[6/13/03]Six years ago, Justin Henry and Andrew Embry helped spark a baseball renaissance in Vicksburg as teammates on the Vicksburg Baseball Association 12-year-olds’ all-star team that went to the Babe Ruth World Series.

Over the years, they drifted apart. Embry went to Porters Chapel Academy and Henry went to Vicksburg High, and other than an occasional summer league game or an appearance at the State Games, they never met up on the baseball field.

The world works in mysterious ways sometimes, however. On Saturday Henry and Embry will finish their high school careers on the same field at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson.

Henry, a VHS shortstop and Ole Miss signee, will represent the Mississippi High School Activities Association, while first baseman and pitcher Embry will play for the Mississippi Private Schools Association all-stars in the second annual MPSA/MHSAA Mississippi Classic.

PCA coach Randy Wright, who led the Eagles to their first state title this season, will serve as one of the coaches for the MPSA team.

The game begins at 6 p.m., and admission is $5.

“We’ve been playing against each other ever since we were old enough to play baseball. It’s just that go in there and get them’ mentality,” said Embry, who hit .335 with 10 home runs and 37 RBIs for PCA this season and signed to play at Meridian Community College. “It’s great that we have two representatives from Vicksburg that can play in this game. It shows how good baseball here is.”

Unlike last year, when there were two public-private all-star games one for smaller schools and one for larger schools there is only one game this time.

The 2002 game matching the Academy-A and AA all-stars against the MHSAA Class 1A, 2A, and 3A all-stars was a 15-2 rout in favor of the public schools, and the small-school game was eliminated to try to restore some competitive balance, said MPSA director of activities Les Triplett. The MHSAA Class 4A and 5A all-stars beat the Academy-AAA all-stars 5-4 in 10 innings last year.

The single game makes for an interesting mix of talent. Players like Embry, who comes from the smallest classification of private schools, will face players like Henry, who comes from the highest classification of public schools.

“It’s going to be interesting to see how it turns out. The public school (team) has an astronomical amount of talent, and it’s going to be interesting to see if we can stay with them,” Wright said.

Adjusting to harder-throwing pitchers will be the biggest challenge for the MPSA all-stars, Embry said.

“In private schools, you have people that throw in the upper 80s, but they have people that throw in the 90s,” Embry said. “It’s going to be different.”

Whether or not Embry actually gets to meet Henry face-to-face in the game is uncertain. Embry was one of PCA’s top pitchers this season, posting a 9-2 record with 103 strikeouts and a 1.60 ERA.

In the MPSA Class A-AA all-star game two weeks ago in Clinton, he allowed one unearned run in three innings on the mound. He said he was selected for the public-private game as a first baseman, though, and wasn’t sure if he would pitch.

Henry was a teammate of Embry’s at the State Games last summer and said he was looking forward to playing against the left-hander.

“Us being in the same town, and we never get to play against each other, it’ll be fun,” said Henry, who hit .456 with 36 RBIs, 35 runs scored, and 34 stolen bases this season. “(Embry) threw real well for us at the State Games, and he did well for Porters Chapel this year … He does what he does well.”

While the Henry-Embry matchup may or may not materialize, another lively subplot was nixed last week when the Class 4A-5A North all-stars lost in the MHSAA all-star game in Hattiesburg.

Had the North won, Wright would have coached in the public-private game against his best friend, VHS coach Jamie Creel. Henry joked that the Wright-Creel battle would have had more hype and build-up than a heavyweight fight.

“I was definitely hoping we could pull out the game and get a Creel-Randy Wright matchup. They’d probably be going at it all week,” Henry said with a laugh.

Wright played down the missed opportunity to coach against his friend.

“It would have been fun, but it’s not a big deal,” Wright said.