New Hope High School baseball coach Lee Boyd has spent a lot of quality time with his players coaching third base this season.
Boyd would like to see more of those players get from third base to home.
In a recurring theme for the season, the timely hit alluded New Hope in a 4-2 loss to Oxford on Tuesday night in a Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Class 5A, Region 2 game at Trojan Field.
“We keep being one hit away,” New Hope senior first baseman Carson Forrester said. “We have already proven we can compete with anybody in Class 5A. We just got to keep working hard to get that one more hit. We have had some tough losses, but we keep fighting back. We are close to getting that one more hit.”
It’s a much different New Hope team from state championship squads earlier this decade. Boyd knew the potential in his squad and helped prepare it for battle with a rigorous non-region schedule.
“Nobody has played the schedule we have,” Boyd said. “We have traveled to the coast. We have traveled out of state. We have played some of the really elite teams and faced some of the really elite pitchers. It’s close to clicking. We feel like when it happens, we can make a run.”
New Hope (7-6, 0-1 region) has lost three times by a run and here by two runs. The Trojans know the struggle is getting consecutive hits, so the margin for error is limited right now.
“I think the team may be trying too hard,” Forrester said. “We are out there battling against these great teams. We see runners in scoring position and try too hard instead of letting the game come to us. It’s like every situation is critical. If we could get that one extra hit just a couple of times each game we will be fine.”
Boyd was pleased with the performance of starting pitcher Noah Brock on Tuesday night. Brock allowed six hits and two runs in six innings. Parker Lane allowed two runs in the seventh.
“Noah was struggling earlier in the year,” Boyd said. “This is the type of start we need from him to win games. He had good command of all of his pitches. In the first inning, (Drew Bianco) reaches over and fists one into the outfield for a (run-scoring) double. In the third inning, a home run (by Ben Bianco) got into a strong wind blowing out. He was very close to not giving up any runs. In the seventh, we had to go to someone else because it had taken (Brock) so many pitches to get out of the first inning.”
Oxford (13-1, 1-0) grabbed the 1-0 lead on the double by Drew Bianco in the first inning. Brock threw 26 pitches that inning, but the Chargers stranded two runners in scoring position.
New Hope matched that with a run on a double by Forester off the base of the outfield wall. The wind hadn’t picked up at that time, as Forrester barely missed a three-run home run. The Trojans stranded two runners in scoring position.
Oxford ace Carson Stinnett limited the damage after that, throwing a complete-game four-hitter.
“Oxford is pitching it really well again this year,” Boyd said. “You have to take advantage of your scoring opportunities. For the most part, we matched them in this game. Our pitching effort was good and we had some great plays in the field.”
While New Hope was charged with the game’s only three errors, the Trojans did received two nifty plays from shortstop Nick Sims. Each prevented a run from scoring. Tyler Murphy also had big catch in the outfield.
After the Ben Bianco home run in the third, Oxford put together two hits, two walks, a hit batsman, and an error to score twice in the seventh.
Sims had an RBI single in the home half of the seventh. The Trojans stranded the final two of eight runners in that at-bat.
Thomas Stevens had two of New Hope’s four hits. For Oxford, Sam Bianco had three hits, with Ben Bianco and Drew Bianco added two hits.
“This team is going to keep working hard,” Forrester said. “We have seen some really good opposition. We are close to putting it all together and making a run.”
n In other Class 5A, Region 2action Tuesday night, West Point defeated Saltillo 6-4. Statistics from the game weren’t available at press time.
In Class 4A, Region 4 action, Jerod Meggs threw six innings of one-hit ball to lead Kosciusko to a 7-1 win against Caledonia. Triston Gardner and Hunter McMurphey had the only hits for the Confederates (8-6, 2-1). Logan Suggs allowed six runs (five earned) and five hits in two innings. He walked two. Westlee Honeycutt allowed one hit in three innings. McMurphey allowed two hits and a run in two innings. He struck out one.
In Class 6A, Starkville lost to Madison Central 15-5. In Class 1A, West Lowndes defeated Aberdeen 18-0 and 12-2 on Monday night in Columbus.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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