Bayshore Christian head baseball coach Jeff Hauge remembers having a meaningful conversation with several of his key young players a few years ago.

“We just talked about what kind of legacy will you leave here,” he said. “When people look back on this group of seniors, what are they going to remember? We want it to be championships. We want it to be wins, but we want it to be so much more than that.”

Mission accomplished.

Bayshore Christian’s “Big 3″ of John Malone, Mikael Bryant and Streed Crooms – along with fellow seniors Riley Malone and William Nance – have guided the Fairhope Classical Christian school’s baseball program from the little-known Panhandle Christian Conference to yearly AHSAA state title contention.

“We started out just trying to help the team anyway we could,” said Crooms, a pitcher and infielder and the team’s leadoff hitter. “Now it’s about carrying on the state championship tradition and doing what it takes to get back to the big stage every year. The legacy of Bayshore baseball is honor God, play for each other and win state championships.”

Bayshore has won the last two Class 1A state titles in its first two years of AHSAA eligibility. The Eagles moved up to Class 2A this year by the AHSAA’s competitive balance standard and, so far, haven’t skipped a beat. They are 15-4 following Monday’s 8-3 win over Mobile Christian and ranked No. 2 in the state behind perennial 2A power G.W. Long.

“It’s been a steady build,” Crooms said. “The first year it was like, ‘OK, let’s make a name for ourselves.’ Last year, it was like, ‘Everyone is gunning for us.’ Now, moving up to 2A, it’s another chance to re-establish ourselves all over again as seniors before we leave this place.”

Crooms, Bryant and John Malone have a shelf full of individual awards already. Malone, a Samford baseball signee, is the two-time ASWA Class 1A Player of the Year. He also was MVP of the 2021 state championship series against Donoho.

“The people before us took us under their wings,” he said. “My brother (Sam Malone) was a senior then along with other guys like Ollen Brown, Nathan Vincent and Max Jones. We were all freshmen. They took us in and kind of established the excellence then. They showed us how to handle adversity, especially in how they handled the pandemic. We’ve tried to carry that on and grow it into a standard of excellence.”

Crooms is a two-time first team Class 1A All-State player. He was the MVP of last year’s state championship series win against Lindsay Lane. He’s headed to Lurleen B. Wallace to play next year.

“He is our pitcher. He is our third baseman. He is our shortstop,” Hauge said. “He is our pivot guy on the infield. He is our leadoff hitter. He sets the stage every game. He is just a gritty, bulldog who plays with a lot of passion and is just really fun to watch.”

Hauge calls Bryant, the team’s shortstop and pitcher, the “silent assassin.”

“You won’t hear him say three words, but he is going to be the kid who makes all the plays at shortstop,” Hauge said. “Against Sweet Water last year in the state semifinals, he made so many plays for us defensively. Many guys were talking to me after the game about that. He’s steady at shortstop, goes out and throws strikes and competes every time he is on the mound and does a wonderful job for us.”

Bryant also was a first team Class 1A All-State player in 2022 and a member of the AL.com Coastal Alabama “Terrific 20.” He plans to play baseball next year at Huntingdon College.

“We are playing for the dudes who went before us,” Bryant said. “They had to play in the Panhandle Christian Conference and never got a chance to play for a state championship. Just being able to play and carry on their legacy is special.”

Bayshore has now won 10 of the last 11 games. The Eagles also have done it largely without the services of John Malone, who has been nursing a back injury. Hauge said the team hopes to get him back soon.

“We’ve been resting him for 2-3 weeks, trying to get his back healed up and get his bat back in the lineup,” Hauge said. “He is such a key hitter for us. We are hoping to maybe get him back on the mound as well, maybe in a closer role.”

The Eagles open a key three-game series against St. Luke’s on Thursday in Mobile. The Wildcats and Eagles are the only teams in Class 2A, Area 1 this year, meaning the winner of this series will host in the first round of the playoffs later the month. The losing team will be on the road.

“It’s very important,” Hauge said. “Goal No. 1 on the year is to win an area championship. We all know St. Luke’s is a great program, and coach (Mike) Szymanski does a phenomenal job over there. We are going to come out and, hopefully, play good baseball and get that series.”

Whatever happens this week and this year, the contributions of Malone, Crooms and Bryant certainly won’t be lost on Hauge.

“Those three guys have been with us since their eighth-grade year,” he said. “All three have started since their freshmen year, and Mikael and John have started since their eight-grade year. They have been wonderful players for all these many years. It will be sad to see them leave but so glad to have these last four and five years with them.”

Likewise, the players won’t forget what Bayshore Christian has meant to them. Crooms was asked to speak to school parents and the community at the Bayshore Benefit recently about his experience as a student at the school.

“I just told them about the relationships I’ve built with the teachers and the memories I have with them,” he said. “It’s not something a parent gets to see in the classroom, but we see it as students every day. It’s special at Bayshore. What goes on here is real and genuine.”

“We’ve been blessed,” added Malone. “We’ve made so many memories. I think there are more to come in these next four or five weeks.”