NEW HOPE — The Trojan softball team evened the Class 5A North Half championship series on Friday, extending the series and forcing a rubber match this weekend with a trip to the state championship series on the line. Game 2 of the Mississippi High School Activities Association playoff series was meant to be played on Thursday before a brief but powerful storm surged through the Golden Triangle, but the Trojans were able to keep their focus and force a Game 3.
New Hope pitcher Kaselyn Harcrow was the star of the show again, allowing just one hit and driving in the only run of a 1-0 win.
“I was just trying my best to stay focused and push through this game,” Harcrow said after the win. “I know what it’s like to get ahead and let it slip in the last moments, so I wanted to stay focused and push through.”
The Trojans had quite the challenge finding runs themselves, matching up against Miss 5A for Mississippi, Mabry Eason. She has caused problems for the Trojans in previous matchups, and Harcrow had nothing but praise for her opposite and what she can do on the field.
“She’s a great pitcher, I’ll give her props any day,” Harcrow said of Eason. “She’s so tough at the plate or in the circle. She always keeps us on our toes, and I’m grateful we have her in our district to help us continue to get better by seeing her great pitching.”
Trojans head coach Casey Finch Halford has spoken highly of the level of play in their district, and it was certainly on display on Friday with the two aces going head to head and the defense backing them up.
“This district, there are so many high-caliber kids on these teams who are fun to watch,” she said. “There wasn’t a dull moment. Great plays by both teams, great pitching on both sides, keeping batters off balance, the ground balls and strikeouts. It’s just good softball, and it speaks to both of those kids and how talented they are. I can’t say enough about the caliber of these teams.”
New Hope lost Game 1 on Wednesday in Oxford, losing a 4-2 lead late in the game. They’ll have to find a way to win in Oxford this weekend, but they showed spirit and belief at home that they can still win the series despite the tough loss.
“It’s exciting to see these kids fight back,” Halford added. “It was a tough loss when we went up there, we had eight hits and they had five. Neither team had errors then, but we just had one timely one. It’s exciting they didn’t lay down, they didn’t accept that they made it to North Half, they’re going to keep fighting.”
Halford gave credit to her team for their maturity and selfless play, fulfilling their roles for each other. She cited that for the near perfect game as much as any single play or Harcrow’s pitching. Their mindset is “sometimes you, sometimes me, always us,” and it’s gotten them within one game of playing for a state title.
“I told them, she pitched her behind off, but you played as hard as you could to keep everything form falling. These kids want to play hard for her, she wants to pitch well for them, and they don’t want to let each other down. It’s so cool how much these kids love each other and want each other to succeed.”
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.
