CLEVELAND — There are a lot of ways to lose a baseball game.
A walk-off grand slam is one you don’t normally see. Unfortunately, that’s how the Caledonia High School baseball team saw its season end Saturday.
Montana Jacobs allowed a grand slam over the left-field fence, which was only 295 feet away, in a 6-2 loss to Cleveland in game three of he best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A North State playoff series.
Caledonia forced a deciding game Friday thanks to a 4-3 victory.
“Nobody expected us to be here, and nobody expected us to win against Itawamba,” Caledonia coach John Wilson said. “They worked hard and went a lot farther than anybody expected.”
Caledonia committed 18 errors in the three-game series. Wilson said he had no way to explain the number of fielding miscues, especially since the team played so well in the three-game series against Itawamba Agricultural.
Like it did in the first round, Caledonia received solid pitching. Brandon Darling pitched five solid innings Friday before leaving with Cleveland leading 3-0. He allowed five hits and struck out six.
Caledonia used a four-run sixth inning to take the lead. The Confederates capitalized on a throwing error, and infield hit, and a pop up to no man’s land in right field to rally.
Jacobs retired all six batters he faced to get the victory.
On Saturday, Cody Allsup’s two-run double provided all of the Confederates” offense. Caleb Brown pitched the first six innings before giving way to Jacobs with the score tied at 2.
Wilson said the runs Cleveland scored in the eighth were earned. They were some of the only earned runs it scored in the series. After committing eight errors in game one, Caledonia had five in each of the next two.
“They played hard, but when you make 18 errors in three games you don’t deserve to win,” Wilson said.
n New Hope 11, Lake Cormorant 1, six innings: At Lake Cormorant, Thomas Woodruff had three hits, Tee Payne had a triple and three RBIs, and Dusty Dyson had a home run and three RBIs Friday night to lead the Trojans to a sweep of their best-of-three MHSAA Class 5A North State playoff series.
New Hope scored four runs in the first inning and added three more in the third to back the pitching of Peyton Lee. The senior right-hander allowed only three hits and one run in five innings. He walked none and struck out four. Taylor Stafford pitched the sixth.
Lee scored two runs and had an RBI, Trae Collins scored two runs, Will Golsan had a hit and an RBI, Landon Boyd had an RBI, Stafford scored two runs and had a hit, Rooke Coleman had a hit and two RBIs, Dyson scored three runs, Woodruff scored two runs, Austin Oglesby had a hit, and Payne had two hits.
New Hope will take on Starkville in the next round. Game one will be Friday. Starkville beat Center Hill 13-3 in game three Saturday to advance.
n Hamilton 11, Potts Camp 0, five innings: At Potts Camp,
n Hamilton 11, Potts Camp 0: At Potts Camp, Ethan Earnest needed only 79 pitches Friday night to throw a complete-game two-hitter to lead the Lions (18-9) to their sweep of the best-of-three MHSAA Class 2A North State series.
Earnest (4-1) walked one and struck out seven. He received offensive support from Austin Lewis, Seth DeMent, and Caleb Garvin, who each had two hits and an RBI. Richard Clay had a double and two RBIs and Hayden Gill had a triple and two RBIs.
“The first couple of innings we had runners on but didn’t do anything with them,” Hamilton coach Lewis Earnest said. “We hit the ball pretty good. We played defense and Ethan threw strikes. We played good all around.”
Hamilton will face Bruce in the next round. Game one will be Friday. Bruce rallied to win games two and three to eliminate Simmons.
n Marshall Academy 8, Oak Hill Academy 7: At Lexington, The Tigers used a six-run fourth inning that featured a grand slam home run to eliminate the Raiders (17-9) in game two of their best-of-three Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AA North State playoff series.
Both teams scored two runs in the third before Marshall Academy broke the game open in the fourth. Oak Hill Academy coach Marion Bratton said his right fielder made a great play on the home run, but that he collided with the fence and the ball went over the fence for a grand slam.
Oak Hill Academy rallied with five runs in the fifth, but it couldn’t complete the comeback.
Jacob Shempert (11-3) took the loss. He allowed six hits and one walk and struck out four. He also had two walks.
Joseph Caskey, Curt Huffman, and Clay Henley each had a single and an RBI for Oak Hill Academy. Jeb Stevens and Conner Baird each singled, and Tres Turner had an RBI on a fielder’s choice.
Softball
n Hamilton 4, New Site 0: At Hamilton, Lexus Jordan pitched another complete game Saturday to lead the Lady Lions to a sweep of their best-of-three MHSAA Class 2A North State playoff series.
On Friday, Jordan pitched a complete game in a 7-0 victory. Taylor Hyland hit two inside-the-park home runs, including a three-run shot in the top of the seventh inning. Addie Thompson followed with a home run to help put the game away.
In game two, Hyland had a triple and two RBIs to back Jordan.
“She gave up a few hits and worked out of a few jams,” Hamilton coach Bryan Loague said. “She pitched well when she had to.”
Loague said Hamilton played solid defense in both games. On Saturday, right fielder Jordyn Jackson made a diving catch in foul territory to end an inning with two runners on base.
“We played pretty well,” Loague said. “We didn’t hit the ball as well as I would have liked.”
Hamilton will take on Baldwyn in the next round. The dates and times for that series haven’t been set. Baldwyn eliminated Calhoun City to advance.
