Playoff prime time has arrived for the baseball teams at Heritage Academy and New Hope High School.
Heritage Academy is just one win away from knocking off the defending state champions in the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) Class AAA North playoffs.
The Patriots blanked Indianola Academy 4-0 on Tuesday in the first game of a best-of-three series.
Heritage hosts Indianola at 5 p.m. today. A win by the Patriots would end the series. If Indianola wins, the winner-take-all game would take place after the 5 p.m. game is over.
Just a few miles to the south, New Hope will begin its best-of-three Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) series against Amory. First pitch is at 6 p.m.
The Trojans (22-5) will reach the MHSAA Final Four in Class 4A with a pair of wins over Amory.
New Hope reached the quarterfinals after defeating rival Caledonia in two straight games last week, finishing the job with an 11-8 win Saturday.
Game 2 is at 6 p.m. Friday at Amora. Game 3 would be played Saturday at New Hope.
Amory is 15-8. The Panthers advanced with two straight wins against Rosa Fort, winning by a combined 26-0.
New Hope has cruised into the round of eight, piling up 58 runs in its last four games. The Trojans scored 19 in one inning against Gentry.
Paul Bowker is the former sports editor for The Dispatch.
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