Both Gulfport and Harrison Central picked up wins in Class 6A inter-league action in the “Southern Six” Friday night.
The home-standing Admirals slipped past D’Iberville 6-5 at Herbert Wilson Field while The Red Rebels traveled to St. Martin and handed the home-standing Yellow Jackets a 12-4 loss.
In Gulfport, the Admirals jumped out to a quick 6-0 lead after three frames only to watch as the Warriors slowly but steadily mounted a comeback.
Ethan Surowiec put Gulfport ahead with a bang early as he launched a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning and the Admirals went on to lead 3-0 after the opening frame.
Jacob Palazzo added a solo shot in the second stanza to make it 4-0 Gulfport. The Admirals then used a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch to add two more runs in the next inning and reach the six-run advantage.
D’Iberville cut the deficit in half with a three spot in the top of the fourth, thanks to a fielder’s choice and a pair of wild pitches, and the Warriors added another run in the top of the sixth to make it 6-4.
The Warriors loaded the bases and Landon French scored a run in the top of the seventh before Gulfport stopped the rally and solidified the win.
Gulfport moved to 9-6 overall with the win, while D’Iberville dropped to 7-10. Both teams start league play next week on Tuesday night, as the Admirals face longtime arch-rival Biloxi in Region 8-6A action and D’Iberville does the same in Region 7-6A play against Ocean Springs.
In St. Martin Friday night, the visiting Red Rebels bounced back from a road loss in Pascagoula on Tuesday to pick up the 12-4 win over the Yellow Jackets.
Daniel Ruiz and Shaun Cochran carried the big sticks for HCHS in the win, as Ruiz collected four hits and drove in three runs while Cochran registered an important three-run pinch-hit home run for the Red Rebels.
Trenton Bond had two RBIs in the win, while Zach Dorley added a pair of hits and an RBI to the winning effort as well. Both Jaxson Moore and Tre Hanshaw each produced a run-scoring double.
The Red Rebels led just 1-0 after scoring a run in the top of the first before breaking open the game with six runs in the sixth and five more in the seventh.
Caleb Lawrence belted a two-run homer run for the Yellow Jackets, while Tristen Junkert added a double. Laken Fincher and Brandon Stork each added an RBI apiece for St.Martin.
Ruiz earned the win and Junkert took the loss.
St. Martin hosts Pascagoula to begin Region 7-6A play Tuesday night, while Harrison central faces Hancock on the same night to open Region 8-6A action.
(228Sports supporter Jeremy Forehand contributed to this report)
