Starkville
The high school baseball season is reaching its midpoint, and area schools are now battling for position within their respective districts.
Starkville baseball fell to 11-7 on the season and 2-2 in district play with a pair of losses to Madison Central last week. The Jackets lost, 5-2, on the road and 5-3 at home against the Jaguars, bringing them back to .500 in Class 7A Region 2 ahead of their series against Germantown this week.
The Jaguars got out early against Starkville in the first game in Madison, scoring all five runs over the first three innings. The Jackets returned the favor in the return game, scoring three runs to open their home game on Friday. Torian Knox got a pair of hits and a run for the Jackets, with Will Moody and Tyson Knox also getting home to open the game.
Starkville’s starting pitcher, Jonas Coleman, kept the Jaguars at bay until the sixth inning, when the Jaguars flipped the game with five runs to take the lead and eventually the win.
New Hope
New Hope baseball started district play with impressive series wins against West Point and Pontotoc, sweeping the Green Wave with impressive 11-1 and 8-2 wins, while taking two close matchups against the Warriors last week.
The Trojans won, 3-2, on the road before taking the home game, 4-3.
In the Friday night win, pitcher Conner Lewis held the Warriors hitless through the first five innings. Things got a bit tricky for the final six outs as Pontotoc mounted a comeback, but Lewis got some help from reliever Carson Willis to finish the sweep.
Dalton Stripling hit his first home run of the season in the win, joining Juice Tate, Tripp Price and Brett Williamson in the RBI column.
A weekend loss to non-district foe East Webster put the Trojans at 9-8 heading into their district series against Corinth this week.
Caledonia
Caledonia baseball also suffered a blow in its district campaign, dropping both games against Houston. The Cavaliers fell 4-3 on the road and 13-3 at home last week but rebounded with a non-district win against West Point on Saturday.
Junior ace Reid Garrett was on the mound for the loss at Houston, throwing a complete game with 12 strikeouts. He did well to hold off the Hilltoppers, but a home run from Adam Smith helped to blow the game open in the fifth inning. The Cavaliers scored three runs in the opening innings through Carson Gorum and Aaron Harris but couldn’t add to their lead late.
The Cavaliers will go again in district play this week with a series against Greenwood.
Other area teams
Elsewhere in baseball, West Point fell to 0-5 in district play with a series loss to Corinth, falling to 7-15 on the year. The Green Wave will face Clarksdale this week in search of their first district win. Columbus dropped its first two district games in a doubleheader loss at Warren Central and now sits at 8-11 with district matchups against Ridgeland and Vicksburg coming up. West Lowndes faces West Union this week in search of its first win this season.
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