Oak Hill's Earnest believes talent present to make run

Oak Hill Academy softball coach Lewis Earnest believes the potential is there for his team to do something special in the playoffs.

The bottom line is playing well enough over a long stretch to make a run.

That begins on Saturday at the Senatobia Park and Recreation complex with the first opponent being Carroll Academy at 11:30 a.m.

After playing Marshall Academy to a four-run game in a loss earlier this season and a split with Lee Academy, Earnest likes the progress of the Lady Raiders and said the pieces are in place to compete in a state playoff situation.

“We have the athletes and the players now and have gotten a lot better the last two years,” Earnest said. “I feel like we've got a chance. We've just got to play good at the right time and put it together. We can't make mistakes to beat ourselves.”

Oak Hill defeated Kirk Academy 14-2 at home Monday to finish third in Class 4A, District 1 and takes a 12-5 overall record into the playoffs.

Earnest hopes the momentum of a sizable win will carry over into the postseason.

“We hit the ball pretty good that night and they made some mistakes, but you've got to hit it for them to make mistakes,” Earnest said. “We scored a lot of runs and the girls felt a lot better after that.”