CLINTON — When Mississippi College baseball coach Brian Owens thinks about Brett Hinson, he doesn’t think about the 10-2 record and 3.63 earned run average Hinson posted in his senior season.

He thinks about two games in the 2009 American Southwest Conference Tournament.

Hinson pitched a complete-game shutout in the opening game of the championship round on Friday, May 2, and then came back to pitch seven more innings and allow just one run in the championship game two days later.

Hinson left the game with Mississippi College up 4-1, and even though a bullpen meltdown in the ninth inning doomed the Choctaws to an 8-5 defeat, Owens won’t forget the courage and tenacity Hinson showed in pitching on just one day’s rest.

“That’s one of the gutsiest things I’ve ever seen in baseball,” Owens said. “It was almost unbelievable. He wanted the ball and when your ace says ‘Give me the ball,’ you give it to him.”

That tenacity and competitive nature are just two of the reasons that Hinson, a Vidalia native, was named third-team All-American by D3baseball.com, as well as being named All-West Region Pitcher of the Year by the region’s coaches.

“Brett is such a competitor,” Owens said. “He goes right after the hitters. He’s a typical bulldog on the mound.”

Hinson, who played at Vidalia High School and Mississippi Delta Community College before spending the last two years at Mississippi College, said he was very surprised to find out he was an All-American.

“I thought (coach Owens) was joking at first,” Hinson said. “He left me a voice mail. He’s always messing with me. I made second-team all-conference and surely didn’t think I’d make All-American and region Pitcher of the Year. It blew my mind a little bit.”

Hinson said the hard work he put into his senior season was a major reason for his success.

“I wanted to be the best,” Hinson said. “I never worked this hard at anything ever. I was lifting weights and training in the offseason to keep getting better.”

And Hinson used that training to become a very durable pitcher that basically carried the Choctaws pitching staff this past season.

Hinson pitched 91 2/3 innings this season, over 20 innings more than any other Choctaw pitcher. His ERA of 3.63 was also more than two runs less than any other pitcher on the staff.

“I’m not going to intimidate anybody,” Hinson said. “I feel like I’ll get out and eat up innings. I’m never scared of pitching against anybody.”

And Hinson’s finest performance came in the ASC Tournament.

“I was running off pure adrenaline,” Hinson said. “I don’t even know if they wanted me to pitch (in the championship game). I just went down to the bullpen and started warming up. It was my senior year and I had nothing else to pitch for. I wanted to win a championship ring.”

And while Hinson wasn’t able to get that ring, being named All-American is a nice consolation prize.

“It’s a well-deserved award,” Owens said. “Being named All-American is what players dream of. From a coaching standpoint, I couldn’t ask anything more of Brett as a player or as a person.”