MACON — Seniors have a keen eye for detail.
So even though Kendall Taylor is standing down the left-field line, more than a few hundred feet away from a billboard that displays the years and titles won by previous Central Academy teams, she knows the sign is incomplete.
It”s not just because the senior slow- and fast-pitch standout wants to end her career with another ring, it”s because there is a sliver of white space below the previous entry left to include what everyone hopes will be a new addition: 2011 Slow-pitch state champion.
“Lately, I have been thinking about that a lot,” Taylor said. “It has been very emotional about it being the last weekend playing together.”
Central Academy will try to take the first step in what could be a day-long journey at 9 a.m. Saturday when it takes on Kemper Academy in the opening round of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools slow-pitch state tournament at the Amite School Center in Liberty.
The winner of the game between third-seeded Central Academy and fourth-seeded Kemper Academy will take on top-seeded Brookhaven Academy at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. The loser will fall to the loser”s bracket and be forced to make an even more arduous climb back to play for a championship.
Taylor and classmates Megan Banks and Rachel Holley aren”t fazed by the prospect of either route because they feel the Lady Vikings are ready.
“It is sad but it is really exciting at the same time,” Banks said. “In fast-pitch, we struggled a lot, but in slow-pitch we have gotten it all together and are playing as a team.”
Central Academy (22-3) has won 15 games in a row. Coach Sammy Lindsey isn”t sure his players know that, and he isn”t one to jinx a good thing. Still, he feels the team has hit its stride and has rebounded from losses to Amite, Brookhaven, and Parklane. He said victories against Amite and Parklane at the end of the regular season helped put things back on track.
“We knew they could beat them, and (the players) know for sure,” Lindsey said. “I think that will carry them a long way. The ball has been rolling ever since, and it just keeps getting stronger and stronger.”
MHSAA — Class 5A North State
n Lake Cormorant 6, New Hope 2: At Lake Cormorant, New Hope managed only four hits Thursday in losing Game 1 of its best-of-three playoff series. D.J. Sanders, Madison Thrasher, Anna Holley, and Jordan Johnson (triple) had hits for the Lady Trojans, who will play host to Game 2 at 1 p.m. Saturday. They will have to win that game to force an elimination game that will take place approximately 30 minutes after that game.
“We played great, but they hit and we didn”t,” New Hope coach Tabitha Beard said. Lauren Holifield started in the circle and took the loss.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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