Track and field
n New Hope, West Point, Aberdeen compete in region meets: At Oxford, The New Hope High girls finished third with 78 points in Class 5A, Region 1 on Saturday, while the New Hope boys were fifth (53 points) in the meet at Oxford High.
The West Point boys were seventh with 52 points, while the girls were seventh with 41 points.
The Oxford girls won the meet with 212 points, while the Center Hill boys won their meet with 158 points.
In Class 3A, Region 1, the Aberdeen boys were third with 81 points. The Aberdeen girls were sixth with 48 points. The Mooreville boys won the region meet with 94 points, while the Ripley girls won with 125 points.
In the Class 5A track events, New Hope’s Kennedi Sanders was third in the 100-meter hurdles (16.75 seconds), New Hope’s Mercedes Mattix was third in the 100 (12.24), New Hope’s Jaquin Weatherspoon won the 100 (10.96), West Point’s Peair Howard was fourth in the 100 (11.08), New Hope’s girls 4×200 relay team of Tierra Dentry, Chelsea Psalms, Sanders, and Tylesha Washington won with a time of 1 minute, 47.24 seconds, West Point’s boys 4×200 team of Wheeler Daquin, Devasquez Ford, Howard, and Nelson McIntosh was second (1:30.44), New Hope’s Silvanis Johnson was third in the 1,600 (4:48.35), New Hope’s girls 4×100 team of Lashya Davis, Shanae Hunt, Mattix, and Shanice Nottage won with a time of 50.47, West Point’s girls 4×100 team of Leslie Bean, Alexis Gates, Ashley Gibson, and Kaliyah Logan was fourth (53.02), New Hope’s Dentry was fourth in the 400 (1:04.21), West Point’s Wheeler was fourth in the 400 (53.15), New Hope’s Quartez Temple was fourth in the 300 hurdles (43.18), West Point’s Daryl Thomas was second in the 800 (2:04.62), New Hope’s Mattix was third in the 200 (25.10), West Point’s Howard was second in the 200 (22.56), New Hope’s Todd Harris was fourth in the 200 (23.08), New Hope’s girls 4×400 team of Sydney Brocksmith, Dentry, Reagen Hern, and Sarah Hern was second (4:35.61), West Point’s girls 4×400 team of Jasmine Chewe, Alexis Gates, Laquandra Ivy, and Fantasia Shelton was third (4:47.88), and the West Point boys 4×400 team of Daquin, Keon McKinney, Onassis Pratt, and Sirmon Russell won with a time of 3:30.78.
In the Class 3A track events, Aberdeen’s Demeiro Wilson was second in 110 hurdles (16.43 and third in the 300 hurdles (46.85), Caslon Cunningham was fourth in the 100 (11.42), the girls 4×200 team won with a time of 1:52.61, the boys 4×200 team was third with a time of 1:32.79, the girls 4×100 team was second with a time of 54.10, the boys 4×100 team won with a time of 44.41, Alliyah Gillespie was second in the 400 (1:08.95), Jordan Gathings was third in the 400 (52.05) and fourth in the 200 (23.14), and Destiny Brandon was third in the 300 hurdles (59.53).
In the Class 5A field events, West Point’s Keisha Walker was third in the long jump (16 feet, 8 1/4 inches), New Hope’s Kennedi Sanders won the high jump (5-0), West Point’s Shakandis Spraggins was fourth in the shot put (27-11 3/4), West Point’s Romeo Wilson was fourth in the shot put (41-7), West Point’s Tyshia McCurry was third in the discus (75-8 1/2), New Hope’s James Hill was fourth in the triple jump (42-8), and New Hope’s Taylor Brown was fourth in the pole vault (7-0).
In the Class 3A field events, Aberdeen’s Raven Love was third in the long jump (14-11), Jeffery Riddle won the long jump (20-3 1/4) and the triple jump (43-1 1/2), and KaKayla Dancy was fourth in the shot put (27-2 3/4).
n In other track news Saturday, the Immanuel Christian 4×400 girls relay team of Taylor Baudoin, Michell Swaim, Missy Swaim, and Kaitlyn Tilly finished fourth at the Class AA North State meet. Their finish helped them qualify for the overall Class 2A State meet next week in Jackson.
n On Wednesday, Heritage Academy’s Parker Dunaway won the long jump and the triple jump in the Class A, AA, and AAA North State meet at Washington School.
Dunaway won the triple jump with a mark of 40 feet, 11 inches. He won the long jump with a mark of 21-5.
In Class AA, Oak Hill Academy’s Sarah Dill was the only other local competitor to finish first. She won the high jump with a mark of 5-0.
Other local Class A finishers were: Harley Thompson (Hebron Christian), fifth in the shot put, 38-2 1/2; fifth in the discus, 108-5.
Other local finishers in Class AA were: Shay Atkins (Oak Hill Academy), third in the shot put, 28-1; Norris Harris (Immanuel Christian), fifth in the shot put, 39-7; Taylor Baudoin (Immanuel Christian) second in the high jump, 4-10; third in the long jump, 15-2 1/2; and Kathryn White (Oak Hill Academy), fifth in the high jump, 4-8.
Other local Class AAA finishers were: Mary Douglas Kerby (Heritage Academy), second in the shot put, 33-2 1/2; second in the triple jump, 33-10 3/4; and Parker Short (Heritage Academy), fifth in the triple jump, 37-0.
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