GULFPORT — The New Hope High School baseball team led 8-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning Saturday, but fell victim to two home runs, including a walk-off homer in the bottom of the eighth, in a 9-8 loss to Gulfport.
The Trojans (5-1) led 8-5 in the seventh and had two outs and two strikes on two hitters but couldn”t get the final strike.
Dillon Hawkins started and pitched into the sixth inning before Taylor Stafford relieved him. Hawkins also had a home run.
Stafford and Jared Shelton had singles, Dusty Dyson had a single and a double, Kameron Bryan had a double, and Peyton Lee had two singles.
New Hope will play Tuesday and Wednesday at the Oxford High tournament. It will play Horn Lake and Ridgeland at 1:30 and 7:45 p.m. Tuesday and Center Hill and DeSoto Central at 1:30 and 6 p.m. Wednesday.
On Thursday, New Hope defeated Columbus 11-1,
Landon Boyd allowed three hits in the five-inning victory. He walked three and struck out 10.
Lee had a hit, Hawkins and Josh Grimes scored two runs, Boyd was 2-for-3 with an RBI, Stafford was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and four RBIs, Bryan was 1-for-3, and Dyson was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, three RBIs, and a home run.
Aaron Cooks had a hit and scored a run for Columbus. Christian Dale had a hit and an RBI, and Nick Durrah and Trace Lee also had hits.
n Caledonia drops three games: At Maben, Andrew Davis had the only extra-base hit for the Confederates (3-4) on Saturday in an 11-4 loss to Winona at the East Webster High tournament.
On Friday, Caledonia didn”t have any extra-base hits and had leads of 3-0 and 7-4 but lost to Louisville 10-7.
On Thursday, Cody Allsup had three hits, including a double, and Montana Jacobs had a double in a 7-2 loss at Kosciusko.
n Columbus loses two: At Maben, The Falcons (3-4) had the tying and winning runs on second and third base in the final inning but couldn”t get the timely hit in a 3-2 loss to Bruce on Saturday at the East Webster High tournament.
Dale pitched six innings and took the loss. He and Aaron Cooks had hits.
On Friday, Columbus lost to West Point 6-2. Hunter Mullis pitched well, allowing seven hits and three innings to take the loss. Jimmy Cockrell and Dale each had two hits.
Caledonia was scheduled to play Columbus at 9 a.m. today. The winner of that game was scheduled to play again at 3 p.m. today, while the loser was set to play at 5 p.m.
n West Florida Tech 6, Starkville 4: At Pensacola, Fla., Yellow Jackets coach Danny Carlisle didn”t get the opening result he wanted from the first game of his team”s annual Florida road trip, but he thinks the start is positive.
Starkville (2-2) lost to West Florida Tech on Saturday, falling just short in their attempt to rally from a 6-0 deficit.
Blake Harrell hit a two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning to pull Starkville within two, but the damage absorbed from allowing 10 walks put the Yellow Jackets in too big of a hole.
Starting pitcher Hayden Higginbotham walked two and hit another to start the game and was pulled in favor of Lee Peeples, who pitched the rest of the game.
Peeples escaped the bases-loaded situation with just one run conceded, but two walks in the third preceded a home run that gave the home side a 4-0 lead.
An error and a hit followed two more walks in the fourth that made it 6-0.
Peeples surrendered five runs on two hits and seven walks. He struck out four.
“I thought Lee Peeples pitched, for the most part, extremely well,” Carlisle said. “He walked a couple, then hung a breaking pitch that kept floating and got out of the yard. But to come in like that so early in the game, he did well. Walks just killed us.”
Peeples went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs, while Harrell went 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run and Higginbotham was 1-for-3.
“We hit the ball well considering they had a couple of guys who brought it up there pretty good,” Carlisle said. “We also played pretty good defense outside of that on error. They had a lot on their mind with it being the first in Florida.”
Starkville will play Gulf Breeze at 6 p.m. today. Nathan Pugh (0-0) is slated to start.
n West Point beats Columbus, Hamilton: At Hamilton, Edward Cox had three hits (two doubles) to lead the Green Wave (4-1) on Saturday.
Freddie Reed and Bruce Barclay each had hits, while Will Harrell had two hits, including a double.
Leroy Calvert, who earned the victory, also had a single. Calvert pitched a complete game, allowing three earned runs. He struck out six and walked none.
On Friday, Dalentez Lane scattered five hits in six innings in a 6-2 victory against Columbus. Lane walked four, struck out eight, and allowed only one earned run. He also had two hits.
Dalton Davis and Barclay each had two hits, while Cox singled and Reed, Harrell and Calvert tripled. Calvert had three RBIs.
On Thursday, West Point lost to Shannon 5-3.
Cox had a single and an RBI, Harrell had a single, Brandon Edwards had a single, and Barclay had a single and an RBI.
Harrell took the loss, going five innings and allowing four hits and one earned run. He walked four and struck out six. The Green Wave committed six errors.
West Point plays at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Alcorn Central and at 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Friday against Tishomingo County and Ripley.
n In other action Friday, Chase Reeves pitched the first four innings and had a two-run home run, and Austin Welch added a grand slam to lead Hamilton to a 10-4 victory against East Webster.
Ty Hendrix hit a home run for the Wolverines.
n Marengo Academy 8, Pickens Academy 6: Forrest Lewis had two hits and two RBIs, and Cody McDaniel had two hits and an RBI, but the Pirates (3-6) lost on Friday.
Jacob Acker pitched 2 2/3 innings, allowing four hits and five runs. He walked three and struck out three.
Softball
n Central Academy posts four victories: On Friday, the Lady Vikings swept a doubleheader from Calvary Christian Academy, scoring 18 runs in both victories.
In game one, Blake Rigdon had two triples and a double, Rachel Holley had a triple and single, Megan Banks, Layne Reed, Logan Waggoner, Martha Claire Blackwell, and Cassie Campbell each had hits.
Sarah Norris earned the victory in the circle.
On Thursday, Central Academy swept Grace Christian, of Louisville, 23-3 and 23-0.
In game one, Paige Buchanan had three singles and Rigdon, Kendall Taylor, Reed, Holley, and Kayla Brown each had two singles.
In the second game, Rigdon had four hits (triple), Taylor had a single, double, and triple, Buchanan had three singles, and Banks, Holley, and Norris each had two singles.
Staff Writer David Miller contributed to this report.
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 36 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 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
