Seldom-used SHS senior ends game with Murrah with one swing of bat
Dee Clark didn’t get what he wanted out of his first at-bat on Tuesday night for the Starkville Yellowjackets.
As part of senior night against the Murrah Mustangs, Clark’s No. 16 was called to pinch hit in the fourth inning and grounded into double play to hurt Starkville’s chances of scoring.
He wasn’t going to be denied in the sixth.
With the score standing at 9-0 in favor of the Jackets and needing only one more run to end the game on the mercy rule, Clark stepped up to the plate and launched a two-run home run to left and capped an 11-0 victory.
“There was no better time,” Clark said. “I was really just trying to put the ball in play and get on base. It happened.”
After KJ Lawrence singled to begin the sixth, Clark turned on a pitch and hit it into the Starkville night sky.
SHS coach Travis Garner was glad to see Clark rewarded in that moment.
“He’s a great kid who probably doesn’t have the role he wants a senior,” Garner said. “He works hard every day. For him to do that, it’s something he will remember the rest of his life. That’s what high school sports is about.”
With the victory, the Jackets improved to 15-11 overall and 3-6 in Class 6A, Region 3.
After one scoreless inning against Murrah, Starkville put up seven runs in the second inning on two hits. Jackson Owen
with just one division game remaining for both squads. Still, Starkville Academy remains upbeat as the club nears the end of the regular season.
“We just have to control what we can control,” Roberts said. “At the end of the day, this was one game. Does it cost us the district (championship)? Maybe, but our goals are still all in front of us. We’re in the playoffs. We’re a playoff team. I think we’re a confident team. Just (Tuesday night) wasn’t our night.”