By Staff
HE'S SAFE! Northeast Lauderdale's Chad Brunson is safe at third against Lamar's Trey Whitehead after legging out a triple to right field. Photo by Paula Merritt/ The Meridian Star
By Jeff Byrd / staff writer
April 2, 2002
The up and down Northeast Trojans had another up and down day here at home on Monday afternoon.
Following a tough 5-3 loss to Newton County, the Trojans bounced back to whip Lamar School 13-2. The game marked the first time a Lauderdale County high school has taken the field against a Mississippi Private School Association member in a major team sport.
West Lauderdale had earlier played Lamar in both soccer and tennis. Petal High School played last week in the Lamar golf tournament. This is the first-year of what could be a multiple-year experiment allowing MPSA schools to play public schools in the Mississippi High School Activities Association.
For Northeast Lauderdale head coach Chris Harper it was nice to have Lamar visit, but he was more concerned about gaining momentum for tonight's huge Division 5-4A clash with Quitman.
It may have been just another game but it was one where the Trojans won in impressive fashion. Lamar held a 2-1 lead going into the bottom half of the third. There, the Trojans began taking advantage of the Raiders' depleted pitching staff scoring 12 straight runs over the next two at bats.
A double by Chad Brunson started the rally. A single by Ryan Stewart and a walk by Cory Chance loaded the bases. Both Brunson and Stewart would go on to score on wild pitches allowing Northeast to reclaim the lead at 3-2.
Following an out and a hit-batsman, Jason Pritchett ripped a two-run single to make it 5-2. The hit would be the first of four two-run safeties for the Trojans.
In the Trojan fourth, Mark Snyder and Drew Anderson each drove in two on singles. Brunson then followed later with a two-run triple that made it 12-2. Brunson then scored on a passed ball to make it 13-2.
Anderson, who had struggled in his first three innings, struck out two of the four batters faced in the fifth ending the game via run-rule. He scattered five hits while walking five and hitting two. He struck out six.
Lamar head coach Ronnie Key said his Raiders are having to make do with injuries to their two top pitchers.
As for playing a fellow Lauderdale school, Key was appreciative for the opportunity.
The Raiders, now 7-6, were led by J.D. Henderson who got a two-run single off Anderson in the third to hand Lamar its 2-1 lead. The Raiders, however, left five men on base during their first two at bats.
Northeast, now 11-14, finished with 12 hits. Brunson paved the way with a double and triple. Ryan Stewart had two hits and three runs scored. Cory Chance, J.R. Smith and Snyder each had two hits.
Newton County 5
Northeast Lauderdale 3
The visiting Cougars pulled out a road win with three runs in the seventh inning to take a 5-3 victory over the Trojans.
Newton County improves to 14-12 with the win. Northeast fell to 10-14.
The Trojans took a 3-2 lead into the top of the seventh. The Cougars, however, took advantage of a pair of Northeast errors to score the three go-ahead runs.
Both teams hit the ball well despite the low-scoring game. The Cougars banged out 14 hits to the Trojans' 10.
Newton's Mylan Anderson had four hits in the game to pace the Cougars. One of the hits was a double and he drove in two runs.
Ryan Loper had two hits and two RBIs while Matthew Boggan had a RBI double. Tyler Hagan and Josh Avant also had two hits. Robby Carey added a double.
The Trojans were led by J.R. Smith and Jason Pritchett. Both players had a single and a double. Ryan Stewart and Drew Anderson also had two hits.
Hagan went all seven innings including a scoreless seventh to take the win. He improves to 3-2. Adam Leister took the tough loss for Northeast.