AMORY – This weekend we saw three different teams’ seasons come to an end – Hamilton and Smithville in baseball and also Hamilton in softball.
Do I think that in a little over a week I won’t be sitting in Jackson? Absolutely not.
This weekend we also saw two softball teams – Nettleton and Hatley – that have been dominant all year advance into the state semifinals.
They didn’t have an easy road in the quarterfinals, and neither team will find North Half a breeze either. Hatley faces Baldwyn, who just eliminated Hamilton, who had been on a roll before that, from the playoffs.
Baldwyn didn’t show a ton of offense in their series against the Lady Lions, especially in Saturday’s 2-1 win, but their pitching was solid against Hamilton, allowing just six hits over the two games. And remember, they’ll have a chip on their shoulder, considering either Hatley or Hamilton has eliminated them from the playoffs the past four years.
Hatley has a strong chance of making that happen again this year. Baldwyn will have a tough time getting past Lesley Hudson, who at 21-2 has been untouchable at most points in the season. The first time I saw her pitch – at the Monroe County Fastpitch Tournament – Hatley coach Chris George called her a stud, and that’s been a pretty accurate description.
In 3A, Nettleton has been an offensive machine. When I saw them last week against Belmont, Nettleton coach Dana Rhea was quick to point out how tough his lineup was from top to bottom, and that’s not just talk. There’s no easy out in that lineup, and while they had a slight hiccup this weekend, losing Game 2 to a tough Kossuth team, they quickly rebounded in Game 3. They’ll face a Booneville team who swept a hard-fought series with Mooreville, both games decided by one run.
At the time I’m writing this (extremely late on Monday), Mother Nature has played havoc, and we don’t yet know the outcome of Smithville’s series with Pine Grove. After their 16-2 shellacking of Pine Grove on Saturday, I’ll be surprised if they’re not moving on to the semifinals as well, where they’ll face a familiar face in division rival Vardaman. With Meagan Whitehead healthy and back in the lineup, they’re just now heating up too.
The lone surviving baseball team in the county, Hatley, isn’t a surprise to have made it this far. Head coach John Harris said after Monday’s come-from-behind win against East Union that his team never gives up, and that game pretty much proved it. Down after both the first and sixth, it seemed like their rally was inevitable.
Their matchup with Bruce should be an interesting one, especially considering the Trojans just eliminated the team that’s given Hatley the most trouble this year.
All four county teams still left have some tough matchups – no one’s guaranteed an easy trip to Jackson. Still, with the hot streaks, these four are on, it’ll be a surprise if one or more aren’t making that trip in just a short week.
Melissa Meador is the Sports Editor of the Monroe Journal. Contact her at melissa.meador@journalinc.com.
Read more: Monroe360.com - No reason we shouldn’t be in Jackson next week