If you follow fast-pitch softball in the state of Mississippi, you know Leake Academy has set a standard many attempt to emulate.
The program won three state titles in a row 2011-13 before finishing second to Tri-County Academy last season in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AA championship series.
The MAIS’ latest round of reclassification for this school year pushed Leake Academy into Class AAA, where it joined local teams like Heritage Academy and Starkville Academy. The teams had played in showcases and tournaments early in the season, but Heritage Academy coach Gary Harris knew the addition of Leake Academy to his team’s district and classification was a step up.
On Tuesday, Heritage Academy took a step that has been a long time in the making.
Kaitlyn Oswalt pitched a complete-game three-hitter, and Macy Walters drew a bases-loaded walk in the fifth inning to give Heritage Academy a 1-0 victory in Columbus.
The win avenged a 10-0 loss to Leake Academy on Aug. 18 in Madden. Heritage Academy (13-5, 4-1 district) committed six errors and had only two hits in that game.
The Patriots improved on both of those categories in the rematch. Although Heritage Academy managed only one more hit, it didn’t commit an error and relied on the dominant pitching of Oswalt to gain a confidence-building victory.
“I thought we could play with them if we played extremely well,” Harris said. “I didn’t think they were 10 runs better than us. All of the seniors — Oswalt, Walters, and Brooklyn Waldrep — played well. KO was outstanding.”
Harris called the evening the team celebrated its seniors “exciting” in part because he knows how far the program has come in the past several years to reach the level of Leake Academy. To drive that point home, he related the comments made by Heritage Academy assistant coach Mark Walters after the game. Walters, who is the father of Macy, has watched the program grow since Macy and Brooklyn were in the sixth grade. Harris said Mark Walters became emotional in the post-game talk with the players because the program has come so far in a short amount of time.
“He said, “I am not really crying because it is Senior Night. I am crying because Macy and Brooklyn have been a part of this for a long time,’ ” Harris said. “He said, ‘Heritage Academy used to play Leake Academy and get beat by 30 and they were not even trying. To see y’all come this far is why I am emotional.’ That was a neat moment.”
Tyler Rhett had a double and Hayley Martin and Madison Tipton had singles for Heritage Academy.
Sydney Adair scored the only run.
Harris said Oswalt made that stand up by learning from the first game in which he said Leake Academy hit her fastball hard. He said Oswalt worked in a lot of changeups, riseballs, and curveballs to keep the hitters off balance. Harris said Oswalt and Walters, who was hurt in the first meeting against Leake Academy this season, worked well together and deserve a lot of credit for Oswalt’s one-walk (intentional), six-strikeout effort.
“She had a perfect game through four innings,” Harris said.
Harris also said Oswalt was sick on the bus ride to Madden for the first meeting. Even with Oswalt at less than 100 percent, Heritage Academy trailed only 3-0 when Walters was hit in the arm and had to leave her position as catcher. The shuffling of positions helped Leake Academy break the game open.
Heritage Academy will travel to Macon on Thursday for a game against Central Academy. On Saturday, Heritage Academy will play Madison-Ridgeland Academy, Leake Academy, and Delta Academy at a tournament at Carroll Academy. Harris is anxious to see how his team reacts to its newfound confidence. He also knows that there still is a long way to go in a season that he said nearly two months ago that was full of promise. A victory against a perennial state title contender shouldn’t distract you from that.
“Instead of looking for what it will do for us in the future, we’re excited for what it did for us tonight,” Harris said. “It is a moment, or a mile marker, in these girls lives that these girls remember for the rest of their lives. It was a special night. If we don’t go on to win a state championship this night is still going to be special because of what has taken place to get to this moment. I would love for it to be a springboard to something even greater. If it doesn’t, I don’t want to diminish that it was a moment, a memory we’re all going to remember for a long time.”
Soccer
n Heritage Academy 9, Bayou Academy 1: Haley Barker had five goals Tuesday to help the Patriots improve to 2-3.
Nicole Dishongh had two goals and Lauren Pole and Anna Acker each had one. Sarah Kat Sykes and Haven Tuggle played goalkeeper for Heritage Academy. Anna LeBrun was the team’s key defender of the game, according to coach Don Whitman.
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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