Keegan Thompson was Mr. Baseball in every sense of the title in 2013.

The Cullman fireballer and slugger saved perhaps his best for last in the prep ranks, going out with a bang — and a whole slew of awards to boot.

Thompson’s farewell tour included three defining moments that cemented his legend as one of the Bearcat baseball program’s all-time greats.

After edging Class 6A Oxford 6-5 on Opening Day, the Black and Gold turned to Thompson on the mound versus Pelham later that night. The cold-blooded hurler didn’t disappoint, either, single-handedly taking down the eventual 6A state champs in a 2-1 thriller. Thompson fanned 14 batters in eight innings and drilled two solo home runs, including the walk-off shot in the bottom of the extra frame, to put his team over the top.

A month later, the ace entered Cullman’s area series against East Limestone hindered by a strained left calf muscle that made it hard for him to walk, much less run. As Thompson found out in the middle of an uncharacteristic Game 2 loss, however, he could still actually pitch without discomfort.

That late discovery made every bit of difference in the Bearcats’ season-saving series victory, which ended in a 13-0 rout after Thompson — who hobbled out to the hill each inning — struck out 13 batters and tossed five no-hit frames.

“Our season was on the line, and we didn’t really think he could pitch,” Black and Gold coach Brent Patterson told The Times. “He came in the office, and I told him we didn’t want to jeopardize anything. He was like, ‘No, look, I want to do this.’

“That right there is what we expected because that’s who he’d been the whole time, just very humble, quiet and a team type of kid.”

Thompson’s third and final highlight consisted of an insane stretch of dominance in a very short span during the postseason.

A Game 1 loss to Muscle Shoals in the opening round left Thompson to play the hero that Saturday — he fanned nine and allowed two hits in five innings on an 11-1 win — and again just two days later, when he struck out nine in six strong inning for a series-clinching 9-2 triumph.

The comeback set up a second-round showdown with arch-rival Hartselle later in the week, but the short rest didn’t keep Thompson from taking his ever-familiar spot on the mound with Cullman’s season at stake for a second consecutive season.

The next-level pitcher came through in the clutch yet again, rearing back and unleashing his filthiest stuff in Game 2 to strike out a season-high 16 batters. Thompson used every ounce of energy he had left to close out the seven-inning affair — as well as his final prep start — with a 3-1 decision in Cullman’s favor.

By the end of the 2013 campaign, Thompson compiled a 9-2 record with two saves, a meager 1.25 earned run average, 124 strikeouts and one shutout. In 72 2/3 innings spread out over 15 appearances, he walked a mere eight batters and allowed only 13 earned runs.

Despite being walked 34 times — many were intentional — in 192 at-bats, the two-time USA Baseball representative uncorked an astronomical .420 batting average with 63 hits, nine home runs, 45 RBIs, 35 runs, 19 doubles, four stolen bases and a triple.

Thompson was rewarded handsomely for his strong senior showing, becoming the state’s first two-time Gatorade Alabama Baseball Player of the Year, as well as the Bearcats’ first two-time Class 5A Player and Pitcher of the Year and three-time Super All-State selection.

No other Black and Gold baseball player has even been picked for the Super All-State Team more than once.

To top it off, Thompson was named to the Louisville Slugger High School All-American first team as a pitcher for the third year in a row. Lefty Jordan Guthrie, who’s since departed for Snead State, earned second-team honors at the same position.

“You realize just how special he is when he isn’t there anymore,” Patterson told The Times about Thompson. “But it was definitely an  honor to coach somebody like that. He’s just a special kid, and I know everybody already knows that.”

Patterson’s coaching counterpart at Hartselle, William Booth, had the highest praise for the pitcher who gave his Tigers fits over the years. Hartselle went on to win the 5A state championship after dispatching Cullman, a feat Booth claimed never would’ve happened if not for Thompson.

“We won state this year because of Keegan Thompson,” the coach told The Times. “We faced pitchers in the state competition, and they were a notch or two below Keegan. That made us better because we were preparing for him all year, and we still didn’t beat him. We did not beat him ever. He’s that good.”

Thompson and his family were faced with a million-dollar decision in June. He could either stick with his commitment and take his rocket arm to Auburn or accept a likely massive offer from a major-league organization in the first or second round of the MLB amateur draft.

In the end, the Thompsons’ preference for the college route shone through, scaring big-league ball clubs from taking the Bearcat and cementing his future as one of the Tigers’ top pitchers.

% Rob Ketcham can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 138 or at robk@cullmantimes.com.