STARKVILLE — The Starkville High School baseball team defeated Southeast Lauderdale 6-2 on Thursday night at Carlisle Field.
Starkville built a 2-1 lead after one inning and extended it with three runs in the fourth and one in the sixth.
Carter Bentley led Starkville High’s eight-hit attack with three hits. Caleb Stewart had two hits and two RBIs. Carter Hunter, Jack Perry, and Thomas Tucker also had hits.
Perry threw a complete-game six-hitter. He allowed two runs (both earned), walked two, and struck out one.
Starkville (13-11) can clinch a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 6A playoff berth tonight with a win at Murrah.
n Kosciusko 13, West Point 12: At West Point, the Green Wave fell at home in eight innings.
Kosciusko built a 9-3 lead with two runs in the second and seven in the third. West Point rallied with three runs in the third and four in the fourth.
The Green Wave then needed two runs in the seventh to push the game to extra innings.
West Point (10-12) will play host to Grenada at 7 tonight. A victory in the region game tonight and Tuesday at home against Lafayette will help West Point secure second place in the region.
n New Hope 10, East Webster 6: At Cumberland, the Trojans broke a 6-6 tie with one run in the sixth and three in the seventh for their fourth-straight win.
Rye McGlothin hit a three-run home run in the seventh for the Trojans.
In the second, New Hope’s Cade Odom tripled and scored. Back-to-back bases-loaded walks ran the lead to 4-0 in the third. In the fourth, Drew Pounders tripled and scored on Ryan Burt’s sacrifice fly. Payton Springfield followed with a home run.
Xavier Harrison drove in the go-ahead run for the Trojans, before McGlothin’s blast an inning later.
New Hope (19-4) will try to finish an undefeated run through region play tonight at Kosciusko.
n Amory 3, Caledonia 2: At Caledonia, the Confederates secured the fourth playoff spot from Class 4A, Region 2 after dropping their final region game.
For Caledonia (11-11, 5-5), Cade Stacy and Tony Brooks had doubles, while Seth Brown had a single.
Stacy threw 5 1/3 innings and allowed three hits and one earned run. He struck out six to take the loss.
Caledonia will play tonight at South Lamar.
n Heritage Academy 6, Canton Academy 3: At Canton, a four-run first inning lifted the Patriots (17-6) to their Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA, District 2 victory.
Banks Hyde had two hits and an RBI for Heritage Academy, while Parker Ray had a hit and two RBIs.
Seth Harris scattered six hits in his complete-game victory. He struck out four.
Heritage Academy will play host to Winston Academy at 4 p.m. Tuesday in a doubleheader.
n Starkville Academy 13,
Eupora 0: At Eupora, the Volunteers pounded out 16 hits and had five pitchers combine on the three-hit shutout.
For Starkville Academy (18-5), Nason Heflin had four hits and two RBIs. Will Miller and Kyle Faver added two hits and an RBI.
Howell Archer had a double, while Ben Owens and Garrett Lewis had singles and two RBIs. Will Holley and Cameron McKee had a hit and an RBI.
Lewis threw two innings, while Miller, Heflin, Owens, and McKee threw an inning apiece.
Starkville Academy will play host to Canton Academy on Tuesday in a district doubleheader.
Softball
n Starkville 19, Columbus 9: At Starkville, Dy’tavia McClellen had three hits and three runs scored, while winning pitcher Anna Rae Taylor had a single and triple to lead the Yellow Jackets.
Taylor allowed nine hits and four earned runs. She struck out 12 in the six-inning game.
n Pontotoc 10, Caledonia 0: At Pontotoc, the Lady Confederates saw a nine-game winning streak snapped in MHSAA Class 4A, Region 2 play.
Caledonia (14-3, 8-2) and Pontotoc (13-4, 8-2) each finish tied for the first place in the region standings. Both will host in the opening round of the playoffs. Pontotoc earns the No. 1 seed by virtue of margin of victory.
n Pickens Academy 11, Bessemer Academy 0: Shelby Lowe pitched allowed one hit in five innings and struck out 11 in the Lady Pirates’ victory by mercy rule.
Allison Latham was 3-for-3 with two runs scored, Carleigh Cameron was 2-for-3 with an RBI, Lowe was 1-for-3 with two RBIs, and Sydney Kilpatrick was 2-for-3 with an RBI for Pickens Academy (20-2).
Pickens Academy will play at 4 p.m. Tuesday at Tuscaloosa Academy.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 49 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.