Tide seals playoff berth off of Brumley’s walk-off RBI single
Published 7:00 am Thursday, April 6, 2017
Tyler Fletcher ended the night with five strikeouts, three hits allowed while walking another three batters. He also had a 1.40 ERA. Photo by Taylor Welsh.
Preston Stringer tallied seven strikeouts and remained hitless against in his 4.2 innings pitched. Photo by Taylor Welsh.
The lefty relieve pitcher Truitt Smith allowed five hits in his two innings on the mound. Photo by Taylor Welsh.
Tomcats' Mason Hunt slides safely into third base. Photo by Taylor Welsh.
Elisha Hickman, 1, throws a crucial out at first in the seventh-inning. Photo by Taylor Welsh.
Jacob Brumley hits the game-winning RBI in the bottom of the seventh-inning against Stone County in Tuesday’s game bringing Picayune into the playoffs. Photo by Taylor Welsh.
Jeremiah Stallings turns on the jets to get the game-winning run against Stone County. Photo by Taylor Welsh.
PICAYUNE — As the lights shined on Kent Kirkland Field Tuesday night, the stage was set for Picayune to clinch a playoff spot from Stone County.
With two outs and runners on first and second base in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Tide’s Jacob Brumley hit what he described as “one of the most clutch hits” of his career through the four hole to allow Jeremiah Stallings to score the game-winning run, beating the Tomcats 6-5.
“I just saw a couple of runners ready to score and knew what I had to do,” Brumley said.
As Pearl River Central and Hattiesburg already clinched playoff spots, the last spot was up for grabs Tuesday for either Picayune or Stone County. And even though Picayune locked up the remaining playoff slot, it didn’t come easy for the Tide.
The Tomcats found an early boost from the team’s leadoff hitter Mason Hunt, who let three pitches pass before whacking a double in the game’s first at bat. Hunt then made his way to third base by stealing two consecutive bases to set up his teammate Preston Stringer, who hit a sacrifice ground ball RBI to bring home the first run of the game in the top of the first inning.
After three empty innings, the Tomcats’ starting pitcher Stringer hit Shaun Anderson with a pitch in the batter’s box. Since the bases were loaded with runners, Picayune tied the game 1-1.
Then the game took an unusual, yet fortunate, turn for the Maroon Tide in the fifth-inning.
With two outs and the bases still loaded, a wild uncaught third strike from Stringer found its way past the Tomcats’ catcher, Aca Alexander, to allow the go-ahead runner to make it home safely. The uncaught third strike allowed Elisha Hickman to make a run to first and, in an attempt to get him out, Alexander launched a dagger that sailed over the first baseman, allowing two more Picayune runners to cross home plate in a matter of seconds, giving the Tide a 4-1 advantage.
As Hickman stood on third base, the subsequent batter, Trenton Lee, hit an RBI single to give Picayune a 5-1 lead before going into the sixth-inning.
Stone’s resiliency proved strong in the next couple of innings as they slowly clawed back into the game.
After bringing the game to 5-3 to start the final inning, Stringer stepped to the plate with runners on second and third base. Stringer hit a line drive to the outfield to bring home both runners and tie the game at 5-5.
With two outs and the closest runner on second base, Brumley knocked Picayune into the playoffs after connecting on the walk-off RBI single to give Picayune a 6-5 victory.
Picayune will host Hattiesburg at 7 p.m. on Friday.
Pearl River Central stops Hattiesburg from late rally to win 6-3
PRC Head Coach Neil Walther said his star pitcher Rigell Robinson gets better and better with each start, and proved to be one of the best in the state as he led the Blue Devils to a 6-3 victory against the Tigers.
“He’s just a terrific kid. If you look at the runs he’s given up, the majority of them came at the beginning of the year. He just does a great job of working down in the zone and forcing a lot of ground balls,” Walther said. “If we can play defense behind him, we will be strong going into the end of the season.”
Eli Lee notched two RBIs on his two hits for PRC Tuesday night. Zach Roussell finished with two hits and teammates Hayden LeBeau, Cade Lee and Mason Treat each ended the night with a hit. In the six innings he pitched, Robinson tallied seven strikeouts and three hits while walking only three batters. PRC will travel to Stone County on Friday for the team’s second to last district game at 7 p.m.
Dudenhefer produced 15 Ks to beat Lady Tomcats 6-3
Megan Dudenhefer (13-1) has been nothing short of phenomenal for the Lady Tide this season, collecting 192 Ks so far this season while walking only 10. Tuesday night, she continued her success, sending 15 Lady Tomcat batters back to the dugout and conceding only two hits after pitching a complete game.
Teammate Jessica Magee led the team with three hits while Dudenhefer, Elizabeth Taggard, Dee Cunningham, Lexie Picou and Alyssa Pinero each collected one hit.
The Lady Tide will host PRC Thursday night at 5:30 p.m.
Lady Devils shut out Hattiesburg 11-0
Shelby Archer led PRC with three hits and five RBIs to beat Hattiesburg 11-0 Tuesday night. Sophmore Taylor Kauzlarich followed Archer with two hits and an RBI against the Lady Tigers. Keigan Pearson, Payton Lee and Madison Glidewell each finished with a hit. PRC will travel to Picayune Thursday in another district bout.
