STARKVILLE — In the seventh inning Thursday night, New Hope found much-needed separation in in fast-pitch prep softball game with Starkville and in the Class 5A, Region 3 race.
The Lady Trojans scored five times in the final at-bat to break open a tight game, instead cruising to a 13-4 victory.
“We did what we had to do and I am proud of the girls for doing that,” New Hope coach Tabitha Beard said. “In the seventh inning, we played some small ball and that changed the game.
New Hope (11-3-1 overall, 2-0 region) scored five times in the first inning and appeared headed to an easy win, similar to Tuesday’s 10-1 region win over Neshoba Central.
Instead, Starkville hung around and made things very uncomfortable by scoring three times to cut the lead to 8-4 in the sixth inning.
“We just quit hitting the ball,” Starkville junior Ashley Reed said. “We got a lead and got comfortable. Our focus was not where it needed to be but we did finish strong.”
Beard shifted to the bunting game to blow the contest open late. Erin Stanfield and Abby Wilson started the final inning with bunt singles. Lauren Holifield followed with an RBI-single D.J. Sanders capped a three-hit night with an RBI-double.
“We executed well at the end,” Beard said. “We were struggling at the plate because of the speed of their pitcher. So I decided to play some small ball.
“You like when the girls execute what you ask them to do.”
Reed paced New Hope’s 16-hit attack with three singles. Winning pitcher Lauren Holifield, Kaitlin Bradley, Kasey Stanfield and Anna McCrary each added multiple hits.
Iyana Clark paced Starkville with three hits, while D’Kyia Robinson had two hits.
“It was a great game for us even though we were on the losing side,” Starkville coach Wendy Jolly said.
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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