In two and a half decades of coaching baseball at the junior college and high school levels, Grenada High School head baseball coach Jake Yarborough has seen it all. This past weekend, he saw his team go from not even making the postseason to finishing in second place.
Yarborough’s Chargers headed into the final week of the Class 6A, Region 1 schedule needing two wins over Starkville to make one of the three postseason positions. In the opener last Tuesday, Starkville rallied from an early 3-0 Grenada lead and used a grand slam to win a 12-9 decision.
Last Friday, the series moved to Grenada. The Chargers broke a 1-1 tie with three runs in the third only to see Starkville rally with runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to send the game to extra innings. Grenada took advantage of an eighth-inning error to plate the winning run as the Chargers tied the series with a 5-4 win.
The series concluded Saturday at Starkville. Grenada used four home runs to crush the Yellowjackets with an 18-0 shutout win.
With the win, Grenada improved to 12-9 overall and 5-4 inside the region. The Chargers will be the second seed in the region. Oxford will be the top seed by virtue of a three-game sweep of Tupelo eliminating the Golden Wave. Starkville will be the third seed.
Things can change in a hurry in baseball as shown from one game to the next.
“Games can turn on a dime,” Yarborough said. “I have watched doubleheaders go completely backwards. There are no time limits to rescue you.”
The game of the weekend was the Friday contest as Yarborough sent senior Landon Waters to the mound to face Starkville’s Karsten Upchurch. Grenada jumped ahead in the bottom of the first inning with a run.
Jahiem Shack was hit by the pitch and stole second base. He came home when junior Thomas Kuhn’s ground ball was misplayed for an error making it 1-0.
Starkville tied the contest at 1-1 thanks to a Grenada error in the top of the third inning. Grenada expanded the lead to 4-1 with three runs in the third inning. Junior Jacob Yarborough singled to start the inning. After a pair of strikeouts, senior Hayden Hobbs drew a two-out walk. Waters drove home Yarborough with a single to left field to make it 2-1. Senior catcher McCarron Clausel worked Upchurch to a 3-2 count before singling in Hobbs and courtesy runner Reid Cannon to make it 4-1.
Starkville rallied with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to tie the game at 4-4. Grenada was unable to score in the bottom of the seventh forcing extra innings.
In the eighth, Shack opened the inning being hit by the pitch by Kiernan Coleman. Kuhn walked putting runners on first and second base. Hobbs’ ground ball was errored by Koby Livingston allowing Shack to sprint home with the winning run.
Waters paced the nine-hit Grenada attack going 3-for-4 (RBI). Clausel finished 2-for-3 (2 RBI) and Yarborough finished 2-for-3 (run). Freshman Preston Downs was 2-for-4. Shack scored two runs and Hobbs added one run scored. Cannon also scored a run.
Waters was the winning pitcher going 6 2/3 innings (5 hits, 4 runs, 2 earned runs, 10 strikeouts, walk). Jude Westmoreland went 1 2/3 innings not allowing a run, but missed a save opportunity as Starkville tied the game with a run in the seventh inning. The sophomore lefthander allowed one hit, one walk and one strikeout.
Series Clincher
The Chargers scored early and often against the Jackets pounding out 19 hits.
Hobbs led the offensive attack going 3-for-4 (HR, 2 runs, 5 RBI), while Waters was 2-for 3 (2 HR, 4 runs, 6 RBI). Shack had a 3-for-4 (3 runs) night and Yarborough finished 3-for-4 (HR, 2B, run, 4 RBI). Kuhn chipped in with a 3-for-3 (3 runs, RBI) night at the plate. Conley finished 2-for-2 (2B, RBI) and Clausel was 1-for-2 (2B). Ethan Klinck finished the contest 1-for-3 (run) and Downs was 1-for-3 (RBI, run), Deandre Rimmer had a pair of runs scored.
Westmoreland (5-1) picked up the win going five innings. He allowed four hits and struck out five.
Game 1
The series opener last Tuesday at Starkville turned into an offensive slugfest with the teams combing for 22 hits and 21 runs. Errors turned out to be the difference as Grenada had four miscues. The teams also combined to leave 16 runners on bases.
“Both teams hit the ball well last night,” Yarborough said last Wednesday morning. “I thought they had timely hits with runners on base. Defensively, they played a much cleaner game than we did.”
Grenada got on the scoreboard in the second inning with one run. Clausel singled to open the inning. Cannon, being used as a courtesy runner, stole second base and third base. He later scored on Conley’s ground out to make it 1-0.
The Chargers went up 3-0 with two runs in the third inning. Conley singled in Hobbs, who had singled earlier in the inning, and Waters, who drew a walk in the inning.
Starkville took the lead for good in the third inning scoring six runs on Grenada starter R.J. Merriman. The Jackets made it 8-3 with two runs in the fourth inning.
Grenada stormed back in the top of the fifth inning scoring four runs. Hobbs started the rally with a leadoff home run. After one out, Clausel walked, followed by singles from Downs and Conley to load the bases. Yarborough singled in a run and Shack ended the inning with a two-run single to narrow the deficit to 8-7.
Starkville broke the game open in the fifth inning using a grand slam from Brennon Wright to give the Jackets a 12-7 advantage.
Grenada came back in the top of the sixth to score twice. Klinck’s two-run single cut the
Hobbs paced the 12-hit attack going 3-for-5 (HR, 3 runs, RBI). Conley was 2-for-3 (run, 3 RBI) and Shack was 2-for-5 (2 RBI). Yarborough finished 2-for-4 (RBI), while Clausel, Klinck and Downs each had a hit.
Merriman dropped to 2-4 on the season. The senior right hander lasted 4 1/3 innings (10 hits, 12 runs, 8 earned runs, 6 strikeouts and 3 walks). Will Nesbitt closed the game going the final 1 2/3 innings (5 strikeouts, walk).
Grenada returns to action Thursday traveling to South Panola for games beginning at 5 p.m. The regular season closes Saturday as the Chargers hold Senior Day against Kosciusko beginning at 11 a.m. with a junior varsity game.
