The big inning came at just the right time for the New Hope baseball team Tuesday night.
New Hope scored eight runs in the fifth inning to knock off Oxford 8-5 in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A, Region 2 game played Tuesday night at Trojan Field.
Over the last eight seasons, New Hope and Oxford have played numerous games as region rivals, including some intense postseason series. Realignment will send the teams in different directions next season.
While Tuesday’s outcome will have no bearing on first place in the region, the emotions were high and New Hope was elated to snap a six-game losing streak in the series.
“It felt amazing (to win),” New Hope senior Koby Harcrow said. “It feels awesome to beat those guys. For the past three years, they have talked trash. It has been frustrating. We don’t talk trash here. We did our talking on the scoreboard.”
Oxford fell to 21-3 overall and 6-1 in region play. Thanks in part to two wins over Trojans earlier, the Chargers have secured the region’s top spot and will have a bye in the first round of the playoffs. New Hope improved to 12-10 and 4-3 with a third straight win. The Trojans still have to work to do in region games with West Point Thursday and Saltillo next Tuesday to nail down the No. 2 seed from the region.
Typically, an Oxford-New Hope game is defined by its playoff ramifications. Tuesday night was far different. The teams were playing to send the rivalry out on a high note.
Mission accomplished there.
“Oxford is in the top 10 nationally in several polls,” New Hope coach Lee Boyd said. “They have an outstanding team. I have seen a different work ethic from my team the last couple of weeks. They are putting in that extra work that I was hoping to see to start the season. You can’t put the New Hope top on and go out there and automatically win. These guys understand that now. That is why this was so rewarding. It was a pay off for all of those extra hours that have been put in the last month of the season.”
New Hope has looked for offensive consistency throughout the season. The look was still ongoing Tuesday night when Oxford built a 4-0 lead after three runs in the third inning and one run in the fifth inning. Half the runs were unearned because New Hope collapsed in the field defensively during the three-run third inning.
In the New Hope fifth inning, 13 batters went to the plate, six had hits, eight scored.
Oxford helped. Pitcher Carson Stinnett walked the first two batters in the inning. An error at first base extended the inning and five runs followed.
“This is the best feeling all year, no doubt,” New Hope senior catcher Thomas Stevens said. “We really had been struggling but now we have won three in a row. In the fifth inning, I was up there with runners on and struck out. Fortunately, my teammates were there to pick me up.”
Stevens redeemed himself in the seventh inning with a one-out pickoff at first base to snuff the Chargers’ last threat.
“We just had a lot of big hits with two outs,” Stevens said. “The coaches have been challenging us to have better at-bats with two outs. Beating somebody like Oxford is huge. That is like a steroid shot. It’s a huge boost to our season.”
In the New Hope fifth inning, Parker Lane and Harcrow drew walks to start the frame. The Trojans only had two base runners over their first four at-bats. A failed sacrifice attempt and Stevens’ strikeout followed.
Oxford had won the previous matchups 4-2 and 8-4. Again, it looked like the Trojans’ best opportunity was fleeting.
Instead, Tyler Murphy followed with an RBI-double to left field. Drew Pounders went the other way with an RBI-single to right. Nick Sims went one right back up the middle and through Stinnett for an RBI-single.
The error followed and New Hope was really feeling good.
“It all starts with having good leaders on this team,” Harcrow said. “We have leaders in the dugout. We have leaders in the field on the bench. This team really stays up the whole game. We just expect to win. That’s part of playing in this program. Everybody believes. It didn’t look good but nobody was down.”
Bryce Braddock followed with a game-tying single. A wild pitch pushed the go-ahead run.
Parker Lane then had an RBI-single to right field and Harcrow hit a two-run double lost in the lights in the outfield.
“Beating them the last time we face them feels really good,” New Hope senior Carson Forrester said. “There is no secret that they have had our number of late. It’s a big rivalry. You have to bring your A game. Anytime you beat somebody that good you feel good. It starts with one person getting a hit and the players behind him buying in.”
New Hope had a six-run sixth inning in a 12-2 win over region rival Saltillo Friday night. That inning planted the seeds for Tuesday’s uprising.
“It’s all about being in the on-deck circle and visualizing success,” Harcrow said. “When you see the guy in front of you get a hit, you want to do the same thing.”
Murphy was the lone multiple hitter for New Hope, which finished with seven hits.
Forrester allowed 10 hits over six innings of work to pick up the pitching win. Two double play balls got the Trojans out of tight spots in the first and sixth innings. Nick Sims threw the seventh inning.
“Carson competed which is what you expect from a senior,” Boyd said. “For the seniors, this is a huge win. It’s fun playing those guys. It always matters when we play them.”
Boyd hopes the carry-over effect will be big as New Hope prepares for the final four regular-season games and a playoff series starting late next week.
“This win will give us lots of confidence,” Harcrow said. “This is the time of year you need to come to the cages and get those extra cuts in. You need to hit until your hands bleed. This program is about winning championships. Tonight showed us our capabilities.”
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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