MHSAA 6A Baseball Playoffs: Previewing the second-round matchups

We had some great series in the opening round of the MHSAA 6A Playoffs, which due to weather stretched into the first of this week and ended Tuesday night.

Now that the first round is in the books, here's a look at how those series played out, and what we can expect in the second round.

Second-round matchups

North

Oxford (19-8) vs. Center Hill (12-16)

Center Hill made its way through the first round the hard way, winning two games on the road at Clinton in the first round after losing game two at home. The Mustangs scored just eight runs in the series but got great pitching performances out of starters Collin Clark and Landon Scruggs in games one and three. Oxford had a bye in the first round after winning Region 1-6A outright in the regular season. The Chargers have won eight of their last 10 going into the second-round matchup.

Hernando (21-6) vs. Germantown (17-9)

The Mavericks exploded for 10 runs in the playoff opener against Lewisburg last week, then won 4-3 on a walkoff single by Jacob King at home in Game Two. Hernando had a first-round bye after going 9-0 in 3-6A games to win the region outright. The Tigers ended the regular season riding a 10-game winning streak.

Desoto Central (15-10) vs. Southaven (14-12)

Southaven got all it wanted from Grenada in a 9-2 loss to the playoff opener last week, then got off the deck and beat the Chargers 2-1 and 10-7 in games two and three. DeSoto Central had a bye in the first round after going 8-1 to clinch Region 2 in the regular season. The Jaguars may be the most dangerous 15-10 team in the history of Mississippi high school baseball.

Madison Central (18-7) vs. Starkville (11-15)

Starkville comes in after beating South Panola in the first round. They beat the Tigers 6-2 in game one, lost 6-5 in 11 innings in game two and got a great start out of Ethan Pulliam to win game three 5-2. The defending state champion Jaguars had a first-round bye after winning Region 4 in the regular season. They may not be the same team that stormed through 6A last year, but there’s plenty of pop left in the Jags’ bats and they have the arms to get back to the championship series.

MORE: Updated MHSAA 6A Baseball Playoff Brackets

South

Brandon (23-6) vs. Biloxi (14-15)

Biloxi won two out of three against Warren Central last week, sandwiching a 3-1 win in game one and a 6-3 win in game three around an 8-1 loss in game two. The Indians got a great start out of Logan Fontenelle in that decisive third game. The Bulldogs had a bye in the first round after running away with Region 5 in the regular season. The Bulldogs have won eight out of 10 coming into the playoffs and beat two other teams with first-round byes — Stone and Madison Central — last week to avoid the long layoff.

D’Iberville (10-15) vs. Pearl (16-9)

The Pirates might be the lower-seeded team, but they should be the favorites in this series after sweeping the first-round series from Hancock with a 9-3 win Friday and an 8-5 win Saturday. The Pirates are 12-3 since mid-March, with all three losses coming against No. 1 Northwest Rankin. D’Iberville had a first-round bye after winning Region 7 on a tie-breaker over St. Martin. The Warriors have an outstanding one-two punch on the mound with Blake Gollott and Logan Forsythe.

Northwest Rankin (26-2) vs. St. Martin (19-12)

The top-ranked Cougars will get their first test of the post-season against the Yellow Jackets, who knocked off Oak Grove with a first-round sweep over the weekend. The Jackets have solid starting pitching with Parker Dobson and Tyler West, who combined to allow just three earned runs in 14 innings in the opening round last week. The Cougars counter with a lineup that has grown more potent as the season has progressed and a staff that includes three top-line starters in Nick Monistere, Connor Brooks and Dawson Muenzenmay.

Gulfport (19-8) vs. Petal (17-12)

The Panthers did things the hard way, losing game one to Ocean Springs 4-1 before rallying for a 3-2 win Saturday and a 12-2 win Monday to clinch the opening-round series. But the pitching has been great down the stretch, and they’ll need it against a Gulfport team that had a bye in the first round after winning Region 8 outright in the regular season. The Admirals have won 12 out of 14 games going back to March 17.