Brittni Beard was back in the zone.
Usually, the New Hope High School right-hander refrains from showing emotion when she is in the circle. Even though she is an freshman, Beard has been pitching for years and knows how important it is not to get frustrated and not to let the other team know when she is.
That’s why Monday was so difficult for Beard. Not only did she walk seven, Beard also hit two but persevered in a complete-game effort to lead New Hope past Vicksburg in Game 1 of their best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A first-round playoff series.
On Tuesday, Beard regrouped by allowing only five hits and walking three in a 9-2 victory that helped New Hope clinch the series.
New Hope (12-6) will take on two-time reigning Class 5A state champion Neshoba Central at 6 p.m. Friday in Game 1 of the best-of-three second-round series. Game 2 will be at 3 p.m. Saturday in Columbus. Game 3 would follow the previous game. Neshoba Central allowed only three hits combined in 12-0 and 10-0 victories against Lake Cormorant.
“She had some tough breaks in Vicksburg,” New Hope coach Tabitha Beard said. “The umpire and her didn’t get along too well. She had a moment where I think she kind of let her emotions get the best of her when some things fell apart defensively and then with him.
“It was rough on her, but I was proud of the way she bounced back tonight.”
Brittni Beard allowed five hits Monday in an 11-9 victory against Vicksburg. New Hope committed six errors, which combined with some disagreements with the home plate umpire made for a challenging game. But Beard said she didn’t alter her approach and leaned on the pitch calling of former New Hope High assistant coach Connie Sharpe, who is the mother of former New Hope High standout Lauren Holifield. Sharpe also called pitches Monday.
“I have to remember how to pitch and how I was taught and remember what worked and what didn’t,” Beard said. “I have to know I can do it and trust my defense and know I can.”
Unfortunately, coach Beard said Sharpe won’t be with the team for the next series because she will be with Holifield for the Jones County Junior College softball team’s Mississippi Association of Junior and Community Colleges (MACJC) playoff series.
Beard said she doesn’t stomp the ground or lose her cool when a pitch she thinks is a strike isn’t called. Instead, she said the frustration sometimes is visible on her face. She said she tries to put it out of her mind and re-focus on the next pitch. She felt she did a better job in Game 2 than in the opener, when she said she didn’t recall how many batter she hit. She then smiled when asked if she was following a trend of former New Hope High pitchers.
DJ Sanders, a freshman on the Louisiana Lafayette softball team, had similar control issues when she was a younger pitcher, but she worked through them to become a dominating presence in the circle. Beard said her goal is to be like Sanders because she “kept calm and collected” in the circle.
Beard hopes she can keep that mind-set for the next series. With Alex Melton and Mackenzie Harvey out with injuries, Beard likely will shoulder the pitching responsibilities against one of the state’s top teams. But a young New Hope team hasn’t allowed bumps in the road to knock it off track so far, so Beard hopes that will be the case in the next round.
“We just look at it as God does everything for a reason, and if He brings us through it, He is going to bring us through it,” Beard said. “If He brought us to this and He wants all these players hurt and He wants us to show that we can do it no matter who is hurt, I think we can come as a team and fight for it.”
Beard and Alaysha Jennings had two hits to pace New Hope’s eight-hit attack. Kerrington Jones, Kelsey Gerhart, Kaiya Palmer, and Anna Kate O’Bryant also had hits. Palmer had three RBIs, while Jones had two.
Class 4A
n Caledonia 3-8, Cleveland 5-3: At Cleveland, the Lady Confederates (15-8) rallied in Game 3 to win their first-round series on the road to advance to the second round to face Senatobia.
Caledonia coach Robin Elmore said Game 1 will be at 6 p.m. Friday in Caledonia. Game 2 (1 p.m.) and Game 3, if needed, will be Saturday at Senatobia.
“It started raining and it was like the girls found their groove,” Elmore said.
Trailing 3-2, Caledonia scored two runs in the top of the fifth to take a 4-3 lead. Gracie McCleskey doubled to open the half inning. Elmore said the hitting was contagious after that as Hope Harbin singled and Cassie Obman and Hope Burton sacrificed.
McCleskey and Harbin had a single, double, and RBI, Obman had a single, sacrifice, and three RBIs, Burton had a sacrifice, Lauren Duckworth had a sacrifice, Burns had a single and a double, Wilkes had a sacrifice and an RBI, and Taylor had a double and two RBIs.
Caledonia responded by retiring Cleveland in order in the bottom half of the inning. It then tacked on four more runs in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
“I told the players I was going to have to call 911 because I thought someone kidnapped my girls,” Elmore said between the fifth and sixth innings. “In the sixth, the team looked like the team I know we are.”
In the sixth, Burns doubled and Nicole Kifer and Wilkes laid down sacrifice bunts. Taylor followed with a double that Elmore said “burnt the left fielder.”
Burton did the rest. In relief of starter Carlee Dale, Burton struck out four and regrouped from her start in Game 1.
“Hope Burton was lights out,” Elmore said. “It was like walking with the Lord. It doesn’t matter how you start, it is how you end. We got to hear tear the roof off one more time.”
In Game 1, Elmore said the Lady Confederates worked out of several jams but “couldn’t string any hits together.” Dale took the loss. Harbin, Obman, Burton (sacrifice, RBI), Kifer, and Wilkes had singles. McCleskey and Duckworth had RBIs.
Baseball
n Magnolia Heights 16, Starkville Academy 6: At Starkville, the Volunteers started the final week of the regular season on a down note with a run-rule loss at Volunteer Field.
For Starkville Academy (22-8, 12-7), Hunter Peeples and John McReynolds had two hits. McReynolds also had two RBIs.
McReynolds allowed eight hits and eight runs (five earned) in 2 2/3 innings.
The teams will play a doubleheader Thursday in Senatobia to end the regular season.
Starkville Academy will play host to Oak Forest (La.) to begin playoff action Tuesday.
n Rain affects Oak Hill Academy, Hebron Christian: The Oak Hill Academy baseball team’s game against Winona Christian in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AA playoffs was rained out. The teams will play Game 1 of the series at 5 p.m. Thursday in Winona. They will return to West Point to play Game 2 of the best-of-three series at 5 p.m. Friday. If needed, Game 3 would follow approximately 30 minutes after the previous game.
In the MAIS Class A playoffs, Benton Academy was leading Hebron Christian 4-0 in the bottom of the third inning before rain forced the game to be stopped. The teams will resume the series at 4 p.m. Thursday at Benton Academy. Game 2 will follow approximately 30 minutes after the completion of the first game. If needed, Game 3 would be in Pheba.
n In MHSAA action, Hamilton defeated St. Joe’s 3-1 in Game 1 of its second round Class 1A best-of-three playoff series. Game 2 will be Thursday in Hamilton.
n Correction: Caledonia High golf coach Bradley Tate was incorrectly identified in a picture in Sunday’s edition. Tate’s team won the Class 4A, region 3 title by one shot against Kosciusko.
Staff Reports were included in this report.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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