By Robert Wilson
Ridgeland High has likely set a national high school record by throwing six consecutive no-hitters this season. And the Titans aren’t done yet.
Ridgeland goes for No. 7 Thursday at 5 p.m. against Holmes County Central in a MHSAA Class 5A, Region 3 game at Lexington.
The national high school record book doesn’t have a category for most consecutive no-hitters by a team, but it does for a season. Biloxi Notre Dame High holds that record with nine in 1961. Tupelo (eight in 1992) and Marlow, Okla., (eight in 1979) are tied for second. Grandfield, Okla., is third with seven in 1977. Ridgeland, which no-hit Yazoo City in the first game this season, now has seven and is tied with Grandfield, Okla.
Ridgeland pitchers haven’t allowed a hit in the last 29 innings, an amazing feat. It all started in a 5-1 victory over Yazoo City March 27 in a non-region game at Ridgeland. Class 4A Yazoo City, which entered the game with an 8-3 record, led 1-0 before Ridgeland scored five runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Freshman Isaiah McClenty started and pitched two innings of the no-hitter and junior Parker Ishee pitched a no-hitter for the final five innings to get the win.
Ridgeland’s second and third consecutive no-hitters were a double-header region sweep of Canton at Ridgleand. Junior Daniel Salters pitched a no-hitter in a 23-1 victory in five innings in Game 1 and freshman Dakarai Wallace and sophomore Garrison Davis combined for a no-hitter in a 21-2 victory in four innings in Game 2.
Ishee, sophomore Jarvis Woody, senior Zion Sutton and senior Montravious Winn combined for Ridgeland’s fourth consecutive no-hitter in a 23-0 victory in five innings over Canton Friday at Canton. The trio combined a perfect game and struck out 13 of the 15 batters.
Ridgeland had its fifth and sixth consecutive no-hitters over Holmes County Central Tuesday in a double-header region sweep at Ridgeland. Salters threw a no-hitter in a 15-0 victory in three innings in Game 1 and Wallace and Davis combined for a no-hitter in a 15-0 victory in three innings in Game 2.
“Our kids have buy-in into all the little things we stress each and every day in our program,” said first-year coach Eddie Easley, who came to Ridgeland from Meridian where he was head coach since 2019 and was an assistant at Hattiesburg High for 11 seasons (MHSAA Class 6A state champions in 2018) and an assistant at Stone County for one season. Easley replaced Chris Peden, who took the job at Class 6A Germantown. “We have asked our kids to lock into every pitch, every at bat and they have done that during our 12-game winning streak.
“We played at tough schedule early, playing (MHSAA Class 6A) Ocean Springs and Brandon and (defending MHSAA Class 4A state champion) Sumrall. We knew once we took care of (5A, Region 3 opponent) Neshoba Central twice we wouldn’t play a better opponent than what we have already seen. So we have went out there each night and executed and played the game the right way.”
Ridgeland has a 19-4 overall record and 7-0 in region play.
