STARKVILLE — Crooked numbers on a scoreboard don’t faze “bulldogs.”
That’s why it didn’t take long for Jeb Malley to regroup after he surrendered the lead and allowed three runs in the bottom of the first inning.
“I just thought, ‘Come out, throw strikes, and see how far they can hit it,’ ” Malley said. “I wanted to see if they could put the ball in play and let my defense do the work.”
The senior right-hander’s plan worked exactly like he wanted to, as he allowed four hits in the final six innings to lead the Oak Forest (La.) Academy baseball team to an 11-4 victory against Starkville Academy in Game 1 of the best-of-three Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, Division II semifinal-round playoff series.
Game 2 will be Thursday in Amite, Louisiana. If needed, Game 3 would follow approximately 30 minutes after the previous game.
Malley, who will play baseball at Meridian Community College in the fall, walked three and struck out five. He surrendered singles to Hunter Peeples and John McReynolds and then walked Colt Crestman. A single by Luke Templeton scored the final two runs and gave the Volunteers (23-10) a 3-1 lead.
But Malley, who had three hits, including a solo home run in the top of the first, settled down and allowed his control to take over. He relied on a fastball low in the strike zone to help him overcome the slow start.
“I threw strikes and kept the ball low and let them hit it,” said Malley, who also plays center field and plays second base.
Oak Forest coach Tony Salim called Malley a “bulldog” who has pitched through rough spots earlier in the season and led his team to a victory. He said Malley will do whatever it takes, including throwing 150 pitches in a game, like he did earlier in the year, to help the team.
“In the first inning, he didn’t pitch that bad. They just got a couple of hits,” Salim said. “He settled down and started to hit his spots and find his groove. He started understanding the umpire’s strike zone. He was giving us the low strike tonight, and we started to take advantage of that.”
Salim said Malley will go to Meridian C.C. as a “dual” player. He said Malley runs a 6.4-second 60-yard dash. Malley’s three-hit night, which included a double, explains why he might be more than just a “bulldog” on the mound.
Malley’s defense came to his aid to help him work out of his toughest jam after the first. Trailing 7-3, Starkville Academy’s McReynolds (4-for-4) singled. With one out, Templeton singled. Malley walked the next batter to load the bases. Billy McGee followed with a hard hit back up the middle that second baseman Brennan Kelsey fielded on his glove side and flipped to shortstop Jude Giardina, who threw to first to complete the inning-ending double play.
“That was a huge play because they were starting to get a little bit of momentum,” Salim said. “That kind of gave us the momentum back. It was a big-time play by Brennan Kelsey.”
In the third, Starkville Academy committed an error in the middle of the diamond that prevented it from completing a double play. Oak Forest capitalized and scored two runs in the inning. The error was one of seven the Volunteers committed that made starting pitcher Hunter Arnold work a little harder.
“We knew coming in we had to pitch and play defense,” Starkville Academy coach Jody Britt said. “We pitched OK, not as good as we have been, and the defense was probably the worst it has been all year. We just never did recover. Hitting, we never really did get it going. Malley did a great job keeping the first two hitters off. They made plays and we didn’t all night long.”
Britt said the Volunteers knew Malley was going to stick with fastballs, which he did, and they just hit too many fly balls. Nine of Starkville Academy’s outs were pop ups or fly outs. Another was a line drive.
Britt said his players have to forget about the loss and can’t let it affect them in Game 2. He believes his team has the pitching and hitting to extend the series to a third game.
“If we can just relax and play, I think we’re going to be fine,” Britt said. “If we go down there and play our kind of ball and we lose a game, I am fine with it. Coming in, I knew if we played like we are capable, we had a good chance to win, but if you play like you did tonight, you have absolutely no chance.”
Oak Forest scored in every inning except the fifth. It scored two runs in the third and two more in the fourth. Kolton Kennedy was intentionally walked four times. Dylan Dover (two) was the only other Oak Forest player with multiple hits.
Britt said he expects Malley will come back Thursday if the teams play Game 3. That would be fitting because that’s something “bulldogs” do.
“I just find a way to get it done,” Malley said when asked why his coach calls him a “bulldog.” “It wasn’t easy tonight, but I just bowed up and got the job done.”
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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