PICAYUNE — With a one-run lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, the Maroon Tide scored four runs to defeat Stone 11-6 Thursday night during the team’s first home game of the season.

The sixth inning began with Picayune’s (4-0) Shaun Anderson reaching first base after hitting the ball into left field.

Moments later, Anderson stole second and third base and Elisha Hickman, the next batter, was walked to first. After two dropped balls by Stone’s catcher Tanner Cobb, Anderson scored for Picayune and Hickman made his way to third.

Two pitches later, Chad Stockstill hit a two-run homerun and gave Picayune a 10-6 lead.

Before the end of the inning, Jakail Myers allowed Tyler Penton to score the last run of the game by hitting the ball deep into left field.

In the seventh inning, Penton struck out one batter and after allowing a hit by Cobb, two consecutive outs brought the game to an end.

“What we talked about before the game is that we have to develop a killer instinct. We have to be able to put people away while we have them down,” Picayune Head Baseball Coach Cody Stogner said. “We can’t let teams hang around like we did tonight, no matter who we are playing. The ball doesn’t lie, it’s going to find holes and they did a good job of rallying back. Stone is a young and good team and they’re going to do some good things in the future.”

An error by Picayune’s second baseman Garrett Sauls in the first inning allowed Alec Hardy to give the Tomcats an early lead in the game.

In the bottom of the inning, Anderson tied the ballgame after a single by Stockstill. Later in the inning, Stockstill and Jeremiah Stallings scored for the Maroon Tide after a double by Penton.

The next batter, Myers, hit the ball into left field and Penton scored for Picayune, giving the team a 4-1 lead.

In the bottom of the second, Picayune was able to load the bases and with Stockstill at-bat, a hit into left field allowed Braxton Hatten and Logan Ledet to score, giving the team a 6-1 lead.

In the fourth inning, Natham Pulliam scored for Stone and Anderson scored for Picayune, maintaining the Maroon Tide’s lead 7-2.

The top of the sixth began with the Maroon Tide allowing three consecutive hits and Owen Finnan scoring a run for the Tomcats. After a single by Stone’s Kaleb Gilner, the team loaded the bases and after the next three of four batters were walked, Errol McDonald, Ashton Hickman and Gilner scored for the Tomcats, making the score 7-6 in favor of Picayune. The inning came to an end after a strikeout by Penton and Tyler Cobb being tagged out at first.

For Picayune, Stockstill batted 3-for-4, a homerun and had five RBIs, Myers went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBIs and Penton was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

Ledet earned his first victory of the season on the mound after pitching for three innings and allowing one hit, one run and striking out three batters.

The Maroon Tide will play its next home game on Tuesday against Bay High at 7 p.m.

“We had two innings where we didn’t have any runs and that’s because we don’t have a killer instinct,” Stogner said. “We can’t let good teams hang around because they’ll come back and beat you.”

— Lady Devils 10, Lady Bearcats 2: PRC trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the fourth but scored four in the fourth and four in the fifth to defeat Long Beach Thursday night. Shelby Archer’s two-run homer in the fourth inning to center field got the Lady Devils (4-0) on the board. Archer had two hits, as did Keigan Pearson. Jayden Davis pitched her second consecutive complete game and won her second game of the season, allowing the Lady Bearcats five hits and one earned run. The Lady Devils will host Hancock County Tuesday at 6:30 p.m.