Ben Basil, East Union dominant in 9-2 win over Pisgah to clinch MHSAA 2A Baseball Championship

PEARL — The size of the stage is irrelevant: when it comes to stick and ball sports, East Union deserves a standing ovation.

The Urchins put the exclamation point on an incredible spring season at Trustmark Park Friday, beating Pisgah 9-2 to sweep the best-of-three championship series and clinch the 2023 MHSAA Class 2A baseball state title for the second year in a row.

The win came on the heels of a softball state championship, which the Lady Urchins clinched two weeks ago down in Hattiesburg.

And just like the softball team, the baseball team made quick work of their opponent, beating South Champ Pisgah by a combined score of 23-2 over two games.

After the 14-run outburst in Game 1, the Urchins (31-5) pounded out nine more hits and drew four walks Friday. That was more that enough to support a pitching staff that allowed just four hits in the entire series.

After Landon Harmon’s five-inning perfect game in Game 1, the star on the bump in Game 2 was Ben Basil, who went 6.1 innings and allowed two runs (none earned) on four hits and three walks.

“We chipped away and chipped away offensively,” East Union coach Chris Basil said. “And Ben did what he’s done all season. He got himself into some trouble, then got himself out of it and just battled. It’s hard to get here, and it’s hard to win a state championship. To win two of them in a row, it’s incredible.”

Jude Treadaway reached in all four of hit at-bats, including three singles, and scored three times. Rett Johnson went 2-for-4 and scored, and Tristan Baldwyn tallied two hits and drove in two runs with a triple.

Harmon drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, and earned MVP honors after his stellar performance on the mound in Game 1.

The Urchins scored one run in the first, four in the third, one in the fourth, one in the fifth and two more in the sixth inning for good measure.

“I think our success here goes back to the work we put in over the off-season,” Johnson said. “We have a group that did nothing but lift together since the fall, and we have the best coaches around. A lot of teams come in (to Trustmark Park) and think you’ve got to hit the ball in the air, but we just tried to pound the ball into the ground and make things happen on the bath paths, and it worked.”

For seniors like Harmon, Friday title win was the third championship in four years.

Pisgah’s first hit of the series came in the bottom of the fifth inning of Game 2. The Dragons scored two runs in the frame, with Gavin Bledsoe and Ayden Swales accounting for the two RBIs.

But that was all she wrote for the Dragons (25-10), who hadn’t lost two games in a row since the first week in March.

“They were a good team, and it’s hard to get here,” Chris Basil said. “It’s even harder to win it. It’s just a credit to this group of guys and the work they’ve put in all year.”