When all appeared lost on offense, Starkville Academy turned to its pitching and defense to take a series from arch-rival Heritage Academy.
Starkville Academy senior pitcher Harper Arnold pitched a five-hitter as the Volunteers beat the Patriots 3-1 in the second game of a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA doubleheader at Trip Carson Field Thursday night. A walk-off RBI-single by Tanner Fittes in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted Heritage Academy to a 6-5 win in the opener, after Starkville Academy won 4-2 at home Tuesday night.
“This was really not like us,” Arnold said. “Normally, we swing the bats well and score a lot of runs. This series, we had to rely on our pitching and defense. The last couple of weeks, I have been pitching well, so I was excited about getting out there and making sure we won that second game.”
Arnold set the tone on the mound as the Volunteers eventually got the offense in gear.
Stymied by Heritage Academy (7-12, 4-8 region) starter Logan Sneed for five innings, Starkville Academy (18-4, 8-4) finally broke through in the sixth inning.
Billy McGee and John McReynolds had back-to-back one-out singles to tie the game at 1-1. In the seventh inning, a leadoff single by Hunter Peeples opened the door. After a sacrifice bunt, Arnold hit a double. A sacrifice fly by Luke Templeton plated the go-ahead run. The game’s only error plated an insurance score.
“Harper gave us the type of start we needed to make sure we finished the series with a win,” Starkville Academy coach Jody Britt said. “We had trouble putting together some offense in the entire series. We won this game tonight with some incredible defense. For the series, we only made one error and that didn’t cost us a run.”
Great defense also closed out the win. A tiring Arnold was reached for two singles in the seventh inning. After a popup, a fielder’s choice loaded the bases. A line drive double play turned by first baseman John McReynolds sealed the victory.
The opener featured a lot of dramatics in the seventh inning.
Down 4-0, the Volunteers scored five times in the seventh inning with a two-run home run by Houston Clark putting them ahead 5-4. Heritage Academy came right back and won on walk-off fashion, thanks to a two-out RBI-single from Tanner Fittes.
“I thought the kids were really locked in and ready to compete tonight,” Heritage Academy coach Bruce Branch said. “I thought the effort was much better than it was Tuesday night. Those were two really good games where we got a win and had our chances to win another one.”
Fittes finished with a three-RBI night.
“He is a senior so you know those last Heritage-Starkville games mean a lot to him,” Branch said. “We had three outstanding pitching efforts (Hunter Sykes Tuesday, Thomas Cooper game one Thursday, Logan Sneed game two Thursday). Our pitching staff has done a great job of keeping us in games all year. They have consistently gotten us into the sixth and seventh innings and given us a chance.”
The challenge for Heritage Academy has been to keep things going on offense.
“In the first inning of the first game, we come out and score four runs and we are playing with a lot of energy,” Sykes said. “Then we got flat until the seventh inning. Then we find enough energy to pull through and win the game. In the second game, we don’t score after the first inning. We just have to do a better job of keeping things going throughout a game.”
In the opener, Dylan Barker, Ladd Chain and Fittes had multiple hits to highlight an 11-hit attack for Heritage Academy. Sykes had three hits in the second game, while Starkville Academy’s Drake Gordman had two.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Oxford 5, West Point 3: At West Point, a two-run home run by Ben Bianco lifted the Chargers past the Green Wave in a MHSAA Class 5A, Region 2 contest.
Oxford (21-0, 6-0 region) can clinch the region title with one more league win or a loss by New Hope. The Chargers erased a 3-2 deficit in the sixth inning to get the win.
Jerni White (4-9, 1-5) had two hits for West Point. Rico Lane pitched all seven innings.
New Hope 2, Saltillo 0: At New Hope, the Trojans (13-4, 4-2 region) clinched a Class 5A playoff berth by knocking off the Tigers at home in Class 5A, Region 2 play.
Josh Stillman pitched a five-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts. Payton Lane and Aidan Fletcher had the lone RBIs for the Trojans.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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