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Oak Hill moves on to championship series |
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Editor’s note: Oak Hill began its championship series against Hillcrest at home yesterday. Game 2 of that series will be today at 6:30 p.m. at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson.
Plans for Game 3, if necessary, have not been announced.
Oak Hill Academy closed out its playoff series against Lamar School Friday with a victory, securing a spot in the MPSA Class AAA Division II Championship Series.
The Raiders will face Hillcrest Christian School of Jackson, which defeated Magnolia Heights School in its first playoff series.
Hillcrest defeated Oak Hill in both of the teams‚ meetings during the regular season.
The Raiders certainly made their series against Lamar interesting, barely winning Game 1 May 6, losing Game 2 at Lamar May 8 and coming from behind to crush Lamar in Game 3 May 9.
It will be tough for the championship series to measure up.
Game 3
Things did not look good for Oak Hill in the first inning of game three. Less faithful fans, and journalists, likely closed the book on the Raiders season after the first four Lamar batters to step to the plate scored without giving up a single out.
Pitcher Mitch Bohon was quickly replaced by Gavin Yarbrough after giving up three runs and having another score on a bad throw to third base. Bohon would eventually make up for those three runs, but the situation was grim early.
Yarbrough walked a batter and gave up a single but was able to get out of the first inning with no further damage.
Lamar increased its lead in the fourth when Austin Dudley hit a single to bring home Andrew Harrison, pinch running for starting pitcher Neil Deen.
Deen kept Oak Hill‚s bats at bay through the first three innings with an elusive curve ball, striking out three batters and allowing three hits.
Bratton said his team never panicked after falling behind 5-0, but he was concerned. He says he had given his players all the necessary instruction following game two and all that was left to say was “I’ll take up uniforms Monday.”
Bratton has spoken throughout the season about his team‚s need to adjust to pitchers depending on their speed. Perhaps inspired to hold on to their uniforms for another week, the Raiders made the adjustment in the fourth inning.
“Instead of trying to get out front and kill the slow pitch ... we started putting it in play,” he says.
Stephen Roberson began the fourth by reaching first on an error. Daniel Haas came on to pinch run for Roberson.
Next up, Bohon promptly began erasing the lead he helped build for Lamar by smacking a double that brought Haas home.
Bohon reached third when Brody Blaylock got to first, then came home on a double by Holden Coggins.
The momentum continued as John Morrison stepped to the plate and hit a single that scored Blaylock and Coggins.
But Oak Hill wasn’t finished with Deen yet.
After Alex Lummus reached base on an error in the bottom of the fifth, Roberson got out front and killed a slow pitch that went racing over the fence in far left field for a two-run homer to give Oak Hill the lead 6-5.
At this point Oak Hill could have ridden out the remainder of the game and held on for a close win. But following Roberson‚s home run, the energy was too much to contain.
Yarbrough hit a single in the sixth to bring Haas home. Lummus hit a double to score Thomas Hays and Yarbrough.
Still in the sixth with one out and two men on, Bohon hit a home run of his own to make the score 12-5.
Three batters later, Coggins hit a home two-run homer to make the score 14-5 and prompt a second pitching change from Lamar.
Not quite able to reach the 10-run mercy rule, Oak Hill forced three straight outs in the top of the seventh to finish off Lamar.
Afterward, soaking wet from being doused with a cooler of water by his players, Bratton said he asked his team in the dugout for one leader to step up and lead a charge while they were down. He says the man who accepted the challenge was Coggins.
Coggins finished 3-for-4 on the night with a single, a double and a home run.
Bratton says his team has had a lot of heroes throughout the season, and they showed up in this win, too.
Game 2
There was no happy ending for the Raiders in game 2 at Lamar. Oak Hill did make a push to keep the game close, but it wasn’t enough as they fell 8-5.
Thomas Hays and Alex Lummus teamed up to put Oak Hill up early in the first inning as a shot by Lummus brought Hays home, but also resulted in a double play.
It would be that kind of night.
After a pedestrian first inning, Lamar came alive in the bottom of the second.
Lummus, pitching for Oak Hill, gave up a lead-off single, followed by an error in the field, followed by a walk to load the bases.
Three straight singles, a passed ball and a fourth single brought five runs home for Lamar before the inning ended.
Bratton elected to leave Lummus in the game and would later stand by his decision.
“He didn’t lose that ballgame,” said Bratton. “Now, he contributed.”
Oak Hill had a golden chance to make up some ground in the top of the third when Lamar’s Bryce Branning loaded the bases on three walks with only one out. But a strikeout and an easily caught fly ball sent Oak Hill back to the field with nothing to show.
The fourth inning would be another story.
Holden Coggins reached base on an error-Nathan Ellis came in to pinch run-and Brody Blaylock was walked. A bunt by Neil Haas loaded the bases again for Oak Hill.
Hays and Gavin Yarbrough brought in Ellis and Haas, respectively, and Blaylock scored on a wild throw to tighten the score at 5-4.
Oak Hill put a man on third in position for the tying run in the fifth before three straight outs put Lamar back at the plate.
The home team quickly took advantage as Andrew Harrison belted a home run off of Lummus.
After hitting a batter and walking another, Lummus was replaced on the mound by Chad Mangum. Lamar scored again on a passed ball before the inning was over.
Blaylock cranked a solo home run at the top of the sixth to make the score 7-5, but Oak Hill would get no closer.
After loading the bases in the bottom of the sixth, Mangum gave up a run on a walk to make it 8-5.
Oak Hill threatened one last time in the top of the seventh.
After a questionable strikeout by Mitch Bohon, Mangum reached base on an error. Coggins hit a single and Blaylock walked to load the bases again.
John Morrison struck out, leaving the game in the hands of Thomas Hays.
Hays battled back from a 0-2 count to a full count, hitting a bomb to left that would have been huge had it stayed fair along the way. After connecting on the next pitch, he almost beat the throw to first, but was out to end the game. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 19 May 2008 )
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