For years, St. Andrew’s Episcopal was a thorn in West Marion’s side, consistently ending Trojans’ seasons prematurely. But now the tables have flipped as St. Andrew’s has become more of an annoying gnat the Trojans can swat with ease, evidenced by their two-game sweep of the Saints in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
In West Marion’s two-game sweep of the Saints, the Trojans (23-3) outscored St. Andrew’s 17-1 with Jayden Duncan and Miles Maliden dominating on the mound and the offense coming through in clutch situations.
The difference against St. Andrew’s in head coach Derrick Jerkins’ eyes was West Marion’s experience in big moments.
“(Josh) Boone and Duncan started in eighth grade. Eighth-grade year they played for South State, ninth-grade year we made it to the third round (and) 10th-grade year we played for South State,” he said. “Our pitchers throw strikes, and we make plays behind them. And we had some timely hits.”
In Game 1 at home April 6, Maliden came through with a timely home run in the fourth inning that put the Trojans ahead for good. He was way ahead with a 3-0 count and had the green light to turn on a high fastball that he sent soaring over the right-field wall for a two-home run that broke a 1-1 tie.
“That definitely stole the momentum, and we were able to ride it out,” Jerkins said.
Boone was a catalyst at the top of the order, reaching base in all three plate appearances with two singles and walk, scoring two runs and driving in a run. Duncan, who also had an RBI, was dominant on the mound, fanning 11 batters in seven one-run innings.
Maliden was once again special in Game 2, this time on the mound, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning. The Trojans rode Maliden’s arm and the top of their lineup at the plate to a 12-0 win on the road Friday to clinch the series.
Through 6 1/3 shutout innings, Maliden struck out 11 while allowing just two hits to pick up the win. Boone had 3 RBI and scored twice with a pair of singles to lead the West Marion offense. Duncan drove in two runs with a pair of doubles, Tre Broom doubled and singled to drive in two runs and Maliden and Jonathan Miller each had an RBI double.
Next up for the Trojans is the team with the second-best record in 3A (behind West Marion), the Clarkdale Bulldogs (21-4). The top-level talent for the Bulldogs is what makes them special, not unlike the Trojans.
Houston Wedgeworth is a lanky 6-foot-2 righty with a fastball that sits about 85-86 miles per hour, and he has a curveball with some bite to it that can play off his heater. Cal Culpepper has already committed to Southern Miss and throws 83-84 mph on the mound, is a solid shortstop and can really hit.
“They’re going to be really good. We’re going to have to play our best baseball to be able to beat them,” Jerkins said.
A big advantage for West Marion is it gets two home games to Clarkdale’s one as the Trojans are set to host Games 1 and 3 Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Game 2 will be Friday in Meridian.
“When you got a good program, just like St. Andrew’s, Friday night was the first time I ever went up there and won. It’s a different atmosphere. It’s tough to go win at places like that. It’s the same thing, I think, with our place. It’s tough for someone to come down here and win,” Jerkins said of having home-field advantage.
Through two rounds of the postseason, West Marion hasn’t had to rely on any of its pitching depth beyond Duncan and Maliden, which could both be a gift and a curse. To this point, Tre Broom threw just one inconsequential inning in a 20-1 victory in the first round, while Boone only recorded the final two outs of the St. Andrew’s series when the Trojans were up 12 runs. On one hand, Broom, Boone and Kollin Green are well rested when it comes to the mound. On the other hand, none of them have had the experience yet of pitching in a high-leverage moment in the playoffs.
Jerkins said that trio has been throwing bullpens because he knows, at some point, they will be needed.
“Hopefully it’s a good thing that we haven’t had to use them or stress any more arms than we’ve had to. I was glad to get Boone in the game Friday night, at least to get his feet wet a little bit. It was 12-0, but at least he got in there in that situation,” he said. “But I’m not going to be nervous putting any of our guys into a situation. It doesn’t matter what round it is in the playoffs. I think they’ll do fine.”
Defensively, Jerkins said the big key will be not allowing the bottom of the order for Clarkdale to do any damage. Offensively, it’s all about putting pressure on Clarkdale.
“The big thing we can’t do is we can’t have games where we have a big strikeout number. That’s something we’re going to push this week,” he said Monday. “We have to put the ball in play. One of things in the scouting report on Clarkdale is if you can put pressure on them defensively, they will kick it around a little bit. Especially the bottom half (of our batting order), we have to make sure we’re putting the baseball in play.”
