STARKVILLE — Starkville Academy baseball coach Brooks Roberts feels his team is at its best in late-inning situations.
Heritage Academy coach Justin Flake feels his team is at its best when it has to respond to adversity.
Both coaches saw their teams play to those identities Tuesday night in a Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 doubleheader split at Volunteer Field.
In the opener, Starkville Academy scored five times in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a 5-4 victory. In the nightcap, Heritage Academy salvaged the final game of the three-game regular-season series with a 4-2 victory.
“The second game really shows the character of our team,” Flake said. “In the first game, it was as disappointing a loss as you could possibly have. We pitched it great for six innings and then things got away from us. To be able to come back, 20 minutes later, and to play a rival, and to play well enough to win tells you a lot about this team.
“They are going to keep fighting, clawing, scratching until the end. It was a really a huge win, and one we needed badly. Showing that we are a team that will compete is huge for a coach.”
Seth Harris (four innings) and J.R. Lott (three innings) combined to hold Starkville Academy to six hits in the second game. The Volunteers scored both of their runs in the first.
Heritage Academy (11-6, 1-2) took the lead with three runs in the second, which included a go-ahead RBI double by Reid Huskison. The Patriots added to the lead with a sacrifice fly by Noel Fisher in the sixth.
“When you are down a couple of games in a series, you really need a heroic effort,” Flake said. “Seth gave us that on the mound. He caught the first two games, so to be able to go out there and take the ball in the third game and really lead for us is huge.
“Starkville Academy has a great offensive lineup. We got a lot of first-pitch strikes. Carter Putt did the same thing in the first game (of Tuesday). That is something we didn’t do a good job of Monday (in an 8-5 loss).”
In the opening game, Starkville Academy (14-4, 5-1) scored five times in the seventh to grab the walk-off win. In a 10-4 victory against district rival Leake Academy last week, Starkville Academy scored eight runs in the seventh. On Monday night, three runs in the sixth and two runs in the seventh led to the victory.
“It was an incredible finish considering we had been shut down for six innings,” Roberts said. “That’s the biggest thing about this team. They know there are 21 outs to work with, and we are going to compete until the end.
“We didn’t have a lot of advantage counts, so (Putt) was able to continue to them. Finally, in the seventh inning, they made a change and we took advantage.”
Garrett Lewis lined a three-run double for the game-winning hit. Howell Archer also had an RBI single and scored the eventual game-winning run.
Heritage Academy built the lead with two runs in the third and two more scores in the fourth.
The big blow for the Patriots was a two-run home run by Parker Ray in the fourth.
Putt lost his no-hit bid in the fifth.
“It was a well-pitched series for both teams,” Roberts said. “We each have guys who throw strikes and really challenge hitters. The disappointment is the big finish in the first game didn’t carry over to the second game. Even though we grabbed that (2-0) lead, Heritage did a great job of taking control of the game.”
In the opener, Will Miller and Nason Heflin had two of Starkville Academy’s seven hits.
Cameron McKee (five innings) and Miller (two innings) combined to hold the Patriots to four hits.
Starkville Academy has hit the halfway point of a 12-game district schedule with a lead, thanks to series victories against Leake Academy and Heritage Academy. This was Heritage Academy’s first district series.
“Starkville has taken control of the district by winning five of their first six,” Flake said. “There will be a huge fight for second place in the district. We have nine district games left, so tons of baseball left. I like where we are. We just have to take care of business the rest of the way,”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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