NEW HOPE — Things started out less than ideal for New Hope sophomore starting pitcher Austin Minichino.
Cleveland Central jumped on him in the first inning of Monday’s Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A first round playoff game, taking a 1-0 lead off an RBI double.
In an eventual 11-1 win, the Trojan bats backed Minichino, scoring three runs in the bottom half of the first. His pitching then stifled the Wolves the rest of the night, while the Trojans tacked on eight more runs. Cleveland Central (8-11), meanwhile, didn’t manage another hit.
“It was pretty good,” Minichino said. “I felt good. My fastball felt really good. We didn’t know much about their team so the memo for most of the teams we play when I pitch is fastballs and work off the curveball too.”
New Hope’s (21-7) No. 1 starter showed just why he earned that title, pitching a one-hit complete game, striking out nine and walking two.
“I didn’t pitch in a little bit preparing for playoffs and they decided to put me back on the mound tonight,” Minichino said.
Aside from a one-off, one-inning stint in the two weeks leading up to the first round, Minichino hadn’t gotten a full start, but he was more than ready for the spotlight of the postseason on Monday.
“We’re going to have to have him at the top of the rotation throughout the entire playoffs for us to have a chance to make a run,” New Hope head coach Lee Boyd said. “For him, he needed to throw because he hadn’t thrown in like 10 days. We’re going to need him to be competitive the whole way through.”
He also helped himself out at the plate, recording two hits as New Hope took advantage of good pitches early in counts and recorded 12 hits overall.
It wasn’t just early-count hits that got the job done, but timely hitting as well, driving in runners in scoring position and getting two-out runs consistently.
“We knew their fastball wasn’t overpowering and we just wanted to attack first pitch because we knew we would get a couple hits off of that,” Minichino said. “… We saw the ball well. We’ve been preparing all week.”
New Hope has a few more days to prepare for a Friday trip to Cleveland Central and a chance to close out a first round series win.
Monday’s game was a great indication for what the Trojans can do when firing on all cylinders overall.
“Building confidence is big,” Minichino said. “We’ve got Ridgeland if we win game two or game three, and they’re a good team with two good arms.”
Caledonia 13, Senatobia 2, six innings, MHSAA Class 4A playoffs, first round, Game 1
SENATOBIA — Caledonia baseball got off on the right foot against Senatobia in the first round of the MHSAA Class 4A playoffs, taking down the Warriors, 13-2, in six innings.
Senior Zack Gorum had a strong start for the Cavaliers (17-10), striking out six in five innings of work, giving up two earned runs.
Offensively, junior Shep Donald was the difference maker, going 3-for-3 with four RBIs, three runs scored and two doubles. Senior Brent Eaton also had three runs scored, and junior Avery Hodge had three RBIs on the night.
Caledonia has a chance to close the series out at home in game two at 6 p.m. Friday.
Lake Cormorant 3, West Point 0, MHSAA Class 5A playoffs, first round, Game 1
LAKE CORMORANT — West Point baseball was shut out in the first game of its MHSAA Class 5A first round playoff series against Lake Cormorant on the road.
The Gators pitched a masterpiece on the mound and the Green Wave (9-15-1) were unable to manufacture runs offensively despite a strong pitching performance overall.
It’s now must-win baseball the rest of the way for West Point as it looks to keep its season alive in game two at 7 p.m. Friday.
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