STARKVILLE — New Hope High School senior outfielder Dusty Dyson decided his team didn’t need to wait long to score Saturday afternoon.
After waiting until a walk-off grand slam by Tee Payne in the bottom of the seventh inning Friday night, Dyson bashed a towering home run to left field to lead New Hope to a 6-1 victory against Starkville in the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A North State playoffs at Carlisle Field.
Dyson’s home run keyed a three-run second inning that helped New Hope (24-7) advance to face Hernando or Oxford in a best-of-three North State championship series that will begin Friday.
The loss marked the end of the season for Starkville (21-9) and Danny Carlisle’s 29-year run as head coach.
“The first game was such a pitcher’s duel,” Dyson said of New Hope’s 4-0 win Friday. “We played all night without getting a timely hit. I thought the home run was a tone-setter today. It definitely got things going.”
The teams opened the best-of-three series by playing an instant classic in game one when Payne slapped a 3-2 pitch for a grand slam.
“I took two straight balls so the count was 3-1,” Payne said. “Coach gave me take the take sign because he was hoping for a walk. Then it was a strike so it was 3-2. Coach said, ‘You got to hit it now.’ I said ‘Don’t worry, I will.’ ”
Payne said the walk-off winner was bittersweet since it came against Nick Brooks, who is one of his best friends. However, Starkville battled back and put the heartache behind it quickly.
“We came out and had batting practice at noon today,” Starkville senior second baseman Jordan Allgood said. “Everybody’s attitude was great. Last night was the toughest loss I have ever been through. But we came out really ready to play. We just couldn’t get any hits with runners on base and they sure did.”
Starkville outhit New Hope 10-4 but made four infield errors, while New Hope played errorless ball for a second straight night. Only three of New Hope’s six runs were earned.
“We took what they gave us,” New Hope coach Lee Boyd said. “The trademark of a championship team is you have to make your own breaks. At the same time, you have to be able to put pressure on the other team. If they bend, you have to take advantage of that.
“I am super proud of my guys for the determination they showed throughout the series.”
New Hope shortstop Will Golsan could have earned Gold Glove status in the series. Golsan had four nifty defensive stops, including two thefts to end Starkville scoring threats.
“We take a lot of pride in our defense,” said Golsan, a rising sophomore. “We know we have pitchers who are going to throw strikes. We really have a great 1-2 punch. We take pride in playing defense behind those guys. We want them to know we have their backs wherever the ball is hit.”
Lee Boyd’s younger brother, Landon, threw a two-hitter Friday night. Peyton Lee followed that with a complete game. He allowed 10 hits, but struck out eight and got timely out after timely out.
“I have been doing this seven years and the Friday night game was the best game I have ever been involved in,” coach Boyd said. “I was so proud of my little brother and his determination. Then you come out and you get an effort like we did from Peyton today. Starkville was one of the hottest teams in 5A ball coming in and we held them to one run. That is a testament to what we are doing on the mound.”
Dyson said New Hope’s pitching has allowed the offense to be more relaxed and to reach its potential.
“It is great when you know you are going to get the pitching we are going to get,” Dyson said. “As hitters, we can relax and play with more confidence. We always feel like one hit, one key at-bat, one sequence can get everything going.”
Rallying from down a first-inning run, New Hope built a 3-1 lead with three scores in the second. After the home run, Starkville starting pitcher Nathan Pugh issued a walk. Back-to-back errors and a passed ball led to two unearned scores.
In the fourth, Jace Caldwell drew a two-out walk for New Hope. Caldwell stole second and scored after a base hit by Golsan. The throw from left fielder Daniel Murphree appeared on target to get Golsan. However, the throw was cut and the relay was thrown away.
New Hope turned four walks and one hit into two more scores in the sixth.
By that time, the final chapter of Carlisle’s coaching career was beginning to be written.
Down 4-1, Starkville loaded the bases in with one out in the fifth on consecutive singles by Max Bartlett, Allgood, and Pugh. A line drive whistled down the third-base line, but Boyd snared it. A ground out followed and Lee and his Trojans were out of that threat.
“Bases loaded and we got no runs out of it in the fifth. That was the whole ballgame,” Carlisle said.
For a New Hope team playing with confidence, making the stop is almost commonplace.
“We have a lot of confidence,” Payne said. “We believe in each other. I like how it is all coming together for us.”
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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