Harrison Central sits atop Region 8-6A play after the opening night of action in that league.
Well, at least for a day that is.
The Red Rebels used a late-inning rally to slip past home-standing Hancock 3-2 Tuesday night in one of the few prep baseball games played after rain washed out much of the schedule earlier in the day. The contest in the Kiln was the region opener for both HCHS and the Hawks, and was the only Class 6A game played in the “Southern Six”.
Harrison Central got a complete game pitching performance from Tri Gaughf in the win, scattering four hits and allowing just one earned run while striking out 12 and walking one. He also collected a pair of doubles at the plate in his outing.
Hancock led 2-0 after four frames thanks to a solo home run by Tanner Ladner and an RBI-single from Peyton Dewitt and the score stayed that way until the top of the sixth
It was in that inning that HCHS pushed across a run to cut the Hawks’ advantage in half, and then the Red Rebels proceeded to plate two more runs in the top of the seventh stanza to take the win after Gaughf blanked Hancock in the bottom of the inning.
Daniel Ruiz was the other standout for Harrison Central in the game, as he drove in all three Red Rebel runs with a pair of hits including a double. Gaugh, Jaxson Moore and Zach Dorley also had doubles in the win for HCHS as Moore finished with two hits as well.
Max Garrett took the loss for Hancock, and he also had a double at the plate. The same two teams meet Friday night in Lyman before facing off again back in the Kiln Saturday afternoon.
The Gulfport at Biloxi game in region 8-6A as well as the D’Iberville at Ocean Springs and Pascagoula at St. Martin game both in Region 7-6A action were all postponed Tuesday night and are slated to take place Wednesday night.
In region 7-5A Tuesday night, both Picayune and arch-rival Pearl River Central remained tied atop the league standings each with 3-0 marks with identical winning scores as the Ble Devils knocked off visiting West Harrison on the road 5-1 and the home-standing Maroon Tide stopped Long Beach 5-1 as well.
Caleb Dyess blasted a home run for PRC and add added a double as well while driving in two runs and Wes Gardner added a two-run double in the winning effort. Conner Dyess also had a pair of hits including a double for the Blue Devils while Jacob Johnson had a double as well.
Carlos Rena-Ramirez drove in the only run for the Hurricanes, as they fell to 0-3 in region action after being swept by Picayune last night.
Caleb Dyess picked up the win for PRC with six innings of work striking out 10, and Donald Davis took the loss.
Both teams play again Friday night at West Harrison.
In Picayune on Tuesday night, Brady Robertson earned the win for the Maroon Tide with five frames of one-hit work striking out nine in the process. Morgan Craft drove in a pair of runs for Picayune, as the Bearcats also dropped to 0-3 in the region race after being swept by PRC last week.
Both teams meet in Long Beach Friday night. Both games set for Region 8-5A play Tuesday night were rained out. Vancleave travels to East Central Wednesday night, while George County at Gautier has been rescheduled for April 18th.
