Calhoun City remained on top of the region after a 15-5 win over Potts Camp last week.

Ryne Lee

Jace Leachman earned the win for the Wildcats.
Rainer Nichols and Travone Petty had multiple hits in the win.
Nichols, Ryne Lee, Colby Havens and Cyle Havens each hit a double.
The Wildcats followed that win with a 3-2 non-region victory over East Webster.
Ryne Lee earned the win and Brooks Goodson the save.
Three Wildcats had two hits in the game – Lee, Steele Liles and Cyle Havens. Colby Havens hit a double.
Calhoun City is scheduled to host Bruce Friday night in region play.
They will host their annual alumni game Saturday, April 6 with games at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The Bruce Trojans split a pair of non-region games late last week with Vardaman and Houlka.

Trey Hall and Rashad Turner

The Trojans defeated Vardaman 11-8 with Bailey Nix earning the win on the mound. Brandon Williams closed the game out for the save.
Nix, Williams, Taylor Shoemake and  Benji Haire all had multiple hits in the game.

Bruce played at Houlka Saturday in what was described by many as a “swamp” of a field after the recent heavy rains.
The Wildcats came away with an 8-3 win. Malik Hobson took the loss for Bruce. Cade Clark recorded the only Trojan hit.

Bruce dropped to 7-9 on the season, 2-1 in region play. They were scheduled to play at Walnut Tuesday night in a region game.
They play at Calhoun City Friday and host Water Valley Saturday at noon and 2 p.m.

The Bruce Lady Trojans enjoyed a successful past week with big wins over Hickory Flat and Houlka.

Hannah Burt struck out 10 as Bruce defeated Hickory Flat 12-2 in region play.

Burt, Jessica Aron and Abby Free each had two hits in the game. Laken Shankle, Haley Hubbard, Burt and Free each hit a double in the game.

The Lady Trojans followed that performance with a 12-0 win at Houlka.

Burt was again dominant striking out seven batters.

Emily Logan led the offense with three hits. Aron, Shankle and Bailey Massey each had two. Massey, Logan and Burt all had a double in the game.

The Lady Trojans, 5-6 overall and 1-1 in region play, are scheduled to host Houlka Friday night and Potts Camp next Monday.

Calhoun City remained perfect in region play with a double-header sweep of Potts Camp Monday night.

Adaysia Edwards

The Lady Wildcats won the opener 10-0 and completed the sweep with a 14-0 win in game two.
Ty Burton earned the win in game one allowing only three hits in five innings of work. Bullard pitched a one-hitter over five innings while striking out nine in game two.

Top hitters on the night for Calhoun City were Ty Burton with four singles; Adaysia Edwards with three singles; Alison Childs with two doubles; Avery Bullard with two singles and a double; Reagan Hardin, Charlesy Lovorn and Courtny Norman each with two singles.

In non-region action last weekend, Calhoun City lost to Ackerman 10-4.

Burton took the loss allowing six earned runs. Bullard pitched in relief surrendering one earned run.

Bullard led the offense with two doubles. Lovorn and Heather Mabry each hit a double. Edwards added a single and double.
The Lady Wildcats are on the road this week playing at Charleston Thursday, East Webster Friday and Hickory Flat Saturday.

The Vardaman Lady Rams dropped to 0-1 in region play with a 16-4 loss to Smithville last week.

The Lady Rams were plagued with nine errors in the game. Grace Edmondson took the loss on the mound despite not giving up an earned run.
Briana Wright led the Vardaman offense with three hits, including a double.

Whittney Gee added two hits. Edmondson and Sydney Huffman each hit doubles.
The Lady Rams lost 7-2 to Mooreville on Monday. Laci Jo Fugett, Cheyenne McKiney and Huffman recorded the only three hits for Vardaman.

Edmondson pitched five innings allowing six hits and three earned runs.
In their second game of the day, the Lady Rams defeated South Pontotoc 9-4.

Gee and Edmondson had two hits in the game. Both of Edmondson’s were doubles. Gee had a triple.
Edmondson earned the win allowing only three hits and no earned runs while striking out seven.
The Lady Rams, 7-10 overall, are scheduled to be on the road this week with a game at Smithville Thursday and in the Water Valley tournament on Saturday.

The Vardaman Rams played some of their best baseball of the year last week, highlighted by a 5-4 home win over Tremont.

