'Gritty' Amory clinches Class 4A Baseball Championship with 6-2 win over St. Stanislaus

PEARL — The Amory Panthers faced some early adversity Saturday, falling behind 2-0 in the first inning against St. Stanislaus in the winner-take-all Game 3 of the MHSAA Class 3A Championship series.

The Panthers, who have endured one of the most challenging seasons in recent memory, wouldn’t have had it any other way.

Coach Chris Pace’s bunch rallied for five runs in the fourth inning and rode a stellar pitching performance from starter Jackson Howell to a 6-2 win to clinch the state championship before a huge contingent of Panther fans at Trustmark Park in Pearl.

It’s Amory’s fifth championship and second in a row.

The win was the 32nd of the year for the Panthers (32-5), who were forced to play their final 22 games on the road after an EF-3 tornado ripped through the town, causing millions in property damage and destroying the Panthers’ home baseball field.

It was also their second win in a row after losing the opening game of the series 7-3 and bouncing back with an 8-5 win it Game 2.

“We just continued to fight,” Amory senior Bryce Glenn said. “We were down every game. In Game 2, we were down 2-0 and came back to win. Same thing today. There’s no giving up with this squad, and that’s what I love so much about it. We push each other every day, and it showed.”

St. Stanislaus’ early lead came from a solo moon shot over the left field wall by Ole Miss signee Seth Farni and an RBI single from Jeremy Mares in the first inning.

The Rock-a-Chaws (22-13) never scored again.

Amory got one run back in the third when Walker Maranto drew a walk and came around to score four batters later on a throwing error.

Then came the fateful fourth. After Howell sat the Rocks down in order in the top of the inning, the Panthers sent eight hitters to the plate and scored five runs despite getting just two balls out of the infield.

Corbin Gillentine led things off with a ground ball through the middle, and Jack Clayton reached on an error to follow. Walker Maranto singled to load the bases, and his brother, series MVP Braden Maranto, singled on a 1-1 pitch to bring home a run to tie the game at 2-2.

Howell drew an RBI walk to give Amory a 3-2 lead, and Ty Hester’s RBI groundout made it 4-2. The final two runs came on a wild pitch from Farni and an ensuing error from St. Stanislaus catcher Hill Gainey.

“I thought (Farni) pitched better than the scoreboard showed,” St. Stanislaus coach Brad Corley said. “And no slight to (Amory), they played really well. But we helped them out and handed them a couple of runs, and that’s a team that’s won more than 30 games. You just can’t do that against a good team like that.”

The four-run lead was more than enough. Howell worked into the seventh inning, and exited after giving up two earned runs on seven hits with three walks and six strikeouts. Senior Tyler Sledge slammed the door, retiring two of the three batters he faced in relief.

The Rocks’ final batter popped out to second, and after Glenn squeezed his glove on the final out, the celebration was on. The Panthers dog-piled behind second base before running behind home plate to celebrate with the Amory faithful, which stretched from behind home plate down the left field line.

“We didn’t know what to expect emotionally,” Pace said. “I think we’ve kept everything bottled up and it’s such a relief that it’s over and we can let it out. This is the best crowd I’ve seen all week down here, and they needed this as bad as we did.”