Pearl River Central will play for the Class 6A South State championship after defeating county rival Picayune 7-1 on Monday in Carriere in the decisive third game of their best-of-three baseball series.
The first two games of the series were one-run affairs, but the bats of the Blue Devils came alive late in Game Three.
Trailing 1-0, the Blue Devils (26-5) took a 2-1 lead in the fifth and then erupted for a five-run sixth inning to put the game away.
In the fifth inning, Picayune (22-9) loaded the bases and Kyler King scored on a sacrifice fly by Brady Robertson to put the first run on the board.
In the home half of the fifth, Kendall Morisson singled for PRC and JJ Morelle blooped a double with one out. Riley Wilson put a ball in play to third base and the throw home to get Morrison wasn’t on time as the speedster raced home with the tying run.
Connor Dyess followed with a chopper past the pitcher’s mound for an infield single to score Morelle with the go-ahead run.
PRC added to its lead in the sixth inning when Jacob Johnson was hit by a pitch, went to second on a passed ball, and scored on an RBI single by Sam Tuminello, who made it 4-1 when he scored on a sacrifice fly by Blake Gill.
Morelle roped a triple into the right-field corner that scored Dyess, who had walked. Wilson blooped a single to center to score Morelle to make it a 6-1 ballgame. With runners on the corners, Esaies Ryan drove in the seventh run with a hit.
Picayune went down in order in the seventh and the Blue Devils celebrated with a victory dogpile in the middle of the infield.
Dyess was great on the mound for the Blue Devils, allowing one run on three hits in going the distance. He walked two and didn’t strike out a batter.
Morrison and Morelle led the eight-hit PRC attack with two hits apiece while Wilson drove in two runs.
King pitched a great game through the first four-plus innings, allowing just two runs on three hits while striking out five and walking two. Reliever Landon Watts allowed five hits and five earned runs.
Jamie Lumpkin had two hits for Picayune.
The Blue Devils will next face Region 4-6A champion George County. The Rebels (26-4) won their Game Three contest 8-4 against West Jones on Monday.
