Saturday marked another long day of baseball for New Hope High School”s Dizzy Dean baseball team.
And while the Trojans ended the day with a loss, a 6-1 setback to Zachary (La.) in a nightcap at Trojan Field, coach Lee Boyd was happy with his team”s performance entering today”s semifinal matchup against Caledonia.
“Pitchers threw strikes,” he said. “First game (a 6-4 win against Neshoba Central), (Taylor) Stafford threw the ball well against Neshoba (Central). That”s where I was at before I came here, so it was good to see those guys. They”re a quality team.”
The Trojans then won a 17-9 slugfest against West Point to end their first day in the tournament. On Saturday, New Hope beat Starkville Academy 11-5 before losing the final game.
Even in the loss, Boyd found a positive note. That”s because Dusty Dyson filled in on the mound, pitching four innings. He gave up six runs, but no matter, Boyd said.
“To say he”s never pitched for us before, he did pretty good against a real good team,” Boyd said.
Stafford, who will be a sophomore in the fall, is coming off a freshman season in which is had an 4.42 ERA in 31 2/3 innings.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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