By Robert Wilson
Seven-time defending MAIS Class 6A state baseball champion Jackson Prep has owned Hartfield Academy over the past four years, winning 15 consecutive games by an average of 6.7 runs per game and only twice has Hartfield come within five runs of beating its Lakeland Drive neighbors to the west.
Well, there’s a new baseball king on Lakeland Drive and it’s not Jackson Prep.
At least for one night, that is.
Hartfield scored six runs in the sixth inning and four runs in the seventh inning to run away with an 11-2 victory over Prep in the Lakeland Cup game Tuesday night before an estimated crowd of 500 at Prep’s Patriot Field in Flowood.
Hartfield improved 12-2 and beat Prep for the first time since a 5-4 decision in the covid year of 2020. The Hawks’ only two losses are to MAIS Class Columbia Academy and to Pope John Paul II from Slidell, La.
Prep, which was ranked as high as No. 20 in the country in the preseason, dropped to 11-4-1 and lost for the second time in the past three games. The Patriots were 14-0 against the Hawks the last three games since Hartfield moved up to Class 6A and beat them six times in 2022.
Even though this game was a non-conference game (both teams open conference play next week), it definitely did wonders for Hartfield’s confidence.
Prep held a 2-1 lead after five innings – senior left-hander Matthew “Ham” McKinley allowed only three hits and one run in 4 2/3 innings – when Hartfield scored six runs on no hits and one error in the sixth inning for a 7-1 lead off three Prep relief pitchers.
Then, Hartfield added four more runs in the seventh inning.
Seven of the 10 runs Hartfield scored in the final two innings were unearned. Prep had a total of six errors.
Meanwhile, Hartfield senior right-hander and Jacksonville (Ala.) State signee JP Abt (the first 5 1/3 innings) and senior left-hander Wiggy Ball (the last 1 2/3 innings) allowed only two hits and two runs with 10 strikeouts and four walks.
“Our senior class is a special group,” said Hartfield coach Justin Smith, who is in his fourth season as head coach after being promoted from assistant when Chuck Box left to become the director of player personnel at Texas A&M. “JP’s performance on the mound through five innings was a big help for us to get the win. He has developed into a great competitor and player. JP is that player that everyone in the dugout has a feeling we are going to win if he is pitching or at the plate. I’m proud of our guys for getting the win. Our main goal is to keep getting better and be our best in May.”
“The game was very close through the first five innings,” said Ball, who received a Division I basketball offer from Louisiana-Monroe this week. “Prep has great players and a great team. We have been working super hard throughout this season and it paid off tonight. I’m glad we won the game and I think it will give us some confidence heading into conference play (next week against Madison St Joseph).”
Hartfield has gotten off to a great start. The Hawks have a .355 team batting average, 33 doubles, 3 triples, 6 home runs, a .467 team on-base percentage, and a 1.435 team slugging percentage.
Junior outfielder and Jacksonville (Ala.) State commitment Henry Abt leads Hartfield with a .452 batting average and followed by JP Abt at .420 and senior first baseman and Jones County Junior College signee Sam Oakley at .405. JP Abt has six doubles and two home runs.
Hartfield has a 1.75 team earned run average with 103 strikeouts and 39 walks in 84 innings. JP Abt is 2-0 with a 2.14 ERA, sophomore right-hander Noah Flynn is 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA and senior right-hander and Meridian CC signee Woods Roberson is 3-0 with a 3.32 ERA.
Prep is without 2024 National Player of the Year Konnor Griffin, who was taken as the No. 9 pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the Major League Draft this summer. Also, Arizona State signee and senior infielder-pitcher Tre Bryant isn’t at full speed, only being the designated hitter instead of pitching and fielding, still recovering from shoulder surgery from a football injury, and sophomore infielder-pitcher Kevin Roberts – rated as the No. 8 player in the country in the Class of 2026 by Perfect Game – isn’t at full speed, just a few weeks from being off the basketball court after helping Prep to an Overall championship, and has been slowed by an injury from basketball.
Prep has five returning starters from its team last season, which won a school record 39 games (with only four losses), won its seventh straight state title and finished ranked No. 19 in the country.
The Patriots haven’t lost a regular season conference series since 2019 when Jackson Academy took two of three from Prep in the regular season. Prep opens conference play Tuesday with a three-games series against Madison-Ridgeland Academy and first-year coach Chad Lipscomb.
“I thought last night was a great atmosphere to get ready for conference,” said Prep coach Brent Heavener, who is in his ninth season at Prep as head coach after being promoted from an assistant when Chuck Box left for Hartfield. “I thought both starting pitchers came out and really pitched well. At the end, we didn’t make plays. They put the ball in play and forced us to make mistakes. When you play a good team, you can’t make mistakes. Coach Smith is doing a great over there. He and his staff did a good job having them ready to play and they played really well last night.”
