In a clash of the top two teams in Region 1-5A, No. 1 Caledonia flexed its muscles Thursday night and showcased why it has stood atop the conference leaderboard all season.
Against No. 2 Lafayette, Kennedy Trotter delivered an 11-strikeout pitching gem from the circle and Camryn Higginbotham landed three hits for two of her team’s eight RBI to help the Cavs – who are ranked as the No. 3 team in all of 5A by Max Preps – capture an 8-2 victory that gave them the two-game sweep of the Commodores, who are listed at No. 5 in 5A by Max Preps.
A double by Higginbotham and a single by Katelyn Hill put the Cavs (18-2, 7-1) up 2-0 in the first inning and the team continued its rapid pace by piling on four more runs in the second behind from Addison Finch and Higginbotham and a triple by Molly Harlow Lafayette got on the board with two runs in the top of the third and the Cavs swung back with two more runs of their own in the fourth on a sacrifice fly and an RBI single.
The Commodores struggled to score off Trotter (11-1), who feasted from the circle and only gave up five hits and one walk to go with her 11 strikeouts.
The Cavs, who are winners of four straight, take on Nettleton Monday in a nonconference game then begin their last region series of the regular season at home against West Point.
New Hope
The Trojans put the finishing touches on a Region 1-5A sweep of West Point Thursday by way of an 11-0 shutout.
New Hope (14-12, 5-3) rattled off 11 hits and 11 RBI as it plated three runs in the first inning, one in the second, four in the fourth and three more in the fifth as pitcher Kaselyn Harcrow struck out nine and only relinquished two hits to the No. 5 Green Wave (6-18, 2-6).
New Hope, which sits at No. 3 in the region standings, played a doubleheader against East Webster Friday and begins its last conference series of the regular season on Tuesday at No. 4 Pontotoc.
Starkville Academy
After dropping Game 1 of a three-game MAIS District 2-4A baseball series with East Rankin Academy on Tuesday, the Volunteers rallied Thursday to steal the series win in a doubleheader on the road.
Tied up at 3-3 heading into the fifth inning, Starkville Academy piled on three more runs to take the lead for good in a 6-3 victory in Game 2. Blake Little and Micah Buckner both hit an RBI double and Jack Johnson hit a sacrifice fly in the inning to flip the series on its head. Brody Burkley got the win on the mound through seven innings and gave up seven hits, three runs and struck out five.
The bats opened up even more for the Vols (18-9, 4-5) in Game 3 and they piled on 11 hits in a 14-2 series-clinching victory that lasted only five innings. Five runs in the first inning and three more in the second had the Vols up 8-0 early and the team kept on hammering and scored two in the third, three in the fourth and one more in the fifth. East Rankin scored its first run, the second and last in the fourth. Starkville Academy hit four doubles with Brennan Templeton leading the pack with three hits and two RBI. Joseph Portera had two hits and an RBI, and Little, Brantley Berkery, Buckner and Owen Couvillion each landed one hit.
The series win bumped the team up to the No. 3 spot in the district standings and set up a showdown with district-leading Lamar School as the last conference series of the regular season, which begins on April 21. But first the team plays two nonconference tilts at Choctaw County on Monday against visiting Indianola Academy on Tuesday.
Heritage Academy
After stealing Game 1 of a three-game series MAIS District 2-4A series with Hartfield Academy, the Patriots baseball team succumbed to back-to-back defeats on Thursday in a doubleheader on the road.
Hartfield took Game 2, 14-3, as it increased its 5-3 lead in the fourth inning with a spree of seven runs and then added two more scores in the fifth. Heritage (10-12, 3-6), which was outhit 11-6, scored one run in each of the first three innings. Charlie Fowler led the team with three hits and an RBI, and Nash McCrary took the loss on the mound. He went the first 2 ⅔ innings and gave up five runs (two earned) on four hits with three walks.
In Game 3, Heritage mustered five hits but couldn’t make it home and was blanked 10-0. With back-to-back innings of three runs in the second and third, Hartfield tacked on two more in the fourth and one in both the fifth and sixth to seal the series win. McCrary led Heritage with two hits, and Juice Tate took the loss on the mound. He went 2 ⅓ innings and gave up six runs (five earned) on four hits and walked two.
The No. 4 Patriots begin their last district series of the regular season on Tuesday against visiting No. 5 East Rankin Academy. The Patriots close it out on Thursday in a doubleheader on the road.
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 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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 43 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
