STARKVILLE — After a string of disappointing division losses, the Starkville High School baseball team earned a much-needed 10-4 win against Calhoun City on Saturday.
Nathan Pugh went 3-for-3 with three RBIs to help Starkville (5-8) rally from a 4-3 deficit and snap a two-game losing streak.
The Yellow Jackets entered Saturday”s game having lost five of their last six.
After losing to Tupelo 4-0 on Friday — Starkville”s fourth-straight division loss — the Yellow Jackets had 12 hits Saturday.
Hayden Higginbotham earned a start and had two singles and a double, and second baseman Jordan Allgood went 1-for-2 with two RBIs and reached base on all four of his at-bats.
“We”ve been playing close,” Starkville coach Danny Carlisle said. “We played Tupelo close last night. I”m just proud of the win.
“It was a big day for us. We played some different guys and saw what we could do with them, and some of them came through.”
Starkville took advantage of pitcher Brooks Goodson”s extended outing. The Wildcats” pitcher threw 126 pitches in six innings. He gave up all 10 runs, walked two, and struck out six.
Pugh said he and his teammates sensed Goodson was tiring in the middle innings.
“We”ve been seeing good pitchers from Tupelo, and this guy wasn”t as good as the guy we saw last night,” Pugh said. “It was a little bit easier of a pitcher, and we pounced on him like we should have done last night. The fact we hit better today made us feel a little bit better as a team.”
Starkville starting pitcher Max Bartlett gave up three runs on five hits in three innings before being replaced by Blake Harrell, who earned his first win of the season. Harrell, who entered the game with a team-high 11.45 ERA, had a rugged start with two walks and a wild pitch against his first three batters. He gave up one run in the fourth on a squeeze play, but kept the Tigers from threatening in the next three innings.
“The first two he threw were all over the place, but he threw strikes at the end,” Carlisle said.
In the bottom of the fourth, Starkville broke open four runs after Calhoun City plated two in the third following a pair of errors by Maurico Clark.
The Yellow Jackets opened the inning with back-to-back singles by Wesley Montgomery and Pugh, who beat out a throw to first to drive in a run. Higginbotham followed with a double and Allgood drove in a pair of runs to give Starkville a 6-4 lead. A Calhoun City error led to another run, which made gave the Yellow Jackets a 7-4 lead.
Pugh had a two-run single in the fifth, and Garrett Smith drove in a run on a ground out in the sixth.
Starkville will return to the field Tuesday against South Panola in Batesville.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 37 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.