Ryan Burt was feeling it.
First, it was a strikeout to set down the Caledonia side in the sixth inning.
Leaving the mound he let out a resounding, “Let’s go!”
Next, Bates delivered the dramatics in the batter’s box. Trailing 6-4 in the top of the seventh inning, he drove a hanging curveball into the left center gap for an RBI double.
Standing on second base, he clenched his muscles and motioned his energy toward the New Hope dugout.
With the rally sparked, New Hope tallied seven runs in the frame to take down Caledonia 11-8 in game two of their round of 16 series of the Mississippi High School Activities Association 4A playoffs.
“He grew up big time and he deserves all the credit,” New Hope head coach Lee Boyd said.
For Burt, 2019 has been especially grueling. He missed three weeks with a pulled muscle in his back. Fighting through tears postgame, he reflected on the injury and pulling out the win.
“It’s been a long year for me,” Burt said as water rolled down his face. “It’s awesome man. I thank God every day for this.”
He finished the night giving up eight runs — six earned — on 11 hits while striking out three in 115 pitches. Of those, 67 were strikes.
As Caledonia tagged Burt for four runs early, Boyd admitted he thought about pulling him. Instead, he stuck with his former ace who finished last season 11-2.
“I just didn’t feel like he had it tonight,” he said. “And we tell our guys all the time to deal with perseverance and when bad things happen how you react to them is the most important thing and he stood up and manned up tonight.”
With the win, New Hope advances to the quarterfinals of the state tournament after defeating Caledonia 4-2 in game one Friday.
“This is huge man,” Boyd said. “Us and Caledonia has always been a big game and it’s never quite been as big as the second round of the playoffs but it was an unbelievable atmosphere and Ryan pitched great.”
Ben Portnoy reports on Mississippi State sports for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter at @bportnoy15.
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