we develop the talent that we have.”

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