When it comes to championship baseball, it’s all about who gets hot at the right time.
Facing elimination against Starkville Academy two weeks ago, the Indianola Academy Colonels got hot at the right time and won their next six games to capture the AAA State Championship.
The Colonels defeated Central Private (La.) tonight by a nail-biting score of 3-2.
It is the first title for the school since 2001.
It is also IA’s third championship trophy in three sports (football, men’s basketball and baseball) in the past two years.
The Rebels of Central Private tried to get on the board in the first inning during game two of the best-of-three series, getting a runner on third with one out.
A slow grounder was hit to first baseman Reed Junkin, who picked up the ball and made a move toward the runner on third, making him hesitate for a split second.
Junkin hit the first base bag for the first out and threw home where Thomas Putnam wedged the glove between his foot and the runner’s hand to get the out call.
It would prove to be a momentum buster for Central Private, whose bats were stifled by a gutsy complete game pitching performance by Will Davis.
Spencer Roberson would score two of the Colonels’ three runs on the night, and senior Sebastian Harris, on his birthday, squeezed the third out of the top of the seventh to secure the championship trophy.
Be sure to pick up a copy of The Enterprise-Tocsin next week for all of the stats and highlights from the game.
