STARKVILLE — Armed with a mind-set to “finish” this season, the Starkville Academy baseball team had to like what it saw Wednesday from pitcher Ryan McKell.
The senior threw a five-hit shutout to lead Starkville Academy to a 10-0 victory against Oak Hill Academy in a five-inning contest at Volunteer Field.
“If (Ryan) pitches like he did tonight, that will be great for us all year,” Starkville Academy junior right fielder Hunter Bolin said. “He has thrown twice for us this year (once in a preseason game) and has thrown two shutouts. If we keep getting that, we can be dangerous in May.”
Fresh off a 4-3 win against Heritage Academy on Monday night, the Volunteers moved to 2-0 by getting eight hits and scoring four runs in the fifth inning to bring the 10-run rule into effect.
“Last year, we would start a lot of games strong and then struggle in the middle innings,” McKell said. “We didn’t do a real good job of finishing. During the offseason, we have worked extremely hard on our defense and on our pitching. Those are the ways we are going to be able to finish off games this year.”
After committing four errors against Heritage Academy, Starkville Academy didn’t have a miscue in the field. McKell walked four, but he struck out seven.
“It was a much crisper game all the way around,” Starkville Academy coach Neal Henry said. “We started a senior on the mound who went out there and threw strikes. We won every inning, and that is something you like to do. We had hoped for a fast start and wanted to build the lead.
“In our first two games, we have thrown our three conference pitchers. Each of them did a great job of throwing strikes and coming after hitters. We want to throw strikes and challenge the other team to put the ball in play. When that happens, we have to make the plays on defense. Tonight, we did that.”
Starkville Academy scored two runs in the first and added three more in the third. In each at-bat, the first two batters reached base to spark the offense.
“Coming off the big win at Heritage, we wanted to keep the momentum going,” Bolin said. “We felt like we were better than this team. When you are better than a team, it is important to get ahead early and then their emotions get down. The early lead was real important for us. We wanted a good start.”
Bolin had three singles. Stephen Robertson also had multiple hits, including a double. In the third, Alex Holtcamp and Colby Runnels each had RBI singles. A misplay in the outfield loomed large in the fifth, as Robertson and Ryan Mann followed with RBI singles.
“The same thing got us Tuesday night (in a 4-3 loss at Heritage Academy),” Oak Hill Academy coach Marion Bratton said. “The game was tied and we had a dropped ball in the outfield. Right now, it is all about consistency. We had five starters I didn’t get from basketball until Tuesday.
“We have practiced on a football field, on a football practice field, and in the batting cages. We just need to get some repetitions. After the tough loss to Heritage, we really had a letdown. I think that played a role tonight. Starkville has a really good ballclub. Once we get going on a regular basis, we will have a chance to be pretty good as well.”
Adam Tumey and Clint Huffman had back-to-back singles for Oak Hill Academy in the fourth. Jacob Shempert and Jeb Stevens also had consecutive hits in the fifth. Each threat came with two outs.
“With the new bats, this is going to be a lot different year,” Henry said.” The games will be more low scoring and there will be a lot more small ball. You will have to move runners and take advantage of more opportunities. We did a great job of getting runners on and then getting them home tonight. That is going to be more important this year, going forward.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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