PEARL – Nanih Waiya and Smithville played such a memorable series for the MHSAA 1A baseball championship last year, they decided to do it again.
The best of three rematch began Tuesday at Trustmark Park. Game 2 is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday. If a third game is necessary it will be played Saturday.
A third game was necessary when the Warriors and Seminoles met a year ago. Nanih Waiya won that game 1-0 when Jake Kight executed a suicide squeeze bunt in the bottom of the seventh, allowing Bryce Stanton to score from third.
Both teams are back, although it has been easier for Nanih Waiya. The Warriors are 27-2 and swept playoff series against three of four opponents. Nanih Waiya had to go three games against Lumberton in the opening round and won the decisive game 4-1 when Roper Ball and Kight combined on a three hitter. Since then, the Warriors swept Sebastopol, Resurrection and Stringer.
Smithville needed three games in all four series against Pine Grove, Myrtle, Tupelo Christian, and West Union. Tupelo Christian was especially tough. The Seminoles trailed 2-0 in the decisive game until scoring twice in the sixth, then won it with a run in the bottom of the eighth,.
Smithville returns to the championship series despite losing seven starters from last year's team to graduation. “If you had told me in the middle of the year that we would be back here, I would have taken it,” Smithville coach Jamie Russell said during a press conference Monday at Trustmark Park. “Our guys have really improved and battled to get to this point.”
When asked his team's strength, he said “Grit. We play so hard and never give up.”
Senior Will McNeese started Tuesday for Smithville. He entered the series with a 2-0 record and a 1.67 ERA.
Russell wasn't sure who would get the ball in the second game, but he will have a couple of pitchers available with impressive resumes. Jared Johnson is 5-4 with a sparkling 0.91 ERA and 102 strikeouts in 61.2 innings. Dustin Moffett, the winning pitcher in the third game with East Union, is 4-1 with a 3.50 ERA.
Johnson is also the Seminoles' leading hitter with a .477 average, 14 doubles, two triples, five homers and 41 RBIs.
Nanih Waiya coach Tyler Rogers said hitting is the strength of his team, and the stats bear that out. “I believe we swing the bats really well.”
The Warriors entered the series with a team batting average of .437 while averaging more than 12? runs per game. Only once this year has Nanih Waiya scored fewer than four runs and the Warriors have reached double figures 19 times.
Senior Chris Smith is the leading hitter with a .507 average, six doubles, four triples, four homers, 27 RBIs and 40 runs scored.
On the mound, Ball entered the series with a 6-0 record, an 0.94 ERA and 42 strikeouts in 29.2 innings. Stanton was 9-1 with a 2.33 ERA and Kight 7-0 and 1.97.
Nanih Waiya began the series with a 27-2 record, Smithville 20-10. Nanih Waiya is the top ranked 1A team in Mississippi according to the website MaxPreps and Smithville is Number 2.
Hot-hitting Warriors return to Pearl for title series
By Robbie Robertson
Winston County Journal
As the temperatures rise, the Nanih Waiya Warriors get hotter at the plate.
The Warriors banged out 28 hits in two games as they beat Stringer 13-10 and 4-3 to sweep the Red Devils for the Class 1A South State championship series last week.
The Warriors, now 28-2 on the season, advance to the Class 1A state championship series against Smithville. Game 1 of the series was set for Tuesday at Trustmark Park in Jackson. Game 2 of the series is expected to be Thursday. A possible Game 3 would be on Saturday. Smithville, 20-10 on the season, needed three games to advance to the championship series. The Seminoles beat West Union 5-3 in Game 1, lost 3-2 in Game 2 and finished off the series with a 6-3 win on Saturday.
Last year, Nanih Waiya needed three games to beat Smithville in the finals.
Nanih Waiya 4,
Stringer 3
The Warriors scored three runs in the fourth inning while four pitchers gave up just three hits in a one-run win over the Red Devils to clinch the series and advance to the 1A championship series.
Nanih Waiya scored one run in the third without a hit. Coley Taylor reached to open the inning and Dalton Luke followed with a walk. Tanner Luke loaded the bases when he reached on an error by the shortstop to load the bases. Jake Kight plated Taylor on a sacrifice fly to center field for a 1-0 lead. The Warriors left the bases loaded on a pair of groundouts.
After Stringer scored a single run in the bottom of the third, Nanih Waiya scored three runs in the top of the fourth. Chris Smith started off the inning to right. Smith then stole second and moved to third on an error by the shortstop. He scored on a single to center by Bryce Stanton. After a groundout advanced stanton to second, Taylor doubled to centerfield to score courtesy runner Trevor Holdiness and give the Warriors a 3-1 lead. After Taylor advanced to third on a groundout, Tanner Luke doubled to center to score Taylor and give Nanih Waiya a 4-1 lead.
Stringer scored one fifth and one in the seventh before Roper Ball struck out the side to get the save for the Warriors.
Nanih Waiya had 11 hits in the contest as Stanton was 2-for-4 with one RBI. Shia Moore was 2-for-4 with a double while Chris Smith was 2-for-3 and scored a run. Taylor had a double, drove in a run and scored twice. Tanner Luke had a double and drove in a run while Jake Kight singled and drove in a run.
Stanton got the start on the mound and pitched 4 1/3 innings, giving up two runs on two hits and seven walks while striking out three to pick up the win. Gabe Sciple pitched 1 2/3 innings and gave up one run on one hit and two walks. Ball pitched one inning struck out three to pick up the save.
Nanih Waiya 13,
Stringer 10
The Warriors scored eight runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and held on for a three-run win over the Red Devils in Game 1 of the South State series.
The game was tied at 1-1 heading to the bottom of the fourth when Nanih Waiya scored four runs to take a 5-1 lead. Chris Smith had a two-run double in the inning.
Stringer scored five runs in the top of the fifth to tie the score at 5-5. But Nanih Waiya answered with eight runs as the Warriors used nine hits in the inning to take a 14-5 lead.
Stringer fought back with a pair of four-run innings in the fifth and seventh but the Warriors held on for the win.
Nanih Waiya had 17 hits in the contest, led by Shia Moore was 4-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Tanner Luke was 3-for-4 with three runs scored while Chris Smith was 2-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and three RBIs. Dalton Luke was 2-for-4 with two RBIs while Charner Estes was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Jake Kight had a double and drove in two runs.
Kight got the start on the mound and pitched four innings, giving up four runs on six this and three walks. Roper Ball pitched one inning and gave up one run on three hits and struck out two while Gabe Sciple pitched an inning and gave up one run on two hits whiles striking out two. Coley Taylor pitched the last inning and gave up four runs on one hit and three walks while striking out two.
