District 8 is made up of most of the South Mississippi area, from Hattiesburg south. Pearl River Central head coach Neil Walther was the head coach for the all-star squad, and Picayune head coach Cayne Stockstill as well as PRC assistant Jeremy Cothran served as Walther’s staff.

Five local products, Dylan Spiers and Christian Travis from PRC, Peyton Lee of Picayune, Luke Godwin of Poplarville and Hancock’s Michael Shubert all started at times for the South team as they  won four games in four days in the annual competition.

“Everyone of them gave a good effort all around every day,” Walther said. “They all played a big role in some form or fashion in each game to help us win.”

The local team swept through the four games out-scoring their opponents 40-8. District 8 beat Desoto County 9-3, and pair of teams from the Jones and Lauderdale County areas 12-0 and 12-5 and then beat a team from the Jackson area 7-0 for the state championship.

Spiers, the shortstop, was part of six double plays as well as the first ever triple play in state games history. He also had three hits in the tourney.

Travis, an outfielder, had four hits in four games and also stole three bases.

Godwin also had four hits in the tourney, and served as the catcher

And Lee, also an outfielder, had three hits in the winning effort as well.

All five local players will be back to play for their respective high school teams next season. “I think they will all benefit from this experience,” Walther concluded. “There was a lot of good competition there and they got to play in front of some college and pro scouts. Taking part in it can only help them I hope.”