Lewisburg pitcher Cayden Baker no-hits Southaven as Patriots sweep Chargers
Photo: Seth Giamportone of Northpoint Christian swings at a pitch during Saturday’s game against Memphis University School in Southaven. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)
The Northpoint Christian School baseball team faces a big district series, starting Monday, April 15, when the Trojans host St. George’s at Northpoint. Saturday, the Trojans stepped out of TSSAA Division 2-A district action to challenge the Memphis University School (MUS) Owls in Southaven.
Both teams were finding the plate in the first couple of innings in the afternoon contest, as MUS took a 1-0 lead after their first at bat and Northpoint answered with a pair of runs for a 2-1 lead after one inning.
After Carson Jones was hit by a pitch, KL Farr tripled into the gap in left center field to plate Jones and tie the game at 1-1. Seth Giamportone would then hit a sacrifice fly to center field that would score Farr and give the Trojans a 2-1 lead.
MUS would tie the game at 2-2 in the second inning on a two-out single and that’s where the score would stand until the top of the seventh. That’s when the Owls would score a run on an error and another run on an RBI single for a 4-2 lead. A ground ball out and a pair of strikeouts by Northpoint batters in the home half of the seventh would end the game in favor of the Owls.
“They (MUS) came with hits when they needed to and we didn’t,” said Northpoint coach Stephen Kirkpatrick about the game. “We’re resilient, we’re a good team, we’ll figure things out and come back better the next day.”
Northpoint, which is working to head back to the TSSAA Division 2-A state tournament a year away from winning the title last year, is a team relying on new faces to make that trip back. Kirkpatrick said he’s been seeing growth in the Trojans as the year has progressed.
“We’re still figuring some things out, but we’re still progressing and I feel like we have a really high ceiling and we’re excited about the future,” Kirkpatrick said.
Northpoint gets back to district play at home against St. George’s Monday and at the Collierville-based school on Tuesday.
Saturday, April 13
Prep baseball
MUS 4, Northpoint Christian 2
The Owls scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat the Trojans. Northpoint scored their only runs of the game in the first inning. Jace Robinson doubled and had two of Northpoint’s four hits and KL Farr tripled. Seth Giamportone suffered the pitching loss in relief with one hit and two runs allowed in one inning. Giamportone struck out two and walked one. Carson Jones fanned seven and allowed two hits in four innings on the mound.
Hernando 15, Horn Lake 0 (4 innings)
Note: Hernando plated six runs in the third inning of the win and six Tigers hit doubles. Winning pitcher Meyer Maddox allowed two hits, struck out three and walked one in two innings on the mound. Connor Young fanned five in two innings of relief.
Hernando 16, Horn Lake 1 (4 innings)
Note: The Tigers again used a big inning in the run-rule victory, scoring six times in the third frame. Topher Jones scored three times on two hits, including a homer and a double, and drove in four runs at the plate. E Bagley also homered for Hernando. Cohen Lipe was the winning pitcher with four strikeouts and one walk in 3.1 innings on the mound. Lipe allowed the Eagles’ only run on three hits. The victories Saturday clinched the Region 1-7A regular season title for the Tigers.
Lewisburg 2, Southaven 0
Note: Lewisburg pitcher Cayden Baker improved to 3-0 on the season after a dominant performance against the Chargers. Baker pitched a no-hitter, allowing only two base runners and he struck out 12. Stone McCaughey doubled and Andrew Hendrichovsky had two hits. Stephen Tolbert walked two and fanned 11 in a losing effort for Southaven.
Center Hill 15, Ripley 9
Note: Center Hill scored runs in the first four innings, including five in the fourth inning. K Erwin had four hits and H Marascuilo had five runs-batted-in. Houston Green and Marascuilo each doubled for the Mustangs. Erwin was the winning pitcher despite allowing four hits and five runs in 3.1 innings pitched. Erwin walked four.
Prep softball
South Panola 13, Lake Cormorant 0 (4 innings)
Note: The Lady Gators got only one hit in the game, a double by Brook Irvin. Alyssa Boswood fanned three and walked one in a losing effort.
Saltillo 11, Center Hill 0 (5 innings)
Note: The Lady Mustangs got two hits in the game, including a double by Reagan Ryan. Ryan also struck out two and walked three in the circle.
JUCO baseball
Northwest 13, Meridian 12 (10 innings)
Note: Ex-Northpoint Christian standout James Smith tees off on a solo homer to left field and Northwest takes the game 1 victory in extra innings against Meridian.
