The New Hope High School fast-pitch softball team cruised into the second round of the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A playoffs with a sweep of Clarksdale.
The Lady Trojans earned a 15-0 victory in three innings and then won by the same score in game two Friday at Lady Trojans Field to advance to the next round.
“I am just looking forward to the next round,” New Hope coach Tabitha Beard said.
New Hope (22-5) will play the winner of the Hernando-Neshoba Central Central series, which was scheduled to resume Saturday but was rescheduled to 5 p.m. Monday. If needed, a third game in that series will be played at 7 p.m. Hernando defeated Neshoba Central 6-5 in the first game of the best-of-three series Thursday.
D.J. Sanders struck out six and didn”t allow a hit in game one. She also had a single and an RBI as the Lady Trojans capitalized on eight errors.
Anna McCrary (two RBIs) was the only New Hope player with two hits in game one. Haley Tutor (RBI), Anna Holley (sacrifice, RBI), Lauren Holifield, and Jessica Moore (RBI) also had hits.
Holifield started and won game two. She walked and scored in a six-run first inning that propelled the Lady Trojans.
Sanders had a single and an RBI, Empress Shirley had a single, McCrary had a two-run single, and Kaitlin Bradley had an RBI in the first.
n South Lamar 5, Parrish 0: The South Lamar Lady Stallions won the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class A, Area 10 Tournament by beating Parrish in the championship game Thursday.
South Lamar advances to play Appalachain at 12:30 p.m. Friday in the Class A North Central Regional at Liberty Park in Birmingham, Ala.
In other area championship games Thursday, Pickens County lost 15-0 to American Christian in Class 2A, Area 7, Sulligent lost 7-3 to Oakman in Class 2A, Area 11, and Aliceville lost 9-3 to Gordo in Class 3A, Area 6.
Track and Field
n Immanuel competes in state meet: At Jackson, Wesley Lake finished second in the 1600-meter run and was part of the 3200-meter relay team that finished eighth for Immanuel Christian at the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Overall track meet on Saturday.
Lake ran the relay with Justin Perkins, Ross Moore and Reed Williams.
Perkins finished sixth in the 800-meter run.
For the Immanuel girls, Mary Katherine Good finished third in the 3200-meter run.
n MHSAA meets postponed: The Class 4A, Region 2 and the Class 2A, Region 2 meets scheduled Saturday for Mississippi Valley State were postponed due to inclement weather. The meets have been rescheduled for Tuesday.
Caledonia, Noxubee County, and Amory in Class 4A and West Lowndes in Class 2A will compete.
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