The game was tied at four in the bottom of the seventh when Chase Owen tripled. Ty Long then drew a bases loaded walk a few batters later to force home the game winning run.
Hunter Spencer earned the win pitching in relief of starter Aaron Dauzat. Ty Long also pitched in relief.

Tyler Boyette also had an extra base hit for the Rams in the win.
The Rams were coming off an 11-8 loss at Bruce.

Adam Wright hit a home run in the game. Ryan Washington and Ty Long each had a single and a double. Boyette hit a double and Dauzat recorded two singles.
Kent Casey, Brandon Washington and Trae Owens pitched in the game.

The Rams fell at Houlka 8-5 with Ty Long on the mound.
Casey hit two singles and a double. Wright had two singles. Cody Smith drew three walks.

The Rams are scheduled to host TCPS Friday.

Nathaniel Willis holds a Hebron base runner close to the bag during the Cougars’ 17-2 loss last week. The Cougars bounced back Tuesday with a 5-4 win at Macon Central.

The win improved Calhoun Academy to 3-2 in the region with games remaining at Kemper and Hebron next week and home against Winona this Thursday. Photo by Joel McNeece

The Bruce Trojan golf team placed first in a six team match Tuesday at The Dogwoods in Grenada.

Bruce shot a 306, followed by Kosciusko 321, Calhoun City 335, Grenada 350, Cleveland 351, and Winona 449.

Cameron Clarke finished 2nd overall with a 74. Warner Jones tied for 3rd overall with a 75. W.D. Newlin tied for 4th overall with a 78. Casey Vance finished 5th overall with a 79. Bruce’s other golfer, Jordan Cain, shot a 98.

Cole Parker of Calhoun City tied for first with a 73.  Noah Hill tied for 3rd with a 75. Other City golfers were Jacob Ruth 92, Coleman Suber 95, and Peyton Suber 96.

Bruce golfer W.D. Newlin signed a scholarship to play golf next year at East Mississippi Community College.

Newlin has been a top five player every season at Bruce. He’s won a district title every year and advanced to the state tournament and finished in the top 10 in 2A every year.

Bruce Athletic Director James Ray said during the presentation, Newlin is the ninth Trojan athlete to sign a college athletic scholarship this school year.

Newlin will join Calhoun Academy golfer Hunter Harmon who also signed with EMCC a few weeks ago.

 Bruce’s W.D. Newlin signs a golf scholarship with EMCC. Pictured with W.D. are his parents, Angie Newlin and Don Newlin. In back, from left, Carla Warner, Judy Carnaggio, EMCC Golf Coach Dale Peay, Bruce AD James Ray. Photo by Joel McNeece

Calhoun City rallied from a 6-1 deficit to defeat rival Bruce 7-6 in extra innings last Friday night to clinch the region title and a number one seed entering the upcoming 2A playoffs.

The Wildcats scored two in the sixth to pull within 6-3 and then three in the seventh to tie the game at six and force extra innings.

The Wildcats celebrate a 7-6 come-from-behind win over Bruce Friday night. Photo by Joel McNeece

After the Trojans went down in order in the top of the eighth, Travone Petty lead off the bottom half of the inning drawing a walk and then Rainer Nichols was hit by a pitch putting the game-winning run in scoring position. Ryne Lee then dropped a bloop single just over first base and inside the right field line to bring Petty home sparking a big celebration at home plate.

“It was awesome. I’m glad I got it,” Lee said of the game-winning single. “This win means a lot. Coach has pushed us really hard. He’s on us all the time. We deserve it. We’re here. We’re going to go far and do good.”

Ryne Lee

Calhoun City Coach Josh Miller said a come-from-behind win like this was exactly what his team needed heading toward the post season.

“We talked this week that it’s going to take a come-from-behind win, because every team that goes far, just like Bruce did last year, it takes a win like this,” Miller said. “I thought we should have won the game in the seventh. We didn’t pitch well enough to win the game. We hit some balls hard early that they caught. Hats off to them. I thought they played really well.”

Bruce Coach Josh Dowdy said he was pleased with the improvement from the last Calhoun City game.

“At least it was different from the last game. The last game we beat ourselves with walks and hit batters,” Dowdy said. “We played really good. Calhoun City did a good job coming back. We knew coming into this game it was going to be a big one. We needed a win and didn’t get it, but we’ll go back to work tomorrow. As I recall things didn’t work out too well (in this game) last year either.”

