OXFORD — New Hope High School junior third baseman Nick Sims represents the new-look Trojans.
Sims ripped a two-strike, two-out double to tie his team’s Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A North State championship series opener with Oxford on Thursday night.
Minutes later, Oxford won the game 5-4. However, the Trojans erased a 4-0 deficit with three runs in the sixth inning and one run in the seventh at Edwin Moak Field.
The best-of-three series continues at 7 tonight at New Hope. If needed, a Game 3 would be at 7 p.m. Saturday in Oxford.
“Obviously very disappointed in the outcome,” New Hope coach Lee Boyd said. “Could not be prouder of a team. The amount of character they have shown in the playoffs. The resiliency and the toughness they have shown. A lot of teams would have folded the tents down 4-0. They would have started preparing for the second game.
“Not sure this team would not have done that earlier in the year. We don’t look like the team that was 9-10 at one point this season.”
Boyd said his team learned a valuable lesson midway through the season.
“This is not meant to be disrespectful to this current team, but it’s a different team,” Boyd said. “Some of the state championships teams could have that off night and get by. This team can’t do that. This year’s team is talented. However, they have to fight. They have to play hard for seven innings.
“They can’t take any situation lightly. They have to fight, scrap, battle for seven innings. We don’t win if we don’t do that. Once they figured out what giving seven innings of effort meant, we became a much better team. You saw that tonight. Against all the odds in the world, we were in a position.”
Oxford, the two-time reigning Class 5A state champion, is favored for a third title. The 2015 North State championship series opened with New Hope dropping a heart-breaker in extra innings on this field.
Thursday’s script had its painful similarities.
Oxford (30-5) struck first on a two-out dropped fly ball in the first. It was playing at home and not facing New Hope ace Peyton Buckner.
Still, senior Carson Forrester battled for the Trojans.
A tiring Forrester escaped peril in the fourth on a double play by second baseman Drew Pounders and shortstop Koby Harcrow. The Chargers then struck for three runs on two hits and two walks in the fifth.
“You just keep playing,” Boyd said. “That is what we have to remind our guys constantly. You just keep playing.”
Things turned for New Hope (21-13) in the sixth. With one out, Sims hit the first of his two doubles. It was only New Hope’s second hit. Harcow had a double in the fifth.
Forrester and Bryce Braddock followed with hits to give New Hope life. The Trojans then benefitted from two wild pitches and a two-out error to pull within 4-3.
In the seventh, Oxford junior Parker Stinnett was up against this season’s new pitch count limit. After a quick groundout and strikeout, Stinnett appeared to be in business.
Pounders then lined a single to center. Sims worked the count full and fouled off two pitches before smacking his double to right-center field to tie the game. Two fouled off pitches during the at-bat were critical too as they pushed Stinnett past the 120-pitch count limit.
Reliever Carson Stinnett walked a batter and then got a full-count check swing strikeout call to snuff the threat.
“All you really want when you come here is to have a chance,” Boyd said. “The game isn’t going to get out of hand or anything like that. You just want a chance. You know how difficult it is going to be to win here. You just want that chance. You want that ball to fall right to give yourselves a chance.”
After a leadoff walk on another borderline full-count check swing call, C.J. Terrell lined the game-winner with a double that sailed over the head of center fielder Xavier Harrison.
While the game lacked the stellar play of the 2015 North State championship series — the teams combined for 10 walks, a hit batsman, and five errors — Boyd hopes the Trojans show the same resolve when the venue changes.
New Hope won the middle game of that series 1-0 on a walk-off home run in the seventh.
“Our mind-set is different now,” Boyd said “We are going to come out fighting. We learned that lesson the hard way earlier in the season.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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