STARKVILLE — Starkville Academy senior right-hander Caleb Griffin made good on his pledge Tuesday night.
“They weren’t going to beat me again,” Griffin said. “I knew I was going to get the start for this game, and I promised myself there was no way I was going to let them beat me twice. I was going to shut them down through seven innings. That was the goal. I am proud of it.”
Griffin threw a one-hitter and Starkville Academy took over first place in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools Class AAA, District 2 race with a 6-0 victory against Heritage Academy at Volunteer Field.
When the teams met last time on this field, Griffin was in a groove and Starkville Academy held a 4-0 lead in the fourth inning. Heritage Academy then scored five times in the fourth and held on for a 7-5 victory. Starkville Academy won two days later in Columbus to set up this rubber match of the season series.
“Not letting up,” Starkville Academy senior Drake Gordman said. “That’s all everyone was saying in the dugout. We knew they had the type of team that could come back. When Caleb pitches like that, our job is much easier.”
Starkville Academy improved to 17-3 and 6-1 in district play. Heritage Academy fell to 13-6 and 5-2. When all of the results were posted Tuesday night, both teams clinched a playoff berth. With two district games remaining, Starkville Academy needs one more win to nail down the No. 1 seed for the playoffs.
“Making the playoffs is a big deal,” Starkville Academy coach Jarrod Parks said. “We told the guys after the game, though, we weren’t letting up. We will play the next two (district) games like our season depends on them. You want to enter the playoffs with a lot of momentum. We have that right now, so we have to keep that up.”
Griffin (6-1) had all kinds of momentum Tuesday night. The no-hit bid was lost on a clean two-out single to center field by pinch hitter Ladd Chain with two outs in the seventh.
Heritage Academy reached a runner by walk in the first and sixth and by an error in the fourth.
“The biggest thing is you can’t defend walks,” Gordman said. “We are a good defensive team. Caleb’s challenge was to throw strikes and he really did a great job of that. We were alert behind him and made the plays. This was a really a big game since it was for first place in the district.
“Once Caleb found that rhythm, we really liked our chances.”
Griffin has embraced the role of being staff ace for the Volunteers this season. However, Parks was even more impressed with what happened Tuesday night.
“He has been great all year,” Parks said. “In this game, he was something beyond great. That was really a treat to watch. He had some issues there in the first inning but once he got a couple of pitches going for him at the same time, it was over.”
Griffin also knew the time of the game when it stated clicking.
“My first-pitch strike was not there tonight,” Griffin said. “In the fourth inning, I found my breaking ball. I could throw my fast ball and changeup all night for strikes. Once I found the breaking ball, I could just drop it in there and they couldn’t hit it.”
The only drama in the contest was with the flirtation of a no-hitter in the seventh. The Patriots batted three straight pinch-hitters to start the at-bat. A strikeout and fly out to left took place before Chain blooped a hard-hit ball into shallow center field.
Starkville Academy scored twice in the third and added four scores in the fifth.
Logan Sneed has been the Heritage Academy closer this season. On this night, he was pressed into service as a starting pitcher and battled.
In the third, Gordman reached as a one-out hit batsman. Carter Roach followed with a double to left field. A wild pitch scored one run and a bases-loaded walk brought home another.
In the fourth, Thomas Cooper replaced Sneed after back-to-back walks loaded the bases. Cooper got a strikeout to end that threat but wasn’t as fortunate an inning later, when Starkville Academy parlayed four hits, a walk, and two errors into a four-run inning. Codie Futral had an RBI single, while the Volunteers also benefited from another bases-loaded walk.
Such offense would be way too much to overcome when Griffin was throwing for the other team.
“I got into a zone there,” Griffin said. “It was Heritage and this game meant the world to us. There was no way I was going to let my teammates down again. I wanted this one badly.”
n Oxford 2, New Hope 1: At Oxford, the Trojans qualified for the Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 5A playoffs despite losing the one-run game Tuesday night at Edwin Moak Field.
Oxford (18-5, 7-0 Class 5A, Region 2) had already clinched the No. 1 seed in the region but nailed down a three-game season sweep of New Hope (15-7, 3-4) by scoring twice in the fourth inning to erase a 1-0 deficit.
New Hope had five hits. Will Godfrey and Tyler Jones each had two for New Hope. The Trojans left the bases loaded in the seventh inning.
Trey Klostermann threw a four-hitter for New Hope.
With two region games remaining, Saltillo is second in the region at 4-3, while New Hope is third at 3-4. Those teams play Tuesday at New Hope in the rubber match of this season’s series.
n Also in this region, Saltillo eliminated West Point from playoff consideration with a 2-1 win Tuesday night.
n Northwest Rankin 14, Starkville 5: At Brandon, the Yellow Jackets secured the third seed in Class 6A, Region 3 play after their loss Tuesday night.
A.J. Brown hit a three-run home run for Starkville (14-8, 2-4), while Carter Bentley had an RBI single.
n Caledonia 3, East Webster 2: At Maben, Jorden Hollowell had a hit and two RBIs, and four pitchers combined on a five-hitter Tuesday night to lead the Confederates (13-10) to their non-district victory.
Jantsen Glasgow and Logan Suggs also had hits and Houston Mims had an RBI for Caledonia.
Spencer Unruh, Zach O’Neil, and Suggs pitched two innings before giving way to Cameron Allsup, who allowed two hits and one run in the seventh but earned the save.
Caledonia will play host to Noxbuee County in a doubleheader Thursday night. The games originally were scheduled for Tuesday in Macon.
Softball
n New Hope 5, West Point 4: At Columbus, Alex Melton scored on an errant throw off a bunt by Megan James in the bottom of the seventh inning to lead the Lady Trojans (10-7).
Melton, James, and Mackenzie Harvey had multiple hits for New Hope. Harvey pitched a complete game to get the victory.
New Hope is scheduled to complete one game against Oxford tonight and then play another game against its district rival. It also is scheduled to play Saltillo on Thursday and Nettleton on Friday. On Saturday, New Hope will play host to Northeast Lauderdale at noon and Enterprise at 3 p.m.
Tennis
n Heritage Academy 8, Starkville Academy 1: At Columbus, the Patriots improved to 6-0 with their victory at the Magnolia Tennis Club.
In girls singles, Heritage Academy’s Gigi Fields defeated Kacey Favor 7-6, 6-4 at No. 1. Heritage Academy’s Sarah Curtis beat Mary Elliott Winfield 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2.
In girls doubles, the Heritage Academy teams of Emily Howard and Payton Riley and Stella Nichols and Grayson Jones beat the teams of Sarah Pellum and Aubry Armstrong and Hannah Cuevas and Sydney Passons.
In boys singles, Starkville Academy’s Will Christianson defeated Owen Riley at No. 1. At No. 2, Heritage Academy’s William Laws beat Reid Stevens 7-6, 6-4.
In boys doubles, the Heritage Academy teams of Jack Ellis and Carter Smith and Mason Cline and John H Fields defeated the teams of Colin Diaz and Hayes Henderson and Nathan Pollan and Ben Guest.
In mix doubles, Heritage Academy’s Lauren Pole Tyner Swedenburg defeated Emory Stevens and Parker Guest 6-2, 6-2.
Follow Dispatch sports writer Scott Walters on Twitter @dispatchscott
Scott was sports editor for The Dispatch.
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