Round 2 of the Class 4A playoffs gets started Tuesday as Pillow Academy and Starkville Academy collide in a best-of-three series.
Game 1 of the series is slated for 5 p.m. at Louis Coleman Field. Games 2 and 3 will be in Starkville starting at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
“There’s a belief right now with this team that we can continue this season,” said PA head coach Jud Thigpen. “We are playing some of our better baseball, and I continue to credit that to the schedule we played this season. We bounced back in Game 3 last week against Winston because of a toughness we have developed.
“We have a group of guys who have learned to shrug off the mistakes and move on to the next play. Our guys have seen some really talented arms and talented teams this season. They just believe they can get the job done.”
The Mustangs (15-15) won their first-round series 2-1 over the Patriots, who won Game 2, 7-6. Pillow took the first contest 9-4 in Louisville and rebounded after the loss Thursday to beat Winston 14-1. Pillow is the second seed from District 1.
Starkville, which is 23-6 overall, swept Washington School 2-0, winning 13-1 and 8-3. The Volunteers are the top seed from District 2.
Thigpen said his plans are to start sophomore Drew Lamb Tuesday. Lamb is 5-2 overall after getting the win in Game 1 vs. Winston.
“We’ve talked about our rotation, and we definitely know we are handing the ball to Drew Tuesday,” added Thigpen. “What we do Thursday really depends on how the first game goes.”
Pillow and Starkville did not meet on the diamond this season. They played in the season opener in 2020 with Starkville coming out on top 7-2.
The Mustangs are led by a number of players. Senior Nolan Marshall, who was named the Prep Baseball Report’s Player of the Week for his performance in last week’s series, is hitting .333 with 18 runs scored and 33 RBIs.
Fellow senior Lawes McCool has a .321 average with 24 runs scored and 17 RBIs, while senior Gavin Lessley is hitting .305 with a team-leading 26 runs scored. He has a .462 on-base percentage. Senior Matthew Jefcoat and sophomore Dayne Sanford are also hitting above .300. Jefcoat is at .318 with 13 RBIs, and Sanford is hitting .326 with 22 runs scored and 18 RBIs.
The other half of the North bracket has Magnolia Heights, the top seed from District 1, taking on Bayou, the third seed from District 1. In the South, Hartfield plays Central Hinds, and Simpson faces off against Brookhaven.
- Contact Calvin Stevens at 581-7234 or cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
