Four area teams saw their seasons come to a close over the weekend in the quarterfinals of MHSAA baseball and softball playoffs while one is moving on to the North Half Championship. Here’s a look at what happened.
After pulling away late for a 2-1 win in Game 1, Caledonia’s baseball team rallied again – this time in extra innings – Saturday for a 9-5 win over arch rival New Hope in the second round of the Class 5A quarterfinals to punch its ticket to the North Half Championship.
A solo home run by Reid Garrett put the Cavaliers (21-9) up 1-0 in the first inning of the Game 2, but the Trojans (18-13) came storming back in the third thanks to some timely hits and some costly Cavs errors. With the bases loaded, New Hope’s Dalton Elmore belted a ground ball and managed to reach second base on an error while three Trojans scrambled home during the chaos. Brayden Edmiston followed up with an RBI double to give New Hope a sudden 4-1 lead.
Thanks to a passed ball, a single by Trevor Dennis, a fielding error by the Trojans and a Chandler Cobb double, the Cavs plated four runs in the top of the fifth inning to briefly retake the lead. New Hope tied the game once more in the bottom of the fifth on a groundout by Edmiston, and the teams went to extra innings to decide it.
In the top of the eighth inning, Cohen Clark and Shelnut each singled and another fielding error during a Cobb-hit ground ball produced four more runs for Caledonia as it held on to clinch the series. Caledonia outhit New Hope 11-6 with three different Cavs posting two hits each. Edmiston and Glenn led the Trojans with two hits each.
In a series that begins Friday, Caledonia will square off with either Pontotoc or Lafayette for the opportunity to play in the Class 5A state championship.
New Hope softball
The Trojans attempted to spark a comeback in both of its games against Pontotoc in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A softball playoffs but fell just short each time in back-to-back season-ending losses.
Staring at a 13-6 deficit in the seventh inning of Game 1, an RBI single by Kaselyn Harcrow started a surge of six runs for New Hope’s offense but it couldn’t get over the top in a 13-12 defeat.
Harcrow led the team with three of its 13 hits and also took the loss on the mound. She started 3 ⅔ innings for the Trojans (20-14) and gave up nine runs (six earned) and walked five. Kennedi Martin had a single and a two-run homer.
In Game 2 on Saturday, New Hope again found itself down 13-4 in the seventh inning and was forced to dig deep late in a 13-11 defeat.
Ava Mordecai hit a ground ball and reached on an error as Harcrow and Lea Kathryn Hardy each scored to get the rally going. Lexi McBrayer doubled to score two more Trojans and Harper Minton was walked with the bases loaded to cut their deficit to four runs. Back at the plate Harcrow smacked a two-run single for New Hope’s last score of the game.
McBrayer, Tatum McBride and Martin each finished with three hits, and Harcrow took the loss in the circle. She worked the first four innings and gave up seven runs (two earned) on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
Pontotoc moves on to play Lafayette in the North Half Championship.
Caledonia softball
A season of softball domination came to a close over the weekend for the Cavaliers’ softball squad as it dropped back-to-back games to Lafayette in the quarterfinals of the Class 5A playoffs.
The Commodores out hit the Cavs 12-3 and held them scoreless for five straight innings for a 5-1 victory in Game 1. In Game 2, Caledonia (23-5) plated two runs in the sixth inning to knot the contest at 4-4, but Lafayette mustered one last run in the bottom of the seventh for the walk-off, 5-4 win.
Starkville
The Yellow Jackets’ baseball saw their 2026 campaign come to a close over the weekend in a two-game sweep by rival Oxford in the quarterfinals of the Class 7A playoffs.
After grabbing a commanding 8-1 victory in Game 1, the Chargers blanked the Jackets 2-0 to advance to the North Half Championship game, where they will play either Germantown or Lewisburg. Starkville ends its season at 21-12-1 overall.
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