STARKVILLE — With two outs and the bases loaded in the fifth inning, Jamarkis Richardson stood at bat for West Point High School on Tuesday night at Starkville. The Green Wave trailed by five runs, but they hoped to change their fortunes with Richardson, who went yard in the fourth.
Starkville starter Otto Hyche had just waved off head coach Luke Adkins after a visit to the mound, desperate to get the third out himself before ending a terrific night. Hyche had leaned on his fastball all night, and he did so again to catch Richardson swinging for the third out.
“He got me in the previous inning,” Hyche said of the key moment. “Coach wanted to take me out, but he had faith in me, so he let me get that last at-bat I really wanted.”
The Yellow Jackets (5-0) went on to put up five more runs in the bottom of the fifth, downing the Green Wave (2-2-1) to the tune of 13-3 in just five innings, but don’t let the scoreline fool you. The game could have gone much differently if not for some clutch at-bats along with the ace work of Hyche.
“It was good redemption for him, because that was the same kid that hit the home run off of him earlier,” Adkins said of Hyche’s clutch final strikeout. “But to have the bases loaded, and honestly West Point had a chance to get back in the game, so that was a huge strikeout.”
Hyche’s 13 strikeouts over five innings helped to strand several runners for the Green Wave, and 12 runs from two-out at-bats showed just how clutch the Jackets’ bats could be.
Six batters drove runs in for the Jackets, with Xavier Caldwell going 2 for 3 with three RBIs and Larkin Perry going 1 for 3 with a sac fly and two RBIs. It was their best offensive outing of this young season and an overall performance the Jackets hope to build on.
“When you look at some of the best teams in baseball history, they’ve always been able to get it done with two outs,” Adkins said after the game. “At practice we’re really trying to have a good two-strike approach early in the season; even though we’ve won games, we’ve struck out way too many times. We’re starting to cut those down, and a lot of that, too, is we haven’t had a lot of field time, or a whole lot of games, but it’s about to ramp up really quick for us.”
As for the Green Wave, the loss was a disappointment considering both the runners they left on base and the inability to get crucial third outs.
“We’ve just got to make some pitches, make some plays behind them,” Head coach Mitch Bohon said of closing out innings. “There were a couple errors made that cost us. We’re close to breaking through and figuring it out.”
Bohon rued the missed opportunities after the game, but still found positives. One was the debut performance of starter Dawson Tyler on the mound. The freshman struck out six and did well to keep a relentless Jackets offensive order at bay, for the most part, through three innings.
“Extremely proud of him,” Bohon said of Tyler. “Kid grew up; it was a big night. His first varsity start as a ninth-grader. He came out, he did his job, and he threw a phenomenal game. He competed really hard against a very, very good team.”
Tyler was one of several underclassmen who has had to step up for the Green Wave early in the season. It wasn’t the result West Point wanted on the night, but there were positive takeaways for the Wave to build on over the course of the season.
“We’re getting there; we’re getting close,” Bohon said of his team’s growth. “We’re banged up right now, a lot of injuries, and some of the young guys are having to step up, and they’re doing their job. We’ve just got to make plays behind them.”
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