Published: May 18, 2008 12:41 am            

DIAMOND DYNASTY: Cousins carry on the Mayfield legacy for Floyd softball

When current Floyd Central softball pitcher Rena Philpot was born, her first name was supposed to be something else.

But when she drew her first breath her destiny was assured. The only thing that mattered was that she was born a Mayfield.

“Blame my mother,” said Rena Phillips, an aunt of the Highlander senior. “It all goes back to my parents. We ate, slept and breathed the sport. All of us did.”

Some things never change.

The Mayfield dynasty, which began even before Rena Mayfield (now Phillips) suited up as a sophomore on the first softball team the school ever fielded, is just as strong today as ever. Three current Highlanders — seniors Katie Phillips and Philpot, along with sophomore Megan McRae — hail from the first family of Floyd softball. Jessica Phillips, Katie’s sister, is currently the junior varsity coach.

It goes on and on. The last name, and even sometimes the first.

“When Janet was pregnant, Rena had a different name,” said Rena Phillips. “But she had a rough time and there were warning signs that both she and the baby were in trouble. They had an emergency C-section and I stood by Janet the whole time. I’ll always remember when her husband came out and said ‘we named her Rena.’”



The legacy

Rena Phillips (then Mayfield) played second base for the Highlanders during their very first campaign in 1977, when she was a sophomore. Fast-pitch had yet to come to the area. She saved that for her sisters.

She’s been there to watch the program grow into a perenial contender for Hoosier Hills Conference and sectonal titles under current coach Joe Witten. She’s also done some of the heavy lifting herself, or at least watched her family provide it.

“It’s been exciting to see how the program has grown from where I started,” she said. “We started in an era with slow-pitch and where college scholarships for softball weren’t available. To see the evolution of it all has been very rewarding.”

Players from the era are to be commended for laying the groundwork for the sport’s future, but her efforts also paid off more immediately, when the next Mayfield, Janet, came into the program the year after she graduated.

Janet, like her daughter after her, was a pitcher. And in her senior year of 1984, fast-pitch finally became the norm in local softball.

That’s where the Mayfield blood came in handy.

“We were still adjusting to things and figuring out the new game, but I picked it up pretty quickly,” Janet said. “It took a while to figure out.”

She picked it up quickly enough to land a scholarship to Wabash Valley College in Illinois, but also to help turn Floyd into an immediate threat for postseason glory, the same as it is today.

“We were competitive immediately,” said Marty McRae, who joined the team one year after Janet and ensured a Mayfield sister would be on the roster for a string of 11 years. “My sophomore and junior year, we were ranked No. 1 in the state.”

The Highlanders made their first regional appearance during McRae’s sophomore year, eventually falling to a New Albany team that went on to capture the state championship under legendary coach Jacque Hunter.

Floyd Central didn’t make it back until last season.

With three Mayfields on the roster.



The new blood

Marty McRae loved the outfield during her playing days.

“One diving catch was all it took,” she said. “They could put me out in the field as much as they wanted.”

That’s just one example of how the Mayfied genes have carried over throughout the years. Megan McRae plays in the outfield, too. And she seems to love it just as much as her mom.

“I love diving (for a catch),” she said. “I’m always out there diving in practice. I just love the feeling.”

It’s the same across the board. Rena Philpot plays her mother’s position, too, and has likewise blossomed into one of the area’s most respected pitchers. You can see it in old pictures, and in the things they say.

But the main difference is that this set of Mayfields actually gets to play together.

“Everyone knows that we’re cousins,” said Rena Philpot. “All of us, even when we were in Little League, we always have pushed each other and it’s made us better players.”

And like their mothers, each of the trio brings a little something different to the table.

“If my family wasn’t involved, I wouldn’t be the player I am,” Katie Phillips said. “We sort of look at it like we each need to do our jobs, but we compare and contrast and that extra competition makes us better.”

Katie carries the largest bat and plays all over the diamond, usually catching for Rena, who is the Highlanders’ No. 1 starter and has been nearly unhittable at points this season. Megan is the fastest and Katie says she might be the team’s best baserunner.

It’s combination that led Floyd to a sectional title last season, a run that ended after a late home run from Castle in the Floyd Central Regional. This week, Floyd will begin defense of its sectional crown, and the Mayfields will be in full force to support the effort.

“It’s funny, if I swing at a bad pitch, you can hear my grandpa yelling at me to be smarter,” Megan McRae said. “Being in this family means having tons of critics.”



Mayfield Mountain

A lot of families get together on holidays, but there aren’t very many whose time together revolves around the pitching machine.

But that’s the way life is lived in what the family calls “Mayfield Mountain” in Georgetown, where pretty much all of them share a driveway and everything else.

Especially the game.

Bill and Grace Mayfield were neighbors on adjoining farms when they married, and now count 25 grandchildren as the fruits of their eight kids. And every single one of them spent their childhood steeped in the game, and spent their summers at the diamond.

Grace Mayfield played her whole life, although she is in retirement now. She was, by all accounts, a hard-nosed player who was known to carry her aesthma inhaler in her uniform and use it as she rounded the bases.

Both Bill and Grace spent time coaching, and they had their daughters playing almost as soon as they could walk. The grandchildren, too.

“I’ve was playing when I came out of the womb,” Katie Phillips said. “I can’t remember not playing.”

Megan McRae agreed.

“A girl on the team asked me when I started playing,” she said. “She ended up saying she was 11. I couldn’t believe it. I was out there when I was four or five.”

All those ballplayers means all kinds of opportunities to go out and compare skills.

“Every family gathering, we get the pitching machine out and start hitting,” Marty McRae said. “I always loved it, and all the kids have been the same way.”

Well, they love most of it.

“Mom keeps talking about her batting average,” Megan McRae said. “I just keep telling her we’ve already heard about it.”



Never over

Katie Phillips can’t imagine not continuing the Mayfield connection at Floyd Central.

“I couldn’t really imagine having a daughter that was a Dazzler or a cheerleader,” she said. “It’s not that I have anything against that, it’s just that my daughter would probably be more the type that wants to go out after school and get dirty and go to practice.”

Jessica’s daughter Lily will be three in August and, according to her grandmother, “loves being at the ballpark.” All the current Highlanders girls say they’d send their daughters back through the program.

It’s all part of giving back to the sport that has given them a legacy.

“It’s nice to see it all come full circle,” said Rena Phillips. “When Jessica was thinking about coaching there I told her it was important that she go do it and give back to the program. I’m so proud that we all helped start it.”

The last names change. The first names aren’t important, but as long as there is softball at Floyd Central, you get the feeling that the Mayfields will have a say in it.

“We love being out there,” Rena Phillips said. “We always will. Just blame our parents.”



The Mayfield family tree

Rena Phillips — 1977-1980 (2B; played on first FC softball team)

Katie Phillips — 2005-2008 (C, OF, IF; part ‘07 sectional championship team).



Janet Philpot — 1981-1984 (P; played on first fast-pitch FC team)

Rena Philpot — 2005-2008 (P; part of ‘07 sectional champion)



Marty McRae — 1985-1988 (OF; part of 1st sectional champion at FC)

Megan McRae — 2007-2010 (OF; part of ‘07 sectional champion)

        

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