By By Marty Stamper / sports writer
May 28, 2004
Just when you thought the high school sports scene might be winding down, it's time for those summer all-star games to come into focus.
The Mississippi Private School Association's slow-pitch softball and baseball all-star games are set for Saturday at Clinton.
The softball action consists of a pair of seven-inning games with an 11 a.m. start at Traceway Park.
With the exception of two players from Jackson Academy, the remainder of the 14-player Blue team roster is composed of girls from area schools.
Class A state champion Kemper Academy has six players on the Blue roster. They are Eve Darnell, Kayla Mosley, Libby Myers, Ashley George, Leslie Beach, and Elyse Russell.
Kemper won the Academy Class A state title last Saturday at Liberty. After getting a forfeit from no-show Huntington School to start the tournament, the Lady Rams defeated Heidelberg Academy 14-4, lost to tournament host Amite School 3-2, then knocked off Central Academy 7-4 to set up a rematch with Amite for the championship.
Kemper beat Amite 9-4 and 3-0 for the championship.
"That was pretty awesome," Darnell said. "We played bad that first game against them. We didn't hit at all."
Not only did the Kemper girls win state, but they left the following day for a Senior Trip to Cancun, Mexico. After returning home late Thursday afternoon, the next step on their journey is to be in Clinton this morning for all-star preparation. The hectic voyage began with last week's graduation. In a week of highlights, picking out the top moment is difficult.
"I think winning state was probably more fun, but Cancun was really pretty, so I don't know," Darnell said.
"We'll all be a tired bunch of girls," Darnell said of the all-star activities. "It's going to be a lot of (Kemper) green out there."
Also on the Blue team are Lamar School's Celia Covington, Megan Pennington, and Baleigh Barham. Representing Wayne Academy is Erin Wood. Central Academy's Ashley Anderson represents the Lady Vikings with Heidelberg Academy's Leslie Higdon closing out the local player connection.
Coaches of the Blue team are Lamar's Tori Johnson (head) and Central Academy's Bo Gore (assistant). Admission is $7.
The Class AAA baseball contest is set to get under way at 2 p.m. at Mississippi College's Frierson Field.
Two players from Lamar School were selected to the South AAA roster despite the Raiders' 3-21 year on the diamond. They are Drew Moffett and Randy Boyd Thompson. They'll be joined by five members of Jackson Prep's Class AAA state championship team Harrison Hood, Drew Maddox, Hunter Owen, Joseph Queen, and JoJo Tann.
On the South AAA roster are Madison-Ridgeland Academy's Chad Crosswhite and Phillip Harrison. Crosswhite, a Mississippi State signee, previously attended Leake Academy, while Harrison played at Winston Academy as a freshman.
The Class A-AA game is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Frierson Field. Four area athletes will be on the North A-AA roster. Representing Class A state champion Heidelberg Academy are pitcher/catcher Brooks Lewis and center fielder Matthew Andrews.
Lewis got both wins in the state title series with Porter's Chapel to up his record to 10-0 in Heidelberg's 29-0 season of perfection.
Also on the North A-AA team are catcher Morgan Craven and pitcher/outfielder Tommy Harthcock of Newton County Academy.
Harthcock was 8-2 as the Generals posted a 20-7 season. In fact, NCA was the only team to throw much concern into Heidelberg in its run to a state crown.
Harthcock batted .312 with 11 RBIs. Craven batted .411 with one homer and 19 RBIs. Heidelberg coach Tom Lewis is an assistant on the North A-AA team.
Representing Class AA state champion Simpson Academy are Derek Thompson and Neil Lewis, while Class A state runner-up Porter's Chapel is represented by Ryan Hoben, Justin Boler, and Humphrey Barlow.
Admission to both baseball contests is $7.
Next week, the Mississippi High School Activities Association sends its football all-stars to Mobile, Ala., for their annual beating from the Alabama team. That's a story for another day.