BLUE SPRINGS — The Hamilton High School baseball team pounded out 19 hits Saturday in a 15-2 victory against East Union in game two of their best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 2A North State playoff series.
“We played well all around,” Hamilton coach Lewis Earnest said. “We hit the ball very well, especially to the opposite field. We played very good defense and made only one error.”
With the win, Hamilton (15-5), which won 6-1 on Friday, advances to face the winner of the Baldwyn-Eupora series, which will be played May 6, 9, and 9. That series is tied 1-1 and will play a game three Monday.
Chase Reeves went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and five runs scored, while Graham Pritchett and Austin Welch each had three hits. Welch and Kyle Dahlem each had four RBIs to back the pitching of Austin Earnest and Brandon Fikes. Earnest (5-2) went the first five innings and allowed five hits and two runs. He walked five and struck out six. Fikes allowed one hit and walked one in the sixth after Hamilton scored four runs to force the 10-run mercy rule in the bottom half of the inning.
“Austin pitched well,” Earnest said. “He struggled a little bit in the first inning, throwing 34 pitches, but then he settled down and kept the ball around the zone. He mixed up his pitches well and got a lot of pop ups and ground balls along with six strikeouts.”
Parker Rye, Austin Lewis, and Dahlem each had two hits for Hamilton, wile Ethan Earnest had two RBIs.
On Friday, Reeves threw a complete-game four-hitter to lead Hamilton to a 6-1 victory in Hamilton. Reeves, a senior left-hander, walked two and struck out 12 to improve to 5-0.
“Chase Reeves threw very well,” Earnest said. “He didn”t try to overthrow and stayed around the zone a lot. He relied more on his changeup tonight. When he kept it down in the zone it was sick.”
The Lions used a three-run second inning to score all of the runs they needed against starter and loser Cody Dillard. Dahlem and Welch (three hits) singled. Lewis reached a fielder”s choice that erased Dahlem at third base. Cole Gill singled in Welch, and Austin Earnest grounded out to score Lewis. Pritchett (2-for-4, three RBIs) singled home Gill to end the uprising.
Hamilton tacked on two insurance runs in the sixth on a single by Pritchett.
“I thought we should have hit the ball a little better (seven hits), but their lefty (Dillard) did a great job of mixing it up,” Earnest said. “He”s young but crafty. We”re gonna need to hit the ball better up there to win it.”
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