BATESVILLE — No, it wasn’t a football game.
Oak Hill Academy started the MAIS Class 3A playoffs with a bang, winning Game 1 of a best-of-three series against North Delta 21-8. With the win, Oak Hill is on the verge of moving on to the next round. The Raiders will host North Delta at 4 p.m. Thursday for Game 2, and should they lose, a Game 3 winner-take-all will start at 7 p.m.
Cameron Dill had three hits for Oak Hill (13-11), while Colin Boyd drove in four runs. Manning Huffman and Carson Taylor each added three RBIs apiece, and Brian Buchanan and Ty Harden contributed multi-hit efforts. On the mound, Gunter Reed pitched four innings and struck out two batters.
Other scores
Prep Baseball
Starkville Academy 13, Washington School 1
GREENVILLE — An eight-run first inning lifted Starkville Academy to its first win of the postseason Tuesday, with the Volunteers knocking off Washington School 13-1 in the MAIS Class 4A playoffs. Starkville Academy needs one more win to seal the best-of-three series and will play Game 2 at 4 p.m. Thursday with Game 3 following at 7 p.m. should the Volunteers lose the first contest.
Starkville Academy (22-6) strung together 12 hits with Will McReynolds, Randall Futral and Micah McGee chipping in two apiece. McGee had a team-high three RBIs while John Bucker struck out 10 batters in four innings of work on the mound while allowing three hits.
Bayou Academy 10, Heritage Academy 0
CLEVELAND — The first game of Heritage Academy’s best-of-three series in the MAIS Class 4A playoffs against Bayou Academy didn’t go as planned Tuesday. The Patriots (25-10) fell 10-0 and are on the brink of elimination. Game 2 will be Thursday at 4 p.m. in Columbus. Should the Patriots win, they’ll play a winner-take-all Game 3 at 7 p.m.
Rossville Christian Academy (Tenn.) 6, Columbus Christian Academy 4
STEENS — The Columbus Christian Rams dropped a tightly-contested matchup to Rossville Christian Academy (Tennessee) in the opening round of the MAIS Class 2A playoffs, falling 6-4.
The Rams tied Rossville Christian at four runs apiece in the sixth inning off an RBI single from Drake Shaw but gave up the lead in the seventh inning to drop Game 1. Game 2 will be Thursday, and if the Rams can steal a win on the road, a winner-take-all Game 3 will follow shortly after.
Shaw pitched six innings for the Rams with eight strikeouts and collected three hits on the evening. Luke Phillips had a two-run triple in the fourth inning while finishing with two hits on the night, and Daniel Pate and Tyler Looney each contributed a double.
West Point 13, Columbus 7
WEST POINT — The West Point baseball team had no trouble scoring Tuesday, taking care of Columbus 13-7.
Cole Ellis threw four innings of one-run ball for the Green Wave, striking out seven batters. Noah Essary collected three hits, while Isaiah Baker chipped in two. Ben Harrell drove in three runs for the Green Wave.
Columbus had four hits as a team and committed two errors.
Grenada 8, New Hope 1
Caledonia 9, South Pontotoc 1
Prep Softball
West Point 17, Columbus 2
The West Point softball team took care of business against Columbus on Tuesday, winning 17-2.
The victory guarantees the Green Wave will make the postseason.
Caledonia 15, Shannon 0
Prep Tennis
Heritage Academy boys win district, girls finish third
MERIDIAN — The Heritage Academy boys tennis team won its district tournament on Tuesday at Lamar School, while the girls finished third. On the boys side, winners were Owen Riley at No. 1 singles, Blake Ward at No. 2 singles and Drew Knittig/Joshua Tedford at No. 1 doubles. Graham Buxton and Brayden Oswalt were finalists at No. 2 doubles.
On the girls side, Kendall Kelly and Elizabeth Nichols were finalists at No. 1 doubles, and Mallory Ward/Ellie Dawson were the finalists at No. 2 doubles. Sarah Curtis and William Laws were finalists at mixed doubles. Anne Clark Shepherd and Shannon McElhinny made it to the semifinals round of No. 1 singles and No. 2 girls singles, respectively.
Heritage is back in action at the north state tournament on April 27 in Greenville.
Hodge is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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