Dowdy had several conferences with the umpires during the game over calls he believed were very “questionable,” which continued after the game.

“I honestly feel like some things didn’t go our way that should have,” Dowdy said. “I’m disappointed how two officials can take a game out of my kids’ hands. We played our tails off to let that be the outcome of the game. I’m so proud of our guys.”

Bruce jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first when Taylor Shoemake hit a line drive, 3-run home run after back-to-back singles by Trey Hall and Rashad Turner.

‘City cut the lead to 3-1 when Jordan England singled home a run in the fourth.

Bruce stretched the lead to 6-1 in the fifth after loading the bases on three walks to open the frame. Brandon Williams delivered a sacrifice fly and two more runs scored on errors.

The Wildcats pulled to within 6-3 in the sixth after a leadoff double by Ryne Lee and a single by Chakel Gates, who scored a few batters later on a single by England.

Rainer Nichols started the seventh inning rally with a one-out walk and Lee and Gates followed with doubles to cut the score to 6-5. After a walk and hit batter loaded the bases, Gates scored the game-tying run on a wild pitch.

Colby Havens earned the win for Calhoun City pitching in relief of starter Brooks Goodson. Joseph Lester took the loss for Bruce. Taylor Shoemake started the game for the Trojans. Trey Hall also pitched in relief.

The Wildcats will finish the regular season with a game at Potts Camp on Friday and then home games with East Webster Saturday and Walnut next Tuesday. Calhoun City will have a first round bye in the playoffs.

“We’ve worked hard every day this year,” Miller said. “Our goal wasn’t really to win the region, but to get in the playoffs and then take it one game at a time.”

Bruce is scheduled to host Hickory Flat Friday and play at Houston Saturday. They will finish the regular season with a home-and-home with Eupora later next week before post season play.

The Vardaman Lady Rams dropped to 1-2 in region play with a 1-0 loss to Smithville Monday despite a strong pitching performance from Grace Edmondson.

Edmondson allowed only two hits and one walk while striking out five in the game.

Vardaman had a chance to tie in the seventh when Shavonda McKinney stole second and was bunted to third by Ashley Wooten, but she was out at the plate on a close play.

The Lady Rams managed only four hits, two by Laci Jo Fugett. Edmondson and Sydney Huffman recorded the others.

The Lady Rams had only three hits in a 3-1 loss to Water Valley. Those were recorded by Fugett, Huffman and Laken Lucius.

Edmondson pitched six innings allowing five hits and one earned run while striking out eight.

Edmondson pitched a 1-hitter and struck out eight in a 5-0 win over Oxford last Saturday.

Fugett and Cheyenne McKiney each had two hits for Vardaman. Whittney Gee had a double.

Edmondson pitched another one hitter in a 14-0 win over Tremont. Seven different Lady Rams recorded a hit in the game. Gee led with four RBIs.

The Lady Rams played at Houlka Tuesday night and visit Tremont Thursday.

A win over Tremont Thursday would clinch third in the region and a playoff berth. Wins over Houlka Tuesday and next Monday would earn the Lady Rams a two seed.

“We’re not hitting the ball as well as we were last year,” Coach Billy Dill said. “If we start clicking we can compete with anybody in the North, but we have to find it soon or the season will be over.”

Calhoun City’s Lady Wildcats remained unbeaten in region play with a 30-1 thrashing of Hickory Flat.

Adaysia Edwards

Ty Burton earned the win allowing only two hits and one run in five innings of work.

There were numerous hitting stars for the Lady Wildcats. Adaysia Edwards hit a single and scored three runs. Ty Burton added two singles.

Alison Childs hit two singles, a double and drove in four runs. Charlesy Lovorn also drove in four runs with a double and triple.

Heather Mabry hit a triple with three RBIs. Avery Bullard drove home two on two singles.

Courtny Norman hit a single, double and recorded five RBIs. Reagan Hardin added two singles and Breonna Jennings a single.

The Lady Wildcats will play at Bruce Thursday night with the region championship on the line. Calhoun City won the first meeting by one run.

Calhoun Academy suffered a pair of losses to Winona Christian last Saturday, eliminating them from playoff contention.

The Cougars will finish their regular season Friday with a game at Hebron.  Photo by Joel McNeece

Sam Moore slides in safely to second base during the Cougars’ double header with Winona Christian last Saturday afternoon.

