Baseball | 4/28/2025 9:03:00 AM
The Clinton Arrows punched their tickets to the Mississippi High School Activities Association (MHSAA) Playoffs Second Round on Saturday.
The Arrows (21-7) plated five runs in the sixth inning,
Stone Crain hit his third homer of the series, and the Clinton pitching staff tossed five scoreless frames en route to an 11-5 victory over the Hernando Tigers (19-10-1) in the second game of the MHSAA First-Round Series at Arrow Field. Clinton won the series' first game, 9-7, over Hernando, which was the Region 1-7A champions, on Wednesday, April 23 at Hernando High School.
An unlikely part of the lineup sparked Clinton's five-run sixth. After three straight scoreless frames,
Ryan Saxton, the eight-hole hitter, lined a single into the left field. Then,
Aaric Beasley fell behind 0-2 in his at-bat but battled back, fouling off two pitches and patiently watching four more, to take first base.
With two runners on,
Chad Bates loaded the bases with his single. Following Bates,
Josef Walker brought home two runs with his double over the Tiger infielders, and
Ethan Dodson added a run on a single for a four-run advantage.
The Arrows were not done in the frame as
Parker Thames singled, scoring a run, and Dodson scored on a wild pitch to close out the inning's scoring. The insurance was large enough for the Arrows and their fans to breathe easier during the seventh.
Clinton opened the scoring in the bottom of the first after
Stone Crain walked, Thames singled to center field,
Tyrese Haggard walked, and Saxton grounded into a fielder's choice, each scoring one run, for a 4-0 advantage.
Crain expanded the lead to six when he homered to left during the second.
Haggard started the game for the Arrows. The sophomore righty surrendered four hits and four runs over two and two-thirds innings, striking out three and walking one.
Brody Zumbro earned the win in relief. The senior surrendered zero hits and zero runs over one and two-thirds innings.
Phillip Burchfield collected the save, closing out the game in the sixth and seventh innings. Burchfield allowed one hit and no runs, striking out one and walking one, in his one and two-thirds inning appearance.
UP NEXT
The Arrows will face the winner of the Lewisburg-and-Tupelo series that was delayed by weather. Tupelo leads the series 1-0 and plays at Lewisburg in Game 2 on Monday, April 28. If a Game 3 is necessary, the two teams will play on Tuesday, April 29, in Tupelo.
No matter the winner of the series, Clinton is the away team for Game 1 of the Second Round series slated to start on Friday, May 2. The second game of that series is Saturday, May 3, and will be hosted by the Arrows -- time to still be determined. If necessary, Game 3 is slated for Monday, May 5.
