MHSAA 4A Baseball Playoffs Roundup: Stone, Sumrall advance to South State
The third round of the MHSAA 4A Baseball Playoffs is over, and we've got some great matchups to look forward to in North and South State next week.
West Lauderdale became the last team to punch its ticket Saturday night, winning a winner-take-all game against Corinth. They'll face Mooreville in North State, after the Troopers swept two games from Ripley Thursday and Friday night.
In the South, Sumrall walked off a winner in the 10th inning to end North Pike's season Saturday, setting up a showdown with Stone in the South State Finals next week.
Here's a look at how the third round played out.
North
West Lauderdale def. Corinth, 2-1
Game One - West Lauderdale 11, Corinth 1
West Lauderdale pounded out 10 hits in five innings in an 11-1 win in five innings in the series opener Thursday night at West Lauderdale.
Leighton Jenkins homered and drove in three runs and Brett Busbea and Commondre Cole homered and each had two RBIs.
Mason Willis got the win, going all five innings and allowing one earned run on three hits and two walks with four strikeouts.
Game Two - Corinth 7, West Lauderdale 4
Corinth took advantage of two costly West Lauderdale errors and Will Verdung held the Knights at bay in a 7-4 win Friday night in Corinth.
Verdung held West Lauderdale to four runs (two earned) on seven hits and three walks in seven innings and struck out 10 Knights batters.
Chess Parker doubled and drove in a run to pace the Warriors offensively.
Game Three - West Lauderdale 10, Corinth 2
Mason Willis hit a grand slam and Commondre Cole went 3-for-3 with three RBIs in West Lauderdale’s series-clinching 10-2 win Saturday in Collinsville.
Brett Busbea picked up the win on the mound, going the distance and allowing one earned run on three hits and one walk with eight strikeouts.
Chess Parker homered for Corinth. Madden Butler was saddled with the loss.
Mooreville def. Ripley, 2-0
Game One - Mooreville 4, Ripley 3
Mason McMillian doubled and drove in three runs, including the walk-off, game-winner in Mooreville’s 4-3 win over Ripley in the series opener at home Thursday night.
Mason Gillentine drove in the other run for Mooreville.
Jud Files walked three times and scored twice, and gave the Troopers a chance to win on the mound. He started the game and held Ripley to one earned run in 5.2 innings of work with 11 strikeouts.
McMillian was credited with the win in relief, retiring all three batters he faced in the seventh inning.
Game Two - Mooreville 5, Ripley 2
The Troopers trailed the entire game before putting up four runs in the top of the seventh to steal one from Ripley 5-2 on the road Friday night.
They went into the seventh down 2-1, but Files doubled to get things going, and JW Armistead and McMillian followed with a couple of walks. Ben O’Neal singled to drive in two runs and Caden Carroll singled in a run.
Armistead started the game, went five innings and allowed one earned run on six hits and five walks with three strikeouts. O’Neal got the win in relief and McMillian slammed the door to pick up the save.
UPDATED MHSAA BASEBALL PLAYOFF BRACKETS
South
Stone def. Purvis, 2-0
Game One - Stone 5, Purvis 0
Gehrig Conrad turned in one of the bravest performances of the year, putting aside his grief for the sudden death of his father to pitch Stone past Purvis in a 5-0 win in Wiggins Thursday night.
Conard was brilliant, going seven innings and pitching around two hits and four walks with 10 strikeouts to get the win. He also went 3-for-4 at the plate and drove in a run.
Tristan Hickman and Braiden Jones each tallied two hits, and Hickman doubled twice.
Game Two - Stone 7, Purvis 2
Cortez Dennis hit a two-run homer and pitched six solid innings to power the Tomcats past Purvis on the road Friday night in a 7-2 win.
Stone put up six runs in the sixth inning to erase a 2-1 deficit and clinch the series. Tristan Hickman drove in two more runs, and Noah Tice singled and scored twice.
JoJo Parker drove in two runs for Purvis. Tornadoes starter Hunter Robinson was saddled with the loss.
Sumrall def. North Pike, 2-1
Game One - Sumrall 12, North Pike 0
The Bobcats pounded out 12 runs on eight hits and six walks and Kros Sivley hurled a gem in a 12-0 win for Sumrall in the series opener Thursday night in Sumrall.
Sivley threw 50 pitches in five innings and struck out nine hitters, only allowing two hits. Marshall Phillips, Ryan Broom, Ty Little and Walker Long each drove in a pair of runs.
Dustin Holmes suffered the loss for North Pike.
Game Two - North Pike 2, Sumrall 0
North Pike plated two runs in the sixth to break a 0-0 tie and walked away with a 2-0 win over Sumrall in Game Two Friday night at Summit.
Jake Martin singled and and Bailey Brown walked to get things going. Couresty runner Jace Brown scored on a fielding error and Jermarius Lewis drew a bases-loaded walk to score the other run.
Peyton Badon got the win, going all seven innings without giving up a run. He only allowed three hits and struck out nine.
Game Three - Sumrall 4, North Pike 3
The Bobcats walked off with a series-clinching, 4-3 win in the 10th inning Saturday at Sumrall.
Marshall Phillips led off the bottom of the 10th inning with a solo home run over the right field wall to send the Bobcats to North State. Ty Little and Ethan Aultman also drove in runs.
Hayden Nored drew the start and gave up two runs in six innings. Levi Odom got the win in relief, allowing one run in the final four innings. Payton Badon drove in two runs for North Pike.
