Baseball Roundup: WC closes in on region title; PCA and Tallulah Academy win; St. Al takes a loss to Copiah
Published 10:50 pm Monday, April 15, 2024
- Warren Central baseball player Hayes Loper went 3-for-3 with three doubles, four RBIs and two runs scored in a doubleheader sweep of Columbus on Monday.
Warren Central knocked down two more obstacles on its way to the MHSAA Region 2-6A baseball championship.
The Vikings cranked out a total of 25 hits and had an easy time sweeping a doubleheader against Columbus on Monday, 16-0 and 15-0.
Hayes Loper and Cade Fairley drove in four runs and had two hits apiece in game one as the Vikings won 16-0. Loper doubled twice and scored one run, and Fairley hit one double and scored three times.
Maddox Lynch also scored three runs, while Connor Watkins singled, walked twice and scored three runs.
Watkins had another big game in the nightcap, going 3-for-3 with a double and five RBIs in a 15-0 victory.
Ryan Nelson was 3-for-3 with a double, two RBIs and four runs scored. Cole Autrey and Talan Patel each drove in two runs and scored two more.
Loper also stayed hot, with a double, three walks and one run scored.
On the mound, Nathaniel Moore pitched four innings and allowed one hit and one walk. He struck out eight batters.
Warren Central (11-10, 5-1 Region 2-6A) clinched a playoff berth with the sweep, and can earn its second consecutive region championship this week against Vicksburg High.
Warren Central and Vicksburg play Tuesday at 7 p.m. at WC’s Viking Field, and Friday at 7 p.m. at VHS. Warren Central needs to win one of the two games to clinch first place in the region.
Porter’s Chapel 11, Central Hinds 3
Porter’s Chapel Academy (18-9) scored in every inning except the first, and got back to its winning ways with a blowout victory against Central Hinds.
Thomas Azlin was 3-for-4 with three RBIs, and John Wyatt Massey was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Taylor Labarre had two hits and scored twice, Gavin Pugh doubled and scored a run, and Gavin Pugh was 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored.
Eight of PCA’s starters had a hit. The only one who didn’t, center fielder Brayden King, walked twice, scored two runs and drove in another. King also had three stolen bases.
Chase Hearn pitched six innings and had six strikeouts for the Eagles, who rebounded after getting swept in a doubleheader by Prairie View Academy last Friday.
PCA and Prairie View will finish the regular season against each other Thursday at 6 p.m. in Bastrop, La.
Copiah Academy 13, St. Aloysius 1
Gunner McKee and Grayson Moody each had two hits and two RBIs, Jake Ainsworth was 2-for-3 with one RBI and two runs scored, and Copiah Academy scored in every inning except the second as it beat St. Aloysius.
St. Al (12-12, 6-4 MAIS District 4-5A) scored its only run in the third inning, when Laken Bradley singled and eventually scored on a passed ball.
Bradley’s hit was one of only two for the Flashes. Pierson Smith had a single in the second inning.
St. Al and Copiah (13-10, 7-3) will finish the regular season with a doubleheader Friday at 4 p.m. in Gallman.
Wilkinson County Christian 2, Tallulah Academy 0
Tallulah Academy 6, Wilkinson County Christian 2
Hayes Hopkins went 3-for-3 with a double, one RBI and one run scored, and also pitched a complete game as Tallulah Academy beat Wilkinson County Christian 6-2 to salvage a split of a doubleheader on Monday.
Wilkinson Christian beat Tallulah 2-0 in game one.
In the second game, Tallulah (18-8, 7-1 MAIS District 3-2A) scored three runs in the first inning and three more in the third, and rode Hopkins’ bat and arm to the victory.
Hopkins hit an RBI single and scored a run in the first inning. On the mound, he allowed two runs in five innings to get the win.
Logan Hallmen hit an RBI double and Denton Ray an RBI single during the third-inning rally.