The samurai is back and ready to do some damage.
In slow-pitch softball season, Lauren Holifield took to wearing a yellow bandana around her head to signify she and New Hope High School were ready for battle.
Holifield delivered in a big way with that bandana, smacking a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to help New Hope beat Neshoba Central in the state semifinals and then a series sweep of Picayune en route to a fifth-straight championship, and 14th overall.
The bandana works equally well in fast-pitch season.
Holifield did her damage in the circle Saturday, throwing a no-hitter to help New Hope beat Pearl 8-0 and sweep their best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North State playoff series at Lady Trojan Field.
Coupled with a 7-1 win against Pearl on Friday night, New Hope (23-3-1) advances to face the winner of the Saltillo-Brookhaven series. That series is scheduled for Thursday and Saturday, but state testing that begins Tuesday could change those plans.
Holifield made sure nothing got in the way of the Lady Trojans’ series victory. She walked three, struck out eight, and faced only two batters over the minimum in the seven-inning effort. The junior right-hander was aggressive in the circle, getting ahead of batters and then keeping the Lady Pirates off balance with off-speed pitches and riseballs.
“She pitched really well,” New Hope coach Tabitha Beard said. “She had three walks, but she threw a no-hitter, so you really can’t ask for anything more. She was in control of what she wanted to do and she made them do what she wanted them to do.”
Beard said Holifield is even more effective when she gets ahead of hitters so she can use pitches other than a fastball to keep hitters off stride.
Holifield said she knew she had a no-hitter entering the seventh. It didn’t cross her mind until she faced Carrie Phillips, who nearly broke up the gem. But right fielder R.J. James delivered the defensive play of the game when she made a running, snow-cone catch going back toward the right-field fence. Phillips had the best at-bats against Holifield, fouling off a handful of pitches in the fourth before working a walk. Outside of those two at-bats, Holifield was completely in control.
“R.J. made a real nice play to help me keep the no-hitter, so I have to thank her,” Holifield said. “I think I pitched well, but I did have three walks. I need to learn how to control the new balls because they kind of slipped out of my hands.”
Holifield said she has incorporated a screwball to her repertoire this season. She said that pitch allows her to get ahead of hitters and then work off other pitches and to tease them with “junk” if she wants.
“I think I have been pretty consistent,” Holifield said. “I guess it has been medium consistent.”
In game one, New Hope used a five-run seventh to break the game open. Beard said it took time for the Lady Trojans to adjust to Phillips, a left-hander who relies on curveball and off-speed pitches.
D.J. Sanders made sure Pearl didn’t have any answers. The sophomore right-hander allowed just one hit. She struck out 13 and gave up the only run on a bunt and with the help of an error.
“We didn’t hit the ball real well,” Beard said. “Defensively, we were solid. We came alive in the last inning and hit the ball real well, but they struggled (hitting the ball) a little bit.”
On Saturday, New Hope had only six hits. Holifield (double) and Anna McCrary each had two. Holifield’s first hit in the second led to the first run. She advanced to second on a fielder’s choice, to third on an error, and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Erin Stanfield.
In the third, Kaitlin Bradley had an RBI triple and Sanders followed with an RBI single.
New Hope tacked on five runs on just one hit — an RBI single by Holifield. The Lady Trojans capitalized on three errors, a fielder’s choice, a walk, and a hit batter.
With two pitchers as strong as Sanders and Holifield, it will be tough for any opponent to make those mistakes against New Hope.
“They’re just strong,” said Pearl coach Leigh Ann Purnell, whose team ended its season at 13-12. “D.J. has a lot of speed and Holifield is just consistent. She is going to throw more strikes than balls and you’re going to have to hit the ball against her. She has a lot of confidence You see it all over, which can be a little bit of an intimidation factor, but I thought she pitched a great game today.”
Purnell credited Sanders for being dominant in the circle. She said Phillips did a good job for most of the game but couldn’t prevent the big inning or put the bat on the ball.
That’s just how Holifield wanted it. Now she and the Lady Trojans will focus on getting their bats going a little more consistently to put everything together with a solid defense and pitching.
To do that, Beard said the Lady Trojans will have to be more patient at the plate and avoid swinging at pitchers’ pitches. She and assistant coach Connie Sharpe tried to stress that early in the game when they told hitters not to swing at “junk” and to “make her throw strikes.”
Holifield knows how difficult it can be not to be tempted by pitches like that. She showed Saturday she can make it tough for hitters to hit anything. That shouldn’t be surprising, though, because a samurai is ready for everything.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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