In the series opener Thursday, East Central ace pitcher Konnor Pilkington allowed Picayune just one run in a 10-1 Hornet win.

On Friday, East Central’s number three hurler allowed even less runs to the Maroon Tide.

Brandon Conerly shut down Picayune’s bat, and in doing so ended the Maroon Tide’s season as well as homestanding East Central took a 2-0 win in the second and deciding game of the best-of-three Class 5A South State quarterfinal series.

The Hornets will move on to face the winner of the Pascagoula-South Jones series. Picayune’s season comes to an end with a record of 12-9.

East Central’s Seth Stockman cracked a two run home run in the bottom of the third to provide the only runs of the game.

Conerly’s pitching and Stockman’s hitting overshadowed an outstanding effort by Picayune’s Kyle Dillard, who allowed just two hits in his second start of the season.