By Robert Wilson
FLOWOOD – Hartfield is ranked No. 2 in Mississippi by MaxPreps and the Hawks once again showed they are worthy of that lofty ranking Thursday night in Game 2 of its MAIS Class 6A three game series with Jackson Academy.
Hartfield junior right-hander and Southern Miss commitment Taylor Latham allowed just three hits and no earned runs with 12 strikeouts in 6 2/3 innings in a 5-1 victory over JA to win the series and for its sixth consecutive conference win without a loss before an estimated 200 at Hartfield.
Hartfield improved to 18-2 overall, 5-0 in league play, one and a half games ahead of Presbyterian Christian, which is 3-1 and plays at Madison-Ridgeland Academy in a doubleheader Friday. The Hawks won their ninth straight game and haven’t lost since an 8-2 decision Pope John Paul II of Slidell, La., in the Battle of the Beach March 13 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Hartfield’s only other loss was a 5-2 decision to MAIS Class 4A Columbia Academy March 1 at Hartfield. The only team ranked ahead of Hartfield in Mississippi is six-time defending MAIS Class 5A state champion Magnolia Heights, ranked No. 23 in the country by Baseball America.
JA – ranked No. 11 in Mississippi by MaxPreps – dropped to 14-6 overall and 1-4 in league play. The Raiders had two 12 straight games before losing two of three conference games to Presbyterian Christian School last week.
Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. at JA in Northeast Jackson.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Latham was impressive Tuesday night. The first two hits he allowed were a bunt single by JA senior centerfielder Foster Meacham – who came into the week as the leader in 6A with an .455 batting average – and a run-scoring single to left field by junior left fielder and Clinton High transfer Landyn Baker, both in the top of the fourth inning.
Seven of Latham’s strikeouts came against the first four batters in JA’s lineup, including three against the first two batters and two of the top-rated players in Mississippi, senior shortstop, St. Andrew’s transfer and Southern Mississippi signee Justin Word (rated as the No. 8 player in the Class of 2025 Mississippi by Perfect Game) and sophomore right fielder and Northwest Rankin High transfer Deuce Jenkins (rated as the No. 1 player in Mississippi and No. 41 player in the country in the Class of 2027 by Perfect Game).
Latham got into trouble in the top of the seventh after Baker reached on an error, junior first baseman Crew Hassell was hit by pitch and freshman third baseman Jed Rodden singled to load the bases. Hartfield coach Justin Smith decided to replace Latham (who finished with 109 pitches) with a 1-0 count to junior pinch-hitter Matthew Werne, the potential tying run. Sophomore right-handed reliever Cope Burnham – who came in with a 1.31 earned average and was making his ninth appearance this season – struck out Werne on a full count to end the game.
Latham – a member of the Performance Therapy/Mississippi Scoreboard Preseason Metro Jackson Elite 11 Team – improved to 5-2 this season and now has 46 strikeouts and only 12 walks in 30 2/3 innings. He came into the game with a 2.04 earned run average.
“Taylor has gotten better each outing on the mound this year,” said Smith, who is in his fourth season as head coach after being promoted when Chuck Box left for Texas A&M and is now at Texas. “He is a process-oriented player and puts his preparation first and foremost. Last night’s performance is pretty simple. Taylor had zero walks and mixed all three pitches for a strike. When you have that ability that Taylor has and dominate the strike zone, that’s always the end result.”
“I want to give all the glory to God. I’m very thankful for the opportunity He gave our team tonight,” said Latham, whose father, Jason, was a pitcher for Morton High, Troy University, and a couple of years in the Houston Astros organization. “I felt like the only reason I was effective was because I knew my coaches and teammates had my back the whole time. Also, I had really effective pitch calling by our pitching coach, Sid Naron. Speaking for the whole team, I feel like this team’s atmosphere is completely different than years past. Everyone is fighting for each other, and it’s a very fun thing to be a part of.”
Hartfield scored its first two runs in the bottom of the third inning when senior second baseman Luke Humphreys walked, senior centerfielder and Hinds Community College commitment Sam Sheffield reached on an error, senior shortstop and Jacksonville, Ala., State signee JP Abt hit an RBI single, and Latham hit a sacrifice fly.
Sheffield hit an RBI single and Abt followed with an RBI double in the bottom of the fourth inning to push the lead to 4-1. Senior Third baseman Cooper Howard hit a groundout to score senior leftfield, Jones County JC signee and Northwest Rankin High transfer Sam Oakley for the fifth run in the bottom of the fifth inning.
Sheffield, the leadoff hitter, and senior first baseman Graham Jackson – the son of former Mississippi State All-SEC pitcher Jeremy Jackson and grandson of former longtime West Lauderdale coach Jerry Boatner, the winningest high school in Mississippi history and a member of the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame – had three hits each. Abt had two hits.
Abt was the winning pitcher in Game 1 Tuesday as he had a no-hitter through five innings before giving up his first hit and allowed just one hit and one earned run with nine strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings in the 6-2 victory.
“We were successful tonight because we took advantage of at bats with runners in scoring position,” Abt said. “Timely hitting is the key to winning tough games and we have done a great job so far. I’m really excited to continue competing with my guys. Taylor has been pitching at a high level for years now and we expect to win every time he’s on the mound. He wasn’t afraid to attack when he needed to and it was very effective.”
First-year JA coach Corey Dickerson – who played outfield for 11 seasons in the major leagues – is looking for the Raiders to get back to playing like they did on their 12-game winning streak. The Raiders have had 5 hits, struck out 23 times and made 4 errors in the series so far.
JA has lost to Hartfield eight consecutive times dating back to the 2022 season.
“We have to play defense,” said Dickerson, who was a volunteer assistant coach at Madison-Ridgeland Academy after retirement before taking the JA job. “We also have to be extremely competitive in the box. As a team, we need to get back to playing our style of play and never think about who we play.”
“Taking the series last night was great for our players,” Smith said. “Corey has done a great job with having his team ready and prepared and they are a difficult opponent to play.”
