MHSAA 3A Baseball Playoffs roundup, scores: Clarkdale wins in dramatic fashion, North third round to feature two rematches
The second round of the 2021 MSHAA 3A baseball playoffs are in the books, and the number of teams chasing a berth in the North and South State Championships is down to eight.
Here’s a look at where we stand headed into next week.
Moving on
Nettleton (21-9), Amory (20-9), Booneville (20-10), Kossuth (19-10), Clarkdale (26-5), West Marion (23-3), Southeast Lauderdale (21-10), Magee (23-5)
Done for the year
Independence (12-14), Water Valley (21-7), Winona (16-9), Senatobia (18-9), Yazoo County (14-11), St. Andrew’s (20-11), Franklin County (11-7), Columbia (11-13)
Full second-round results
3A North
Nettleton 2, Independence 0
Game One: Nettleton 5, Independence 0
Game Two: Nettleton 17, Independence 9
Amory 2, Water Valley 0
Game One: Amory 10, Water Valley 7
Game Two: Amory 13, Water Valley 3
Booneville 2, Winona 0
Game One: Booneville 17, Winona 0 (3 innings)
Game Two: Booneville 10, Winona 0 (5 innings)
Kossuth 2, Senatobia 0
Game One: Kossuth 6, Senatobia 1 (8 innings)
Game Two: Kossuth 2, Senatobia 0
3A South
Clarkdale 2, Yazoo County 0
Game One: Clarkdale 4, Yazoo County 3 (9 innings)
Game Two: Clarkdale 15, Yazoo County 0 (4 innings)
West Marion 2, St. Andrew’s 0
Game One: West Marion 5, St. Andrew’s 1
Game Two: West Marion 12, St. Andrew’s 0
Southeast Lauderdale 2, Franklin County 0
Game One: SE Lauderdale 7, Franklin County 1
Game Two: SE Lauderdale 9, Franklin County 1
Magee 2, Columbia 0
Game One: Magee 11, Columbia 8
Game Two: Magee 11, Columbia 0
Top Performers
Hank Eaton, Kossuth: Pitched a complete-game to get the win in Kossuth’s series-clinching, 2-0 win over Senatobia Friday night. He went seven innings, giving up four hits and a walk and striking out 15 batters. He also drove in one of the Aggies’ two runs.
Miles Maliden, West Marion: Hit a two-run homer in West Marion’s 5-1, series-opening win over St. Andrew’s Friday night, then went 6.1 innings on the mound in Friday’s 12-0 win, giving up two hits and three walks with 11 strikeouts to clinch the series.
Jackson McCoy, Booneville: Pitched all five innings of Booneville’s series-clinching, 10-0 win over Winona Friday night, giving up one hit and one walk and striking out 7 batters. He also went 3-for-3 at the plate in the series with a home run.
Davis Oswald, Nettleton: Threw a nearly perfect game in the Tigers’ series-opening, 5-0 win over Independence. He worked seven innings threw 63 of his 85 pitches for strikes, striking out 13 without giving up a hit or a walk. The game’s lone base-runner reached on an error. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double and a triple in that same game, then went 2-for-3 in Game Two with a home run and three RBIs.
Bo Rock, Amory: Went 2-for-3 at the plate with a double, three RBIs and a pair of walks to pace the Panthers’ offense in a 10-7 series-opening win over Water Valley Thursday night.
Jaxin Settlemires, Kossuth: Pitched eight innings to pick up a complete-game win in the Aggies’ 6-1 series-opening win over Senatobia. He gave up one unearned run on two hits and five walks with eight strikeouts. He threw first-pitch strikes to 22 out of the 29 batters he faced.
Third-round matchups
(All series start Thursday, May 13)
North
Nettleton vs. Amory
Booneville vs. Kossuth
South
Clarkdale vs. West Marion
Southeast Lauderdale vs. Magee
What you need to know
West Marion and Magee have long been the favorites to win 3A South, but the boys at Clarkdale High might have something to say about that. The Bulldogs (26-5) swept Yazoo County in dramatic fashion, with a walk-off win in extra innings, then a no-hitter and a 10-run rule.
Houston Wedgeworth came up with the big hit in the bottom of the ninth in Thursday night’s series opener. Yazoo County had taken a 3-2 lead in the top of the frame, but Wedgeworth’s one-out double to right brought home Walker Swearingen and Austin Freeman for the win.
And it was Swearingen who got the shortened no-hitter Friday. He went all four innings, walked three batters and struck out five.
The North is still anybody’s game, as we prepare for a couple of rematches from the regular season in the 3A North Semifinals.
Kossuth and Booneville met twice in the regular season, with the Blue Devils taking the first game 10-0 and the second 4-0.
Nettleton and Amory met twice back in March, with the Tigers taking both games, 1-0 and 6-4.
