MERIDIAN — The West Lauderdale baseball team might have played 11 games this season. However, if you ask coach Jerry Boatner and the rest of the West baseball nation, the season started Tuesday night as the Knights beat down division foe South Jones 10-0 in Collinsville.
"We needed a big win and we got it tonight," said Boatner. "We've got a new season and a new beginning."
Caleb Melton supplied the offense for West and Wes Stokes shut down the Braves from the mound.
With both clubs struggling to produce any sort of offense, Melton got the Knights (6-5, 1-0) going in the bottom of the fourth inning blasting a three-run home run over the 330 sign in left-center to give West the spark it needed. Parker Davis would increase the lead to four runs later in the inning with an RBI hit.
After Stokes quickly retired the side in the top half of the fifth inning, Melton would step up and blow the contest open with bases-loaded bomb off of South Jone's Benji Sullivan. Davis would record his second RBI with a two-out double that plated Blake Thomas.
Lucas Leeper would seal the win with an RBI single three batters later.
"We got a couple of big hits when we needed them tonight ," added Boatner. "Parker Davis had a big game for us and Melton had 7 RBIs. We had been struggling the last three or four games, but we played West Lauderdale baseball tonight. We played with more hustle tonight and played great defense It was a total team effort.
"I'm glad to see everybody on the team play well tonight. We needed that."
Stokes pitched a complete game striking out 10, while giving up just one hit.
"Wes was overpowering and just awesome tonight," noted Boatner.
Jon Glaze took the lose for the Braves.
West Lauderdale will resume play when it travels to South Jones on Friday night.
Sports
Getting started right
West Lauderdale opens division play with rout of South Jones
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Neel leaving champion War Eagles for Panthers
Eric Neel spent three seasons coach at East Central. The Hornets played in three state championship games.
Neel then coached the past three years at Wayne County, leading the War Eagles to three straight Class 5A fast-pitch state crowns.
And now, he doesn’t see why the same can’t occur at Quitman. After guiding Wayne County to its third straight championship Saturday, Neel resigned his position in Waynesboro on Thursday to replace Kacie Roberson at Quitman. -
Unexpected Honor
Winning a state championship, that Blake McMullen expected.
To be named the Player of the Year in Class 3A by the Mississippi Association of Coaches, that caught the Southeast Lauderdale senior off guard. -
RCA’s Lee and pair of Generals chosen for All-Star tilt
Russell Christian Academy senior Camryn Lee and Newton County Academy duo Clay Upton and Dillon Williams will wrap up their senior seasons today.
The local trio will play in the MAIS All-Star Class A game at Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson at 2 p.m. The Class AA-AAA game will follow. -
McFarland named first-team All-American for Jones County
The honors continue to come in for the Jones County Junior College softball program.
Pitcher Ginger Lonergan and centerfielder Relanda McFarland were both named to the NJCAA Division II All-American first-team on Thursday. -
A Family Affair
Five days. Two state titles. One family.
It’d be hard to find a family that had a better week than the one Robbi and Shay Cooper just experienced. -
Roundup — Stephens receives Sekul Award
Adding to his impressive collection of coaching hardware, East Mississippi Community College head football coach Buddy Stephens was presented with the 2011 George Sekul Award during the All-American Football Foundation’s Banquet of Champions held earlier this month at the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame.
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The Drought Is Over
All Mason Irby was hoping for was to find a way on base.
The Southeast Lauderdale sophomore did that and so much more. Irby's single with two outs in the seventh inning broke a tie, lifting the Tigers to a 6-3 MHSAA Class 3A state championship win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday, and handing Southeast (32-7) its first title since 1966. -
Ramey shines again, hurls Tigers to MHSAA Class 3A crown
The bar was set pretty high.
After all, Southeast Lauderdale senior right-hander Colby Ramey needed just 65 pitches to beat Kossuth in Game 1 of the MHSAA Class 3A state championship game Thursday.
However, according to fellow senior Blake McMullen, Ramey cleared the hurdle Wednesday when he scattered eight hits on 104 pitches to finish off the Aggies in a 6-3 state championship-clinching win at Smith-Wills Stadium on Wednesday. -
Southeast wins MHSAA Class 3A Championsip
Slideshow from the MHSAA Class 3A state championship game between Southeast Lauderdale and Kossuth.
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Briarwood to host Emerald Coast Golf Tour in June
Professional golf is coming to Meridian.
The Emerald Coast Golf Tour will be holding the Meridian Pro-Am Classic at Briarwood Country Club June 26-29. - More Sports Headlines
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