By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – After a couple of sub-par seasons, at least by its high standards, Oak Grove appears ready to reassert itself as a championship contender in baseball.
The Warriors used the longball and some clutch pitching to earn a hard-fought 7-4 victory over Northwest Rankin Wednesday night at Harry Breland Field.
Oak Grove (15-5 overall) took sole possession of first place in Region 3-7A at 5-0 in region play. The Cougars dropped to 14-6 and 4-1. The two teams will complete the two-game series at 7 p.m. Friday at Flowood.
“Most of these guys have been playing together now for a couple of years,” said Oak Grove coach Chris McCardle. “It’s been a situation where you play a couple of years to get the experience to get where we want to go.
“Most of them are juniors and seniors, and they know what it takes to win at this level. They’ve just kept fighting and kept getting better.”
The Warriors battled from behind against Northwest Rankin senior ace Wesley White, as the Cougars touched OG starter Maddox Miller for a run in the top of the first inning.
Senior Bryson Jones opened the game with a leadoff single up the middle that Warrior second baseman Kendrell Roberts knocked down but was unable to make a play on against the speedy Jones.
Jones stole second and third base then scored on a one-out single to leftfield off the bat off senior Trey Davidson.
However, Miller got a pair of strikeouts to quell the threat and limit the damage.
“My fastball was working pretty good; nobody was really hitting it,” said Miller. “My curveball, I didn’t throw it much, because it really wasn’t working for me tonight. But I was able to throw my change-up to just about anybody.”
White cruised through the first two innings on just 25 pitches, allowing a pair of harmless singles. But Oak Grove took the momentum in the bottom of the third with a pair of runs.
Senior Joseph Easterling beat out an infield single to lead off the inning. White got two outs, but senior Coy Clements with a single to right-centerfield, sending Easterling to third.
Senior Jordan Milsap, courtesy running for Clements, the Warrior catcher, quickly stole second and both runners scored on a single by senior D.J. Temple.
“It’s really tough when a guy can work all three pitches like (White) can,” said Clements. “Fastball, slider, change-up; he can throw all of them for strikes. His command was really good.
“I know early on, we were kind of late on his fastball and jumpy on his slider, but we were able to make some adjustments and put more pressure on the defense. We noticed his velocity was going down a little bit, so we were able to shorten up and put good swings on him.”
After allowing three stolen bases in the first inning, Clements threw out runners trying to steal second in the third and fourth innings, and that was the last time the Cougars tested the Southern Miss signee.
“Coming into the game, we knew they like to put pressure on the defense when they get runners on base. They like to bunt, they like to run a lot and they’re quick all over the place.
“One of our goals was to shut down the run game. They stole a couple early, but later on I was able to put some good throws on the money, and the guys up the middle put good tags on.”
Oak Grove padded its lead with two swings of the bat in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Roberts drew a walk and trotted home when senior Kaleb Lewis blasted his first career home run over the leftfield wall.
White got a strikeout for the second out of the inning, but sophomore Eric Booth Jr. sent a pitch over the fence just inside the leftfield foul pole for a solo homer and a 5-1 lead.
“We battled really hard at the plate,” said McCardle. “We had some key hits with guys on base. We had guys get on base ahead of our big guys. I think the biggest hit of the game was Lewis’ home run. He shortened his swing against a good pitcher, so I’m really proud of him.”
After a shaky start, Miller settled in, and stayed mindful of the strong wind that was blowing out to straightaway centerfield.
“They’re very competitive at the plate,” said Miller. “They had a lot of at-bats where they were fouling stuff off and I had to compete.
“It was very important for me to keep the ball down. I was thinking about the wind before the game, telling myself I had to keep the ball on the ground and not let them get ahold of anything and get it up.”
However, Miller ran into trouble in the fifth, allowing three runs on three hits, and it was the bottom of the Cougar batting order that set the table for the rally.
Sophomore Jackson Meehan led off the inning by laying down a perfect bunt down the third-base line for a single, then junior Jack Scott, the 9-hole hitter, doubled to deep center, sending Meehan to third.
Jones delivered an RBI single to drive in a run, then reached second after being picked off first base, beating the rundown when the Warriors made a play to retire Scott at third.
A groundout to first and a groundout to shortstop got the two runners home to make it a one-run game. Miller finished the inning and his night was done. The junior left-hander, now 3-0, allowed six hits, struck out six, walked one and hit a batter.
“Miller did a good job, although I thought he wasn’t as sharp as he usually is,” McCardle said. “I think he was a little too amped up for this game. He wanted the ball, but he threw a lot of pitches early, and was a little shaky there.
“But he’s got good enough stuff to where he battled through it. They swing the bats really well and they’re hard to pitch to. But I thought we did a good job battling on the mound.”
Senior right-hander Reese Littlejohn came on in the sixth inning and pitched the final two innings to earn his second save of the season.
They weren’t without some tense moments, however, largely due to errors in each inning. In the sixth, freshman Justin Jenkins singled with two out, then reached third on a botched pickoff throw and a wild pitch on a walk to Meehan.
But Littlejohn got a flyball to retire the side and when he went back out for the seventh, he had a couple of insurance runs in his pocket.
Roberts, leading off the sixth, was hit by what proved to be White’s last pitch of the night. White (4-2) allowed nine hits, struck out six and walked one Junior left-hander Brady Saxton came in from rightfield in relief and was greeted by a sacrifice by Lewis.
Easterling was hit by a pitch and Booth drew a four-pitch walk to load the bases. It looked like Saxton might get out the jam when he got a force play at the plate on a ground ball to third and another ground ball off the bat of Clements.
But with the runners moving on a full count, Clements’ grounder slid through the third baseman’s legs into rightfield, scoring two runs.
Northwest Rankin got a runner to third and the tying run to the plate with two outs in the seventh after a hit batter to lead off the inning and a dropped flyball in the outfield on what would have been the final out of the game.
But Littlejohn was able to finish it off with a fly ball to left to keep the Cougars off the scoreboard.
Oak Grove has 11 state championships on its resume, but it’s been 10 years since the last one, the longest drought since the program’s first state title in 1975.
The Warriors have the toughest part of their schedule ahead of them in a highly competitive region, but McCardle likes what his team has shown so far in its bid for title No. 12.
“Anybody can win our league,” said McCardle. “It’s as wide-open as I’ve ever seen it, and we’re in the mix. We’re talented enough to do it; we’ve just got to keep playing hard.”
PREP BASEBALL LINESCORE
Wednesday at Oak Grove
Oak Grove 7, Northwest Rankin 4
NW Rankin 100 030 0 – 4 7 1
Oak Grove 002 302 X – 7 9 2
NORTHWEST RANKIN (14-6, 4-1 in 3-7A): Bryson Jones 2 1B; Trey Davidson 1B; Brooks Crawley 1B; Justin Jenkins 1B; Jackson Meehan 1B; Jack Scott 2B. LP – Wesley White (4-2). Also pitching – Brady Saxton.
OAK GROVE (15-5, 5-0 in 3-7A): Eric Booth Jr. HR (solo), 1B; D.J. Temple 1B; Coy Clements 1B; Eli Wheat 2 1B; Kendrell Roberts 1B; Kaleb Lewis HR (2-run). WP – Maddox Miller (3-0). Save – Reese Littlejohn (2).
