Cats clinch 5-5A title; Blount hurls perfect game

By Staff
From staff reports
April 11, 2001
The Meridian Wildcats used their 14-4 win over Wayne County Tuesday night along with Brandon's 6-3 victory over Northwest Rankin to clinch the Division 5-5A championship.
Meridian finished 5-1 in the league, while Northwest was 4-2, Brandon 2-4, and Wayne County 1-5.
The Wildcats cranked out 16 hits to take the league title after finishing third in McLemore's first season at MHS.
Sophomore Ricky McMillian led Meridian's offense with four hits, three runs, and three RBIs. John Stevens had two singles and a home run. John Iverson had three singles. Torry Bates had a pair of singles to go with a double. Sanduan Dubose had a double and a homer. Kris Barnett added a pair of singles.
Iverson was the winning pitcher, while Tyler Maxwell tossed 22/3 innings of shutout relief.
Wayne County fell to 11-12.
The Wildcats return to action Thursday at New Hope.
Union 21-23, Thomastown 0-0: Jody Blount tossed a perfect game as Union rolled to a 21-0 Division 5-1A win in the opener.
Blount (3-2) struck out 11 of the 12 outs in the 31/2 inning win.
Jordan Robinson hit three singles to lead Union's offense.
Danny Cain and Eric Graham both had a single and a double. Brooks Vance had two singles, while Wes Henry hit a double.
Union completed the home sweep as Zack Robinson (2-0) and Graham combined for a one-hitter in the second game.
Maurice Thames, Jordan Robinson, and Sammy Sullivan each had a triple for the Yellow Jackets. Corey Boler and Jacob Casey both had a double.
Union improved to 18-8 overall and 10-1 in 5-1A. The Jackets travel to Nanih Waiya on Thursday needing a win to wrap up the division championship. Union and Noxapater have already clinched berths in the 1A state playoffs which begin on April 19.
Ezelle got 11 of the 15 outs by strikeout. The only hit he allowed was a single by Chris Davis.
Newton County improved to 9-11 overall and 8-3 in 5-3A. Kemper fell to 1-11 in league play and 1-13 overall.
Kody Comans and Lewis Coker both had two hits for the Cougars with one of Coker's being a double. Casey Bridges also had a double for Newton County.
Newton County visits Southeast Lauderdale Thursday at 7 p.m. with a playoff berth on the line.
West Lowndes 7, Noxapater 1: Nick Hamilton got the win and hit two singles and a triple to lead West Lowndes to the road win at Noxapater.
The Panthers broke open a 1-0 game with four runs in the top of the fourth inning.
Corey Moore had two singles to account for nearly all of Noxapater's three hits.
Davarious Thurston and Lamar Gallaspy both had a single and a double for West Lowndes.
Sed Eichelberger (3-2) took the loss as the Tigers fell to 13-7.
Noxapater is scheduled to play East Webster Friday at 11 a.m.
Lake 10, St. Joseph 3: The Hornets scored twice in the first, third, and fourth frames and tacked on three runs in the fifth to take the division win over St. Joseph.
Jake Nester went 3-for-4 with a homer to drive in three runs as Lake improved to 18-6 overall and 10-1 in league play. Jason McGee and Brian Williamson both had a pair of singles.
Eric Gunn (3-1) was the winning pitcher.
Lake returns to action today at 3:30 p.m. at Pisgah.
Central Academy 12, Sylva-Bay 11: The Vikings scored once in the bottom of the seventh to take the Academy 3-A win over the Saints in Macon.
Central led 8-3 through four innings before the Saints struck for three runs in the fifth and sixth frames to go up 9-8. Central then used a three-run bottom of the sixth to go up 11-9. The Saints pulled even with two runs in the top of the seventh.
Von Gomel (4-2) got the win as Central improved to 15-7.
Justin Marro had two singles and a double for Central, while Drew Powell had a single and a homer. Tyler Huerkamp had three singles including the game-winning hit.
Central outhit Sylva-Bay 10-7. The Vikings had five errors, while Sylva-Bay booted the ball nine times.
Heidelberg Academy 9, Kemper Academy 3: The Rebels rallied from a 3-1 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take the Academy 3-A win at Heidelberg.
Heidelberg added two insurance runs in the fifth and tacked on three more in the sixth to extend its winning streak to six games.
Scott McInnis (3-0) got the win, striking out nine in seven innings.
Bo Harper took the loss.
Heidelberg, 9-4 overall and 6-0 in the district, got a three-run homer from Ryan Aultman in the fourth inning. Aultman also had a single. Derek McKee had a two-run homer in the fifth. Heath Ainsworth had a single and a double. Matt Andrews added a pair of singles.
Kemper got a pair of singles from Wade Whitaker and a double each from Adam Davis and Dereck Calvert.
Heidelberg returns to action Friday at 6 p.m. at Wayne Academy.