Tuesday’s rain showers washed away Starkville Academy’s chances of getting on the softball diamond, but Oak Hill Academy managed to avoid the weather for its 10th softball win of the season. In volleyball, Starkville and Columbus both shook off losing streaks to earn the only on-court wins among area teams.

Volleyball

Starkville leaped back into the win column on Tuesday with a 3-1 win over Murrah for its first Region 2-7A victory of the season. 

The Yellow Jackets breezed through the first set in a 25-12 win, and head coach Meghan Mullane pulled her senior players for the second set to let the younger Jackets get a piece of the action without any guidance from the older players and the young squad narrowly lost, 25-22. With the veterans back in, Starkville posted a 25-17 third-set win and a 25-17 fourth-set win to snap a four-game losing streak. 

“Overall, I feel like we approached the game confidently,” said head coach Meghan Mullane. “We were able to put some things together that we haven’t been able to yet; I think that fed into more confidence.” 

Mullane hopes the win over Murrah leads to a boost in morale for the Jackets (6-11, 1-4) as they ride toward the midpoint of region play with Germantown coming to town for a 6 p.m. game today.

“We’ve been on a losing streak, that’s not news to anyone, and I hope that (the win) gives us confidence as we turn (into) the second (set of games against district opponents) and we’re able to build off it and have that steady sense of confidence,” she said.

Some of her team’s growth happened right in front of her eyes on Tuesday, like CarEyauna Petty, who had “some great, great attacks out of the middle” during the second set.

“She’s starting to be a lot more confident out of the middle,” Mullane said. “We’ve moved some people around in different positions, and it seems like some of those players are starting to get it. I hope that with them and just continuing to build off that momentum and start putting those younger players with those experienced seniors, (we’ll) really have something cooking.”

Columbus netted a 3-1 road win Tuesday over Region 1-5A foe West Point to open region play and end a three-game losing streak. 

The Falcons won the first set 25-10, but dropped the second set 25-13 to the Green Wave. With the game tied, Columbus hunkered down for two 25-19 wins in the last two sets. 

Up next for Columbus (2-7, 1-0) is New Hope, with whom they square off at 6 p.m. today. West Point (4-6, 0-4) plays at 6:30 p.m. today at Lafayette. 

New Hope opened Region 1-5A play Tuesday with a narrow 3-2 loss at Pontotoc. The Trojans (4-12, 0-1)  are back on the court today at 6 p.m. hosting Columbus in another region showdown. 

West Lowndes had its two-game winning streak halted Tuesday in a 3-0 loss to visiting Tupelo Christian Prep. The Eagles took the first set 25-16 and the final two sets 25-8 to claim the Region 3-1A contest. The Panthers (3-7, 1-1) have a chance to rebound at 6:30 p.m. today when Ingomar comes to town. 

Starkville Academy dropped a 3-0 loss at Lamar on Tuesday. The Raiders captured the first set 25-5, the second set 25-4 and the third set 25-9. 

The Volunteers are back in action at 6 p.m. Monday when they host Tupelo Homeschool. 

Oak Hill softball 10, Carroll Academy 0

Raider pitcher Kaelyn Pennington delivered another gem from the circle – this time by fanning 10 Rebel batters to the tune of only two relinquished hits to help Oak Hill register its fifth shutout of the season. The freshman also delivered some offense at the place. 

Pennington hit a double to score Sally Rhea Chaney for the team’s first run of the game in the first inning, and a line-drive single by Molly Aycock brought home Pennington for the early 2-0 lead. Oak Hill, which combined to steal seven bases and field nine hits, scored four more runs in the second inning, one run in the fifth, and three in the sixth. Chaney and Parker Hingginbotham both led the team with two hits, and Mollie Caroline Brand and Ella Margaret Gable each had a hit. Lilly Reed’s one hit of the contest was a double, and Aycock and Chaney both had two RBI.

Head coach Lewis Earnest, while pleased with the win, believes there is still plenty of room for his team to grow, especially at the plate. But even with the offense not as powerful as Earnest hopes, he said as long as Pennington is on the mound, the Raiders have a chance to win. 

“That’s been the biggest positive – Kaelyn Pennington,” Earnest said. “(She’s) been solid, locating and hitting her spots and mixing it up. She does a good job for us and makes it hard on opposing hitters, so we haven’t had to really hit the ball real well; I mean, at times we have and at times we haven’t.”

There have been glimpses of what he’s looking for, though, and some of them have been provided by Aycock, who he calls a “consistent” hitter, and Gable –  a center fielder in the seventh grade. Gable was thrust into the starting lineup as a replacement for Lucy Ramsey, who went down with a torn ACL earlier this season. 

“(Gable) has played well for us, surprisingly well for a seventh grader,” he said. “I actually play her in center field, and she’s made most of the plays defensively and she’s put the ball in play pretty good. For a seventh grader batting around .300, she’s done really well.”

The Raiders (11-5, 5-1) are on a three-game win streak and are back on the field Monday at 6:30 p.m. hosting Leake Academy, a team Earnest said will be tough to take down.  

“They are consistently division winners and district winners and are in the playoffs making a good run. … They’re solid,” he said. “They have a pretty good pitcher, the catcher is really good and they are going to hit the ball. We have to be at the top of our game.”