There are four teams remaining in the area as the MHSAA baseball playoffs move on to the second round. In the first round last week, West Lincoln was swept by Stringer (13-0, 13-0) and Wesson was knocked out by West Marion (1-0, 13-3).

 

Brookhaven High, Vancleave

G1 Friday at Brookhaven High 6 p.m.

G2 Saturday at Vancleave 7 p.m.

G3 Monday at Brookhaven High 6 p.m.

 

BHS coach Matt White and his team will hope for some of that Moyer Field magic when they take on Vancleave in the second round of the MHSAA 5A playoffs this week. The last time out for BHS was a 2-1 walk-off win over West Jones that gave them the Region 5-5A title.

Vancleave (20-9) will bring a strong pitching staff into the 3-game series.

“They’ve got two great arms,” said White. “Friday we’ll see Max Miller. He’s committed to Mississippi State and throws 87-91 mph from the left side. Saturday they’ll throw a guy who’s committed to Southeastern Louisiana and sits around 84-88 mph from the right.

The Panthers will counterpunch on Friday with senior Maney Miller, a Pearl River CC signee. Miller boasts a 0.55 earned runs average and has struck out 93 batters in 51 innings of work this season.

 

Loyd Star, Puckett High

G1 Friday at Loyd Star 6 p.m.

G2 Saturday at Puckett 12 p.m.

G3 Monday at Loyd Star 6 p.m.

 

It feels like a little bit of déjà vu for the residents of Hornetville as their team will meet up with Puckett High (16-8) for a second straight year in the 2A playoffs. Loyd Star (20-5-1) is fresh off a blowout of a series in the first round as Jared Britt’s team swept North Forrest with 10-0 and 17-1 wins.

Last season Puckett and Loyd Star met in the third round of the playoffs in an epic 3-game series that came down to the final out of the final game. In a rain-delayed finale, Loyd Star won 13-12 on a walk-off hit by Blake Thornton.

“They’re not a team that relies on power hitting this year as much as they were last year,” said LS coach Jared Britt. “They make you work for every out because they battle. They’ve also got their ace (junior Matthew Bozer) back on the mound this season.”

 

Bogue Chitto, Pisgah

G1 Friday at Pisgah 7 p.m.

G2 Saturday at Bogue Chitto 7 p.m.

G3 Monday at Pisgah 7 p.m.

 

Coach Gareth Sartin’s Bobcats showed some serious bite last week as they swept Sacred Heart in the opening round of the 2A playoffs.

Friday at home, Bogue Chitto won 11-4 after falling behind 1-0 in the first inning. Colton Frith had two hits for BC in that win while Brandon Welch, Felder Sartin, Eli Cupit, Tripp McCaffrey and Colten Bales all hit safely as well.

McCaffrey doubles, Felder Sartin homered and his brother Easton Sartin picked up the pitching win in relief. Sartin scattered four hits and gave up two earned runs in 3.2 innings of work. Frith pitched the final three innings and gave up just one hit on 47 pitches.

Saturday in Hattiesburg, Bogue Chitto was outhit 6-4 by the Crusaders, but were able to gut out a 4-1 win over Sacred Heart to finish the series.

Felder Sartin pitched a complete game win for BC on the mound. He struck out six, walked one and gave up one earned run on six hits. Leadoff batter Welch drove in two runs for the Bobcats while Carson Price, Tyler Bowers and Noah Magee each hit safely.

In Pisgah (24-5), Bogue Chitto is facing a team they’ve already seen once in 2022. Back on April 5 the Dragons from Rankin County won 13-3 at Bogue Chitto.

 

Enterprise, Ethel

G1 Friday at Ethel 7 p.m.

G2 Saturday at Enterprise 7 p.m.

G3 Monday at Ethel 7 p.m.

 

The Enterprise Yellow Jackets got great pitching in the first round of the MHSAA 1A playoffs eliminate Lumberton last week in two games.

Senior pitcher Matthew Burns struck out 15 in game one. He gave up one hit, walked three and surrendered a single earned run on 117 pitches to earn a 2-1 victory.

Zach Brister and Wyatt Garrett each drove in a run for EAC coach Josh Garrett.

It was Wyatt Garrett who iced the Lumberton bats on Saturday. The freshman struck out 12, walked two and gave up one unearned run on three hits. Garrett only needed 95 pitches to get through seven innings.

The Ethel Tigers might be the hottest team in 1A baseball as they come in with a 23-6 overall record. Coach Chris Schuster’s team has won 16 games in a row in 2022. Four of their regular season losses were to much larger, out-of-state schools in a spring break tournament. The last defeat for the Tigers came 5-0 on March 17 to Gulf Shores High (Alabama).

For comparison, Gulf Shores has a population of 775 students in grades 9-12 and Ethel has approximately 275 students in grades 7-12.