Now the real fun begins.
Judging from its performance Monday, the New Hope High School baseball team appears ready to make some noise.
Taylor Stafford and Kameron Bryan hit home runs to back the pitching of Dillon Hawkins in a 16-1 victory against Jackson Lanier in game two of the opening-round Class 5A North State playoff series at Trojan Field.
The victory helped New Hope (21-7) sweep the best-of-three series and advance to face Lake Cormorant at 6 p.m. Friday. Game two will be Saturday in Columbus, followed by an if-game Monday at Lake Cormorant.
Stafford had a two-run single in the third inning and a three-run, laser home run to right field in the fourth, Jared Shelton had two hits, Trae Collins had a three-run double in a five-run first, and Bryan, who hit the ball hard in all four at-bats, had a grand slam in the fourth.
The biggest positive might have been the effort of Hawkins. The senior right-hander, who will attend East Mississippi Community College on a baseball scholarship in the fall, allowed only two hits and an unearned run. He hit one batter, picked two runners off bases, and struck out nine, including the side in the fifth to end the run-rule shortened game.
Hawkins” performance was even more impressive considering he allowed eight hits and nine earned runs in 1 2/3 innings in his last outing, a 16-2 loss Tuesday at Saltillo.
New Hope coach Lee Boyd said he and assistant coach Bobby Taylor have been working with Hawkins to try to help him find his comfort zone. He said they have attempted to get him to conceal the ball better and to be smoother in his delivery and not to overthrow.
The result Hawkins delivered featured a biting curveball and a well-located fastball that painted the corners.
“His ball has been running really well in the bullpen,” Boyd said. “Today, you could not tell the difference in his motion between his breaking pitch and his fastball. … That was his best outing of the year. I think he had 61 pitches through five innings. We have had 61 through two or three innings this year.”
Bryan said Hawkins took a little off his pitches and worked more off his curveball. As a result, his pitches moved more and he was able to spot his fastball.
Hawkins agreed his pitches moved more and hopes the effort is a first step to even longer outing deeper in the playoffs.
“This whole year I have been trying to overthrow the ball,” Hawkins said. “Coach told me I need to calm down and slow everything down and get everything where it isn”t so noticeable. My ball was moving everywhere. This was probably one of the better games I have thrown all year.”
Boyd said Bryan, a senior transfer from Neshoba Central, has been seeing the ball well and has worked extremely hard in the batting cage to become a better hitter. The work has paid off, as the catcher leads the team with a .410 batting average.
“He has been a huge attribute to our team,” Boyd said. “I am blessed to have him.”
Boyd did his best to buoy Bryan”s spirits before his fourth at-bat. In his first three trips, Bryan lined out to the shortstop, hit a rocket to the left fielder, and grounded out sharply to second. Boyd joked Bryan probably would get a bloop triple in his fourth plate appearance, but the catcher did his coach one better.
“He has that potential,” Boyd said. “It is only his third or fourth home run, but you ought to see him in batting practice. He can really crank them out in batting practice.”
Bryan credits extra time on his swing for boosting his confidence. He said he was moving too much earlier in the season and now is doing a better job staying back on the ball, which has allowed him to get more power in his swing.
“I am keeping my feet still and I just took (the changes) and ran with it,” Bryan said. “I try to hit in the cage every night and get plenty of reps. (The change) has helped my confidence a lot. I just try to hit the ball hard every time.”
When he is down in the count, Bryan opts to crouch in his batting stance and knows he has to put the ball in play to help his team. He didn”t need that approach on the grand slam, which was the highlight of a seven-run fourth that gave the Trojans plenty of cushion.
Bryan said New Hope doesn”t know a lot about Lake Cormorant, but that it would practice hard the next few days and try to build on its last two wins.
“I couldn”t ask for anything better (this season). It has been perfect,” Bryan said of senior season with new teammates. “I am thankful for the team for taking me in. It feels good getting to play.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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