STARKVILLE — The bats are alive and well.
Throughout much of the Starkville High School baseball team”s season, its offensive numbers have dipped and its effectiveness with runners in scoring position hasn”t been up to a game-winning standard.
Against a Columbus High team that had two wins against it this season, Starkville had its most complete game of the year, pounding 11 hits in a 12-0 win Tuesday.
Starkville”s Max Bartlett went 2-for-3, Wesley Montgomery and Jaquez Johnson each went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, and all but one player in the lineup recorded a hit.
The effort comes on the heels of a 19-hit performance against Pearl and a nine-hit showing in a one-run loss to No. 2 Gulfport.
Starkville coach Danny Carlisle said his players are as focused as they”ve been all season and are finally buying into the coaching staff”s methods.
“We”re hitting fastballs,” Bartlett said. “We”re hitting our pitches, not theirs. If you foul enough off, he”s gonna leave one over the plate.”
The win helped Starkville (8-11, 2-5 Class 6A, Region 2) move into a tie with Columbus (11-11, 2-5) for third place in the region, though the Falcons hold a tiebreaker advantage having won two games.
Starkville must beat Tupelo and have Columbus lose to South Panola on Friday to clinch the third playoff slot in the region.
“We”re on life support, and can”t nobody unplug it but us,” Carlisle said.
Columbus pitcher Christian Dale failed to duplicate his effectiveness from the first meeting in Starkville, when he pitched a complete game and gave up just two runs in an 8-2 win.
The right-hander showed signs of wear as early as the second inning, when Daniel Murphree and Bartlett rang up RBI singles. Dale then threw a wild pitch that plated another run to give Starkville a 3-0 lead. All of the runs came with two outs.
In the third, Hayden Higginbotham and Jordan Allgood had RBI hits.
Starkville”s hitter and four errors finally helped to do Dale in and prompted Columbus coach Jeffrey Cook to lift him in the bottom of the fourth after he allowed seven runs. He left after 85 pitches and 10 hits, two walks, and six strikeouts.
“He was our number one and the guy we were going with,” Cook said. “He got a little frustrated after a couple of errors. Christian, that”s where he”s got to mature more. He”s an experienced guy, but he”s still a 16-year-old sophomore. That”s a weakness in his game. He has to be more of a leader for us.”
The Falcons struggled just as much at the plate as it did in the field, managing just one hit off Garrett Batson (2-2). The strong-armed senior pitched five innings, walked four and struck out three.
“He was down in his pitch count, threw well, stayed ahead, and stayed focus,” Carlisle said.
Cook, however, was disappointed in his team”s inability to match Starkville in any phase of the game. The Falcons have lost six straight games and have allowed 14 or more runs in five straight.
With a road trip at South Panola looming Friday, Cook said his team”s form is frustrating.
“That”s the thing we haven”t been doing (making errors),” Cook said. “We”re young and inexperienced, but we”ve been making those plays. For some reason tonight, we didn”t make the play.”
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