HERNANDO — The New Hope High School baseball team is one step away from returning to the state’s biggest stage.
Landon Boyd pitched a complete-game four-hitter, and Will Golsan and Taylor Stafford hit home runs to lead New Hope to a 4-2 victory against Hernando in game one of the best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North State title series.
Game two will be at 7 tonight in Columbus. An if-needed game three would be Saturday at Hernando.
“It was a good ballgame,” New Hope coach Lee Boyd said. “They’re the best team that we’ve seen in the playoffs. Landon pitched well. He started off a little shaky, but he kept them off balance and we made the routine plays.”
Golsan’s home run in the first inning gave New Hope (25-7) a short-lived 1-1 lead. Hernando answered in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a throwing error.
The Trojans took the lead in the second on a double by designated hitter Rooke Coleman and a double by Peyton Lee. In the fourth, Stafford, who also had a single, added a home run to make it 3-1. The Trojans tacked on another run thanks to a single by Tee Payne, a double by Dusty Dyson, and a sacrifice fly by Coleman.
Coach Boyd praised the play of Golsan at shortstop. He said Golsan made a sliding stop on a ball hit up the middle to start a double play that allowed the Trojans to work out of trouble.
“I was a little concerned (about the three-hour bus ride), but we have done it several times this season on trips to Oxford and Saltillo,” Boyd said. “I knew the guys would be ready to play.”
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