When Starkville Academy’s Kyle Faver is in the field and teammate Taylor Arnold is pitching, it creates quite the Catch-22.
“It’s fun to play defense behind him because you know he is totally in control,” Faver said. “At the same time, you want some ground balls, but he is going to strike just about everybody out. It’s difficult because sometimes you lose your focus. It’s just strike after strike.”
Arnold is a big reason Starkville Academy is 4-0 in Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 action.
In last week’s three-game sweep of district rival Leake Academy, Arnold showed his importance in multiple ways. In a 10-4 win to start the series, Arnold pitched a complete-game four-hitter. In a 6-2 win to sweep the series, Arnold homered twice and drove in all six runs.
For this performance, Arnold is The Dispatch’s Prep Player of the Week.
“When he is in his groove, there is nobody I want out there pitching more,” Starkville Academy coach Brooks Roberts said. “He is in complete control. He doesn’t get rattled or flustered. He wants to come after all hitters. It’s just fill the strike zone with strikes. If you beat him, you are going to have earn it.”
Starkville Academy’s 8-5 victory against Heritage Academy on Monday moved Starkville Academy to 13-3. The Volunteers have enjoyed this success by getting a total team effort. Seven of the nine spots in the lineup had a hit in a 10-hit attack.
“That’s the best thing about this team is that it is a team,” Arnold said. “Somebody different is going to lead us in hitting each night. That’s what makes it fun. You don’t have any doubts that someone is going to step up and come through. We have been a late-innings team. Hopefully, that will continue.”
In the 10-4 victory against Leake Academy, Starkville Academy scored eight times in the seventh. On Monday, the teams were tied 3-3 before Starkville Academy scored three times in the sixth and twice more in the seventh.
“The pitching has kept us in almost every game,” Roberts said. “It’s just a matter of putting some things together. Taylor has been a big part of that. He is hitting in the six hole and provides a good mix of being a contact hitter and a power hitter.”
Faver said the biggest reason for the confidence in Arnold is his ability to fill up the strike zone on a consistent basis.
“We have four or five guys who do a really great job on the mound,” Faver said. “It starts with Taylor. When you can win the first game in a series, it puts all the pressure on the other team.”
Today’s doubleheader against Heritage Academy will mark the midway point in a 12-game region schedule.
“Everybody wants to make a deep run in the playoffs,” Arnold said. “A lot of the players were part of a state championship team in football. To win state in football and baseball would be sweet. It would be a testament to all of the hard work invested by this team.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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