By Robert Wilson
Jackson Academy is trying to win its first state baseball championship since 2011, but Hartfield Academy had the momentum to end the Raiders’ chances to advance after winning Game 2 to even the series at 1-1 and the confidence entering Game 3 immediately afterwards.
JA bounced back and stopped Hartfield’s momentum and confidence with a three-run first inning, never lost the lead and went on to win 10-2 in the deciding and third game of the second round of the MAIS Class 4A best of three series in a battle between two of the top five rated teams in Mississippi Saturday afternoon at Mississippi College’s Frierson Field in Clinton.
JA – ranked No. 3 in Mississippi and No. 58 in the country by MaxPreps – improved to 27-9 and advances to meet Magnolia Heights – ranked No. 1 in Mississippi and No. 23 in the country – next week in a best of three series in Class 4A, Division I. Magnolia Heights swept a three-game regular season series from JA, winning 3-2, 6-5 and 8-6, in late April and also defeated JA 15-12 in a tournament in Alabama in early March.
Hartfield – ranked No. 5 in Mississippi – dropped to 23-8 and will play in the Class 4A, Division II against Lamar School in a three-game series next week.
Senior right fielder Tai Jones had a home run and single and had four runs batted in, senior shortstop, Southern Miss signee and leadoff hitter Justin Word had a double and a single and scored two runs and junior Whit Davis threw a complete game for the victory in JA’s 6-4 win in Game 1 Tuesday at JA.
Hartfield, on the strength of an outstanding pitching performance by junior right-hander Noah Flynn, tied the series at 1-1 with a 5-1 victory in Game 2 at MC Saturday to set up the deciding and third game. Flynn allowed only two hits and no runs and had nine strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings to improve to 7-1 this season. Junior third baseman Gabriel Estel had two home runs for Hartfield.
It didn’t take long for JA to regain the momentum with three runs in the top of the first inning in Game 3. Hartfield scored one run in each of the second and third innings to close within 3-2, but JA answered with one run in each of the fourth and fifth innings and scored five runs in the sixth inning (junior centerfielder and Mississippi State commitment Deuce Jenkins had a triple and Jones had a home run) to push the lead to 10-2.
JA junior Tyrese Haggard pitched a complete game to improve to 8-1 this season. He allowed six hits and two earned runs and has a 2.03 earned run average this season.
“We played with no energy in the first game Saturday,” said JA head coach Justin Reed, who was promoted to head coach from assistant after Corey Dickerson left before the season to take a coaching position with the Tampa Bay Rays in the Major Leagues. “We came out flat and Hartfield took advantage. That’s a really good team. Their starting pitcher pitched phenomenal and they made plays on defense. Their hitters hit when they needed to and that was the difference in that first ball game. In between games, I challenged the guys to leave it between the lines. Come together as one and play that style of baseball that we love to play and love to watch. It all started with a leadoff single by (senior shortstop and Southern Miss signee) Justin Word to start to start the game. That led to a three run first inning. From that point, it was all about winning each inning one at a time. Tyrese Haggard pitched an outstanding game for us, giving us an opportunity to keep positive momentum on offense and kept the guys their toes on defense. I truly believe a well played game starts with the guy on the mound and Tyrese gave us that. Having a couple of big plays on defense by Deuce, making a spectacular catch in centerfield to our catcher Jed Rodden making some big putouts. Momentum swung in our favor with a big fifth inning starting with a two out shot by Tai Jones that sent a message to the team. Tyrese Haggard, (senior third baseman) Crew Hassell, (junior first baseman) Whit Davis, and (senior second baseman) Joe Walker also had some key hits for us. I’m extremely proud of the boys and their efforts they put out. I’m excited to get back to practice and prepare for our next series vs Magnolia Heights next week.”
“Noah pitched phenomenal and was able to throw pitches for a strike and kept them off balanced,” Hartfield coach Justin Smith said. “His and Gabriel Estes at bats were big for us having a chance to play for a deciding Game 3. In Game 3, I was proud of our guys fighting till the end. We had made some mistakes throughout Game 3 that put us in the situation we were in, but our guys never gave up and I’m proud of them for that.”
“Losing the first game was a tough one,” said Jenkins, who had three hits in the series and is hitting .491 with 14 doubles, 4 triples and 11 home runs this season. “We know Hartfield is a good team and their backs were against the wall, but we just didn’t match their energy. Their pitcher was hitting his spots and we just were not as disciplined as we are accustomed to being. Our hats off to them on that. After a long conversation with Coach J Reed (JA head coach Justin Reed) between games, he just got us back focused on the little things. The same little things that have gotten us to this point of the season. That’s trusting one another and playing for the next man. That’s what we did in Game 3 and the score reflected that.”
“Coming into the first game today, our team was fired up and we knew what it was going to take in order for us to win,” said Hartfield senior centerfielder and Southern Miss signee Henry Abt, who had six hits, including a home run and a double, in the series and is hitting .466 with 5 doubles, 2 triples and 6 home runs this season. “We were all focused and were set on simply taking it to the third game. From the first pitch of the game until the last pitch we carried the same high level energy and I believe that was a big factor in the win the first game. I’m proud of the guys for the way battled.”
Now, JA gets another shot at Magnolia Heights.
“I have the utmost respect for (Magnolia Heights) Coach (Chris) McMinn and his program,” Reed said. “They are a very talented team and well coached. It will definitely be an awesome series. It will be the place to be. I expect both teams to leave it all on the field.”
“Everyone in the state knows who Mag Heights is and what they are about,” Jenkins said. “No one knows them like we do. We’ve played them four times this season and each game came down to a hit or two. We feel like they respect us and they will not take us lightly. If we play mistake free for seven innings, I feel that we will put ourselves in a great position to get a win. We know them. They know us. So it should be a great series.”