The Vardaman Rams, 4-14, swept a double-header from West Oktibbeha and saw a tight game with TCPS get away from them last week.

Aaron Dauzat earned the win in an 11-1 win over West Oktibbeha. Adam Wright and Ryan Washington both had two hits in the game.

Hunter Spencer picked up the victory in a 6-2 defeat of West Oktibbeha. Brandon Walker led the Rams with two hits. Kemp Edmondson and Trae Owens also had hits in the victory.

The Rams lost to TCPS 14-4 when the Eagles blew the game open late.

Ty Long pitched the first four innings. Dauzat, Brandon Washington and Hunter Owens pitched in relief.

Tyler Boyette and Long led the offense with two hits. Chase Owens added a double.

The Rams were scheduled to play a double-header with Smithville Tuesday night. They needed at least a split to keep their playoff hopes alive.

They finish with a home game against Houlka Friday and at Tremont next Tuesday.

The Bruce Lady Trojans rolled over Potts Camp 16-3 Monday night setting up a showdown with Calhoun City Thursday at Bruce Park with the region title on the line.

The Lady Trojans have already clinched a playoff berth, but can still earn a region title with a victory over Calhoun City Thursday.

Hannah Burt earned the win Monday. Laken Shankle led the offense with three hits.

Summer Mulkey, Morgan Ellard and Bailey Massey had two hits each.

Shankle and Jessica Aron both hit triples.

The Lady Trojans, 6-7 overall, will host Potts Camp again Friday. They will complete the regular season next Monday and Tuesday at Oxford and Vardaman.

The Vardaman Rams’ task of earning a playoff spot became much more difficult after a pair of losses to rival Smithville Tuesday night.

The Seminoles defeated the Rams 8-0 and 9-3 in the double-header at Michael Long Field in Vardaman.

Ty Long suffered the loss in game one when the Rams managed only two hits off Smithville starter Austin Craig.

Aaron Dauzat took the loss in the second game.

The Rams host Houlka Friday night. To earn a playoff spot the Rams will have to beat Houlka by at least four runs and then win at Tremont next week.

The Vardaman Lady Rams stayed in contention for a second seed in the playoffs with a 3-2 extra inning win over Houlka Tuesday night.

Laci Jo Fugett. Photo by Joel McNeece

The Lady Rams can wrap up the second seed with a win over Houlka Friday night and then Tremont. They were supposed to play at Tremont Thursday but that game was rained out.

The Lady Rams managed only three hits in the win over Houlka – singles by Laken Lucius, Laci Jo Fugett and Jessica Rodgers.

Houlka managed only two hits off of Vardaman’s Grace Edmondson, who pitched all eight innings. She struck out eight.

Vardaman’s remaining schedule also consists of games at West Point next Monday and home against Bruce on Tuesday, April 16.

Calhoun City won a four-team match at Yoda Creek in Bruce Tuesday with Cole Parker earning medalist honors.

Parker shot a 72 to take top honors among all golfers. The Wildcats shot a 315 to lead the team competition over Bruce 328, Grenada 376, and Winona 464.

Other golfers for Calhoun City were Noah Hill 77, Coleman Suber 82, Jacob Ruth 84, and Peyton Suber 110.

Bruce golfers were W.D. Newlin 73, Cameron Clarke 76, Casey Vance 88, Jordan Cain 91, and Tripp Nestor 101.

Bruce and Calhoun City will compete in the district tournament at Ackerman next Tuesday, April 16.

Calhoun Academy’s baseball season concluded last week with a pair of losses to Kemper Academy, 6-1 and 11-9.

Dusty McGee

Dusty McGee led the offense in the two games with three singles and a double.

Hunter Harmon allowed only three runs in five innings of work.

“It was a strong performance by Hunter considering it was his first time to pitch this season,” Coach Tim Melton said.

The Cougars ended the season with a 3-5 record.

Three Bruce golfers won a three-man scramble in Ackerman last weekend.

Cameron Clarke

Bruce Trojans W.D. Newlin, Cameron Clarke and BHS?Golf Coach Allan Clarke shot 17-under par over 27 holes to win the championship flight.

The tournament is a fundraiser for scholarships in memory of Phyllis Graham and Steven Moss, teachers who were killed in the 2011 bus wreck in Calhoun City.