How Taylorsville baseball utilized its speed to win MHSAA Class 1A state title vs Pine Grove
PEARL — Taylorsville baseball wasn't going to let a comeback happen twice.
Taylorsville led Pine Grove 7-3 with two innings left in Game 2 of the best-of-three series. Pine Grove rallied with a walk-off sacrifice fly to force a deciding game.
On Saturday, after Taylorsville jumped to a 5-0 lead in the third inning, Pine Grove scored three runs in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit to two runs.
Taylorsville (21-12) responded with six unanswered runs against Pine Grove (27-10), leading the Tartars to an 11-4 victory and the MHSAA Class 1A state title Pine Grove at Trustmark Park. This is Taylorville's first title since 2021 and eighth overall.
"(We just had) to try to scratch every inning," Taylorsville coach Laine Jordan said. "If you score every inning, there's a good chance you're gonna be ahead of the ballgame."
After a subtle comeback from Pine Grove, Trey Barnes hit a double, scoring Ford Matthews to begin the fourth inning. Taylorsville then added four runs in the sixth from a hit-by-pitch, sacrifice fly and a two-run double by Easton Ford to cap off the offensive onslaught.
"We just did what we did," Barnes said. "We stayed focused the whole time. We didn't make them speed us up and just played our game."
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How Taylorsville utilized its speed to beat Pine Grove
Jordan recalls the time when he played on the same team as Taylorsville alum and MLB veteran Billy Hamilton.
Jordan said Hamilton is the fastest human being he's ever witnessed in the area, and when asked what Taylorsville's speed accumulates from, he jokingly stated it must be something in the water.
"I'll put our outfit up against anybody in the state," Jordan said. "From (Class) 1A to 7A, we got one of the fastest outfields out there. And they can go get it. It don't matter where the ball is."
Taylorsville stole 21 bases in three games.
Along with speed on the basepaths, Barnes explained the outfield, including him, Caden Bester, and Reco Crosby, call themselves the "No fly zone."
"I knew the speed we had in our outfield," said Barnes, who was named game MVP with four RBIs and six stolen bases. "We just covered a lot of ground, made some good plays, made good play behind our pitcher and if we play good defense, we'll win the game"
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: MHSAA baseball playoffs: Taylorsville wins Class 1A title vs Pine Grove
