WEST POINT — Starkville Academy softball had a point to prove on Thursday afternoon against Oak Hill Academy.
The Volunteers were looking for revenge after the Raiders came to Starkville and dominated in late August, winning 8-3.
Down 3-2 in the fifth inning this time around, the Vols needed to make something happen and fast as Oak Hill starter Sara Frances Ramsay was cruising into that inning.
Something changed that inning and it began with a walk to Sarah Sellers. Four hits later, Starkville Academy had put three runs on the board, taking a 5-3 lead in the inning, which ended up being plenty as the Volunteers took the rematch, 7-3.
“We threw strikes and put the ball in play,” Starkville Academy head coach Lee Berryhill said. “They made some mistakes and we added runs as we needed. We had some mistakes as well on defense, but we didn’t compound it.”
The Vols (8-3) were anchored by starting pitcher Calliope Koiva, who gave up three runs in a complete-game performance, earning the win in the process.
Koiva went on to strike out five Raiders hitters on the day, including two big strikeouts in the fourth inning to kill any momentum for Oak Hill (10-5), one of two 1-2-3 innings for her on the afternoon.
She induced a lot of ground balls and weak contact, giving her fielders easier opportunities to make plays and get outs for Starkville Academy.
“I started off with my curveball, which was a little rocky, but once I found the strike zone, I started to throw it more and getting ground balls,” Koiva said. “Coach started calling fastballs from there, and I guess they couldn’t really hit that, so that’s what he kept me going with.”
On the other side of things, that weak contact for Oak Hill was a complete 180 from what the Raiders were able to achieve on Tuesday night against Lee Academy, driving balls into the outfield and producing runs as a result.
It looked like the Raiders just couldn’t quite time up Koiva well Thursday, whether off deception or just not seeing the ball well, but it resulted in that aforementioned weak contact.
Oak Hill only had five hits the entire game and squandered several massive opportunities with multiple runners on base overall.
“We didn’t hit,” Oak Hill head coach Lewis Earnest said. “We didn’t hit at all. We hit a bunch of weak ground balls to second base and the pitcher. A couple of plays in the outfield we didn’t make, and we just didn’t play very well.”
Several crucial fielding plays made the big difference for Oak Hill in the game and in the seventh inning, one major one basically put the game to bed as center fielder Locke Myers misjudged a fly ball, dropping it to begin the inning.
That ball, hit off the bat of Koiva, allowed her to get to second base, and she ended up scoring, producing one of two insurance runs scored in the seventh for the Vols.
Thursday’s win was massive for playoff implications for Starkville Academy, currently fighting to get into the postseason as it got back to the .500 mark with Thursday’s win.
A final win against Washington School on Monday will help make playoff softball this season a reality for the Vols.
Other scores
Prep volleyball
Caledonia 3, Itawamba Agricultural 0
FULTON — Caledonia secured another win in district play against Itawamba Agricultural, taking Thursday night’s match in straight sets.
Set scores were 25-12, 25-22 and 25-9.
Despite a much closer second set, the Cavaliers (12-3) improved to a perfect 4-0 in district play and dominated in sets one and three.
Caledonia will travel to play Mooreville for another district contest at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Tupelo 3, Starkville 0
TUPELO — Starkville fell to Tupelo in straight sets on Thursday evening. Set scores were 18-25, 21-25 and 14-25.
The Yellow Jackets (7-13) had their best chance at getting back into the match in the second set but couldn’t recover from a large deficit against Tupelo.
Starkville will return home for its next match, taking on Heritage Academy at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Prep softball
Columbus Christian Academy 17, Kemper Academy 5
DE KALB — Columbus Christian Academy dominated on Thursday, defeating Kemper Academy on the road.
The Rams kept piling on runs as Kemper just couldn’t find a way to claw itself back into the game. CCA’s overwhelming offensive onslaught was too much in the end.
CCA will travel for its next game, playing Delta Academy at 6 p.m. Monday.
Bayou Academy 12-13, Heritage Academy 0-0
CLEVELAND — Heritage Academy lost both games of a doubleheader against Bayou Academy on the road on Thursday.
The Patriots (0-14) were unable to put a run on the board in either game, unable to get anything going against strong pitching performances from Bayou.
Heritage Academy will travel to play Hebron Christian in its next game at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
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