HAMILTON — Emily Earnest went 6-for-7 Saturday to help the Hamilton High School slow-pitch softball team beat East Union 8-6 and 4-2 in their Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 2A North State playoff series.
With the victories, Hamilton (22-7) advances to play district and Monroe County rival Hatley at 5 p.m. Tuesday in a best-of-three series to decide which team will represent the North in the state title series Saturday in Jackson.
“They’re tough. They are really tough,” Hamilton coach Lewis Earnest said. “Their top five hitters can hit the longball and hit it out of most any park.”
Hamilton and Hatley split their games in the regular season. Earnest said Hatley hit four home runs in an 8-6 loss in Hamilton and hit five home runs in a 10-9 victory in Hatley.
“It is going to be an exciting night Tuesday,” Earnest said.
Hamilton, which has won 17 of its past 19 games, continued it hot hitting with 13 hits in each game.
In game one, Hamilton scored four runs on four hits in the first inning. The Lady Lions added one run in the third, two in the sixth, and one in the seventh.
East Union scored three runs in the third and then rallied for three runs in the seventh.
Emily Earnest was 3-for-4 (double, triple) with two runs scored, Lexus Jordan was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, Cheyenne Logan was 2-for-4 (double, triple) with a run scored, an RBI, and Addie Thompson was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
“We’re playing a lot better than we did early in the year,” Earnest said. “We’re hitting the ball a lot better, but we can’t play like we did today and expect to beat Hatley next week. We hit a lot of flyballs, and you just can’t hit them when you have runners on base. You have to hit line drives and groundballs to make them make plays.”
Hamilton, which was the home team in the nightcap, scored two runs in the first and two more in the second. Earnest was 3-for-3 with a run, Taylor Hyland was 2-for-4 (double) with a run scored and two RBIs, Christy Willis was 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Jordyn Jackson was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
“Taylor Hyland has been really hot for us,” Earnest said. “She and Cheyenne have really been hitting the ball well in that stretch. Addie Thompson is hitting it really well. Lexus Jordan and Emily Earnest, they both have hit the ball well. All of those girls are hitting in the mid-.400s. The top half of our lineup everybody is hitting over .400, pretty much.”
Alison Atkins pitched both games for Hamilton.
East Union scored one run in the sixth and one in the seventh.
Coach Earnest said the Lady Lions stranded numerous runners in scoring position, including the bases loaded in the sixth, in game two.
Hamilton swept Broad Street 22-0 and 17-0 in the first round to advance.
“We just piddled around until we got to division play,” Earnest said. “Once we got to division games they flipped a switch and knew we had to win them and they started playing better. As a coach, you hate to have to watch that, but they have been like that the last several years. They have thought, ‘OK, it is time to play. Let’s pick it up.’ “
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