Pearl River Central Blue Devils suffered an overwhelming 10-2 loss against the Hattiesburg Tigers Friday night for the South State Championship title.
The game seemed pretty fair during the first five innings, as the score was tied at 1-1. Caleb Tynes scored in the bottom of the fifth inning when he scored from a wild pitch by Hattiesburg’s starting pitcher, Joseph “Jo-Jo” Gray.
However, in the sixth inning, Devil’s Head Coach Neil Walther of pulled his senior starting pitcher, Cade Lee, to relieve him with freshman Austin Dean.
After the change, the Tigers pulled away when CJ Anderson knocked an RBI double in the right gap of the outfield, hitting the wall and bringing in a runner to take the lead. After that, Hattiesburg’s senior Orien Bailey hit another RBI double for the Tigers, rounding two more runs and making the score 4-1.
Hattiesburg ended up tallying seven runs in the top of the sixth inning, and two more in the seventh.
Blue Devils’ senior Johnathon Kennedy gained an opportunity to score and took it in the seventh inning when the Tigers’ relief pitcher A.J. Stinson threw a wild pitch in the dirt making the final score 10-2 in favor of Hattiesburg.
Hattiesburg Tigers will advance to the Mississippi State Championship game against Oxford.
For more complete coverage see Tuesday’s edition of the Item.