Josh Hill and Blayze Berry showed Tuesday night why they are two of the best pitchers in the state of Mississippi.
The result was an old-fashioned pitchers’ duel in Game 1 of the best-of-three Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA North State championship series.
Hill and Berry matched each other for seven innings before Indianola Academy reached Reid Huskison for two runs in the top of the ninth en route to a 3-1 victory at Trip Carson Field.
“It was nothing less than what we expected it to be,” Indianola Academy coach Clete Putnam said. “Their kid was outstanding. I can’t say enough good things about him. He trusted his stuff and he challenged us all night long and we didn’t do very much with him. He has a very, very bright future.”
Berry, a sophomore right-hander, allowed only five hits in seven innings. He surrendered three of the hits in the fifth when the Colonels scored their first run. He pitched out of a second-and-third jam by striking out the final two batters. Berry walked two and struck out 10. His 109th pitch forced a check swing for his final strikeout.
“He was fantastic,” Heritage Academy assistant coach Chris Ball said. Ball served as head coach in place of head coach Justin Flake, who suffered a heart attack late Monday night/early Tuesday morning. “It probably was the best he has thrown all year. He had command of his changeup, his offspeed, and his fastball was electric.”
Unfortunately for Heritage Academy, Hill was just as good. Hill, a junior right-hander, scattered four hits in eight innings. He allowed his only run in the first thanks in part to three passed balls. Hill walked two and struck out 11. He had thrown 108 pitches prior to striking out leadoff hitter Banks Hyde to strand a runner on third base in the eighth.
“He is a good one,” Putnam said of Hill. “He has done a tremendous job for us. He has been in this conference rotation and in playoff starts since he was a ninth-grader, so the experience factor was big tonight. He kept competing and trusted his stuff and settled in.
“We hurt him a little bit there in the first inning. His stuff was a little too good, but we settled in back there and got a little better and he kept throwing. He didn’t let that bother him. He kept pitching.”
Putnam said a key was Hill’s ability to keep his pitch count down so he could work into the eighth. He said he has been effective in that regard all season and has been able to finish games.
Ball agreed that Hill was equally fantastic, but that was to be expected when the two best pitchers in MAIS Class AAA face off against each other.
“It was unbelievable,” Ball said. “It was a great game to watch. The fans got their moneys worth.”
While Hill was keeping the Patriots quiet at the plate, the Colonels broke through in the ninth after stranding a runner at third in the eighth. Huskison worked out of that jam by striking out the final two hitters.
In the ninth, though, Reed Junkin was hit by a pitch and right-handed hitter Sebastian Harris went with the pitch and lined a triple down the right-field line that scored the go-ahead run. Harris scored on Davis’ sacrifice fly.
“He is our only senior,” Putnam said of Harris. “He had a senior moment there. That was huge. I am super proud of Sebastian. That is a big-time hit in a big-time situation. He has had moments of production. None bigger than that this year.”
The win moved Indianola Academy (23-8) one win away from a date in the Class AAA title series. The Colonels will try to close out the series at 4 p.m. Thursday in Indianola. If needed, Game 3 would follow approximately 30 minutes after the first game.
Heritage Academy (22-9) had its final chance in the ninth against Will Davis. With one out, Seth Harris was hit by a pitch. With two outs, KJ Smith and Parker Ray walked to load the bases, but Davis struck out Noel Fisher to end the game.
“We got to keep it interesting, I guess,” Putnam said. “We get a little adrenaline and the ball starts getting up. We got two quick outs and maybe we started to do a little bit too much with some pitches and the ball starts elevating. I am proud of Will for finding it right there and getting the job done.”
Ball said it was challenging to try to manufacture offense against Hill because he was so good at retiring the first batter and being quick to home when runners did reach base. Still, he said the Patriots had chances but couldn’t execute bunts in key situations. They also had a runner erased at home when he tried to score on a wild pitch.
“It’s baseball,” Ball said. “Every out, every pitch, every swing matters at this point in the season.”
Hyde and Carter Putt had two hits for the Patriots.
Putnam said the Colonels will review who will start Game 2. He said Junkin has been in the No. 2 spot in the rotation most of the season, but the Colonels flipped the pitching order last week. He didn’t rule out Davis starting what could be the series clincher.
“We have our work cut out for us,” Putnam said. “That is a tremendous baseball team on the other side. It is going to be a fight.”
Flake suffers heart attack
Ball said he received a text message from Flake at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday informing him he was in the hospital and he suffered a heart attack. Ball said Flake texted him again after he had surgery to put four stents into his heart. Ball said Flake was still at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Columbus on Tuesday night.
Ball said the Heritage Academy players learned Flake suffered a heart attack at 8 a.m. Tuesday. He said the news was unnerving, especially since Flake is only 36 years old. But Ball said Flake hadn’t been feeling well for a couple of days, so there was reason to expect something might be wrong.
Follow Dispatch sports editor Adam Minichino on Twitter @ctsportseditor
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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