Back-to-back: East Central claims MHSAA 5A Baseball Championship with 11-0 win over Saltillo
PEARL — For the second year in a row, the East Central Hornets can plant their flag atop the Mississippi baseball mountain.
After splitting the first two games, the Hornets ambushed North State Champ Saltillo for an 11-0 win in Saturday’s rubber match at Trustmark Park.
The hardest part of the day for the Hornets was staying locked in after they plated six runs in the first inning, three more in the second and the final two in the third inning.
That lead was large enough to invoke the 10-run rule, but the Hornets (28-11) needed to hold on to it through the fifth inning.
That’s where Brason Owenby came in. The senior was dominant, holding Saltillo to one hit — a fourth inning single off the bat of Jackson Adams — and four walks in five innings of work.
“I didn’t feel good about it until the final out,” East Central coach Bo Long said, chuckling. “I was proud of the way the guys came out and responded today and it feels great to see their hard work pay off.”
Just about everyone hit for East Central Saturday. Game 1 star T.J. Dunsford had two hits, an RBI and scored a run, Nate Trochessett drove in two runs on two singles and scored three times and Andrew Marble had two RBIs on a single and a double.
Anthony Tanner scored twice and drove in a run on two hits and a walk.
The Hornets tagged Saltillo starter Wilson Rodriguez for five runs before they recorded their first out.
The quick start might have come as a surprise to the patrons at Trustmark Park, but it didn’t surprise the East Central dugout.
“Man, we wanted to play this game as soon as we lost last night,” East Central senior and Southern Miss signee T.J. Dunsford said. “That’s just the way we were all year coming off any loss. That’s part of what I love so much about this group of guys.”
On the other side of the field, the Saltillo Tigers (28-10) were shell-shocked. East Central laid down a bunt in the first inning, and Rodriguez slipped on his way to field the ball. It was the first of several miscues that helped the game get out of hand early.
“We make that play nine out of 10 times,” Tigers coach Eric Reynolds said. “But that was just the first example — if it could go wrong for us, it did today. I told the guys that this one game doesn’t define our season. It’s just hard when you fall just short of your ultimate goal, but I’m proud of this group.”
