MONTICELLO – Wesson was the big winner on both the day, and the week, beating Bogue Chitto and McComb Thursday in Day 4 of the Southwest Mississippi Spring Break Baseball Classic. Along with a Monday night win over Brookhaven, the Cobras blew through the weeklong baseball extravaganza with a 3-0 record.

“It’s been a great week,” said ninth-year Lawrence County coach Cory Keyes. “We’ve had a great time hosting it, and are so honored to have 13 of our neighboring teams and their fans here on our campus. It’s our third straight year to do this, and we hope to keep it going for several more years.”

The spring break tournament concludes today, with Enterprise taking on both West Lincoln and McComb.

Wesson Wins Twice

Wesson shut out Bogue Chitto 5-0 on Thursday, then beat McComb 8-2 in the final game of the evening. Also on Thursday, host Lawrence County beat McComb 9-6, North Pike beat West Lincoln 7-2, and edged Bogue Chitto 12-11. North Pike also went undefeated in 3 tournament games.

Coach Seth Lofton’s Wesson Cobras improved to 9-2 with their 2 wins. Alex Smith threw a 1-hit shutout in the win over Bogue Chitto, surrendering only a third-inning Brock Roberts single. Smith walked or hit 9 Bobcat batters, but Smith repeatedly pitched out of trouble, striking out 5.

Cullen Greer and Taylor Roberts accounted for all of Wesson’s hits, getting 2 each. Pitchers Brock Roberts and Steven Ginn combined for a very solid mound effort for Bogue Chitto. They gave up just 4 hits.

Later in the evening, the Cobras broke a 2-2 tie with McComb, exploding for 5 runs in the bottom of the fourth. Jase Alexander, Justin Boone, Quentin Munn, Austin Crow, and Koy McFarland each had hits for Wesson.

Mark Smith gave the Cobras another fine pitching effort, working 6 strong innings. He allowed only singles to McComb’s Henry McDonald, Adrian Brown, and Corey Lewis.

N. Pike Wins Pair

In the first game of the day, North Pike overcame an early deficit to beat West Lincoln. Bears’ pitcher Brady Wilson retired the first 9 Jaguar batters as West Lincoln forged a 2-0 lead. North Pike knotted the game with 2 runs in the bottom of the fourth, then won it with 5 in the bottom of the fifth.

L.D. Coney led North Pike with 2 hits. Jared Case and Bryce Temple each had 2 hits for West Lincoln.

Senior right-hander Brady Badon was outstanding for the Jaguars, throwing a 7-inning 5-hitter and striking out 13.

In the most exciting game of the day, North Pike overcame an 11-4 deficit to beat Bogue Chitto 12-11. Trailing 11-4, the Jaguars scored 3 in the bottom of the third, 3 in the bottom of the fourth, and 2 to win it in the bottom of the fifth. The game ended on Alex Breeland’s 2-run single. A 2-hour tournament time limit limited the game to 5 innings.

The two teams combined for 19 hits and a whopping 15 errors. Badon led North Pike with 3 hits. Reed Taylor, Brantley Hughes, Levi Wishart, and Breeland each had 2.

Wishart relieved Patrick Roberts in the first inning, and earned the win with 4 and 2/3 innings of solid relief.

Garrett Anders led Bogue Chitto with 2 hits. Nick Parker and Zach Avants, pulling mound duty for the Bobcats, were victimized by 8 errors, some of them critical and decisive.

George Lott’s Jaguars kept up their torrid start, improving to 10-1 on the season.

LCHS 9, McComb 6

Host Lawrence County made it 2 of 3 for the week, beating McComb 9-6, behind a 13-strikeout performance from senior righty John Hedgepeth. The Cougars carried a 9-2 lead into the seventh, before things got a bit hairy. Hedgepeth’s 13 strikeout finally ended the game.

Kody Smith, Will Jackson, and Rusty Rowells all had singles in Lawrence County’s 3-run second inning. The Cougars’ other runs all came in a 6-run fifth that proved decisive. Hunter Stephens had an RBI double in that frame.

Stephens, Jackson, Smith, Rowells, and Jordan McCaffrey each had 2 hits for the Cougars. Patrick Little added 1. Hedgepeth scattered 11 hits, 6 of them coming in the final 2 frames.

Chrishawn Speight, Adrian Brown, and Marquez Carroll had 2 hits each for McComb. Carroll pitched the full 7 innings for the Tigers.