After a hard-fought one-run loss on Thursday at West Jones, Hattiesburg found it hard to get back up emotionally.
The Mustangs took advantage, building an 8-0 lead, and that was enough to weather a late-inning rally by the Tigers, taking the second of the two-game series 8-4 on Friday night at Smokie Harrington Park.
West Jones improved to 6-4 overall and 2-0 in Region 3-6A, while Hattiesburg dropped to 4-5 and 0-2.
The game was originally scheduled for Tuesday, but was postponed because of bad weather, creating a showdown on back-to-back nights. The Mustangs prevailed 2-1 Thursday on just three hits.
“It was an emotional game last night, because we matched them hit-for-hit,” said HHS coach Brent Barham. “Driving back, knowing we were that close, where if a couple of things had gone our way could’ve completely changed the game was tough.
“So it took us awhile to get going, but we relaxed there toward the end. Their guy started getting a little fatigued, we started taking advantage of that and started scoring some runs.”
The guy Barham referred to was West Jones sophomore right-hander Clay Tolbert, who handcuffed the Tigers through the first four innings. That was enough time for the Mustangs to build a big lead, and they started right from the beginning.
Senior Carson Green opened the game by smacking an 0-2 pitch into leftfield for a single. Green took third on a one-out single by senior Dash Piper and scored on a single up the middle by junior Colin Poore, moving Piper to third.
But Hattiesburg starter, senior right-hander Corey McDonald, got out of further trouble by getting a strikeout and a pop-up.
All 15 pitches McDonald (1-1) threw in the first inning were strikes, as were the first two pitches of the second.
But that’s when the wheels started falling off for McDonald, as he allowed three runs on three hits and three walks in the top of the second.
“He couldn’t get his second pitch to work,” said Barham. “We kept coming back to it and coming back to it, trying to get his fastball going to set him up. The slider’s really his better pitch, and he couldn’t get that going early.”
Sophomore Braxton Sumrall led off with a single, then two walks loaded the bases with one out. Tolbert helped himself by squirting a little 30-foot ground ball that Tiger third baseman Andrew Jordan tried to make a play on to force the out at the plate, the only play he had.
However, the throw was late, allowing the run to score, but Jordan did get the second runner out trying to score after the ball rolled toward the Hattiesburg dugout. Nevertheless, two more runs scored on a single to left by Poore after another walk loaded the bases again.
After two more walks in the top of the third, Barham went to the bullpen for sophomore right-hander J.B. Bryant.
Bryant surrendered a walk right out of the gate to load the bases, and two runs scored, one on a single by Green and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Tolbert on a leaping catch by junior Tyler Weatherspoon in centerfield.
But Bryant settled in and went the rest of the way for Hattiesburg., He allowed two runs in the fifth, but otherwise threw 4 2/3 innings of solid relief.
“J.B’s been steadily climbing the ranks of our pitching staff depth chart,” said Barham. “Every time he’s come out he’s given us a chance to win the game. He fills it up and throws strikes. He’s got that mentality that nothing fazes him.
“Right now, he’s probably moved up to No. 3 on our pitching depth chart.”
It didn’t look like it would matter the way Tolbert was going through the first four innings. Tolbert didn’t allow a hit until two were out in the third. He allowed a one-out walk to senior Rod Page in the bottom of the first, but Page was caught stealing to erase the threat.
“We need to get our bats going,” said junior B.J. Johnson. “Pitching can’t keep carrying us. Our bats need to wake up and start putting the ball in play more. Their pitcher mixed up his pitches pretty well – fastball, curveball and a little bit of a slider.”
The Mustangs picked up two more runs in the fifth after one out. Junior Kolt Locklear blooped a single to right, and the runner went to third on a hit-and-run single by junior Harrison Pierce. One run came in on a wild pitch, and Tolbert drove in his third run of the game with a single.
The Tigers had a couple of plays go against them that might have turned things around. In the third, Hattiesburg had a Mustang runner picked off first base, but the throw was late and the runner got back safely, paving the way for a big inning.
In the bottom of the third, junior Quentin Rueben hit a slow roller down the third-base line that appeared to bounce over the bag for a single, but the play was ruled a foul ball, and Tolbert was able to get a strikeout.
“You’ve got to play through those things,” said Barham. “That’s baseball.
“I’m not going to take anything away from West Jones. They had 11 hits, but a lot of them were just balls finding little holes, shallow one here, bloopers there. Maybe if we get those, then something different happens for us.”
Hattiesburg started to find some chinks in Tolbert’s armor in the bottom of the fifth, trailing 8-0.
“It’s just working hard in practice,” said Bryant. “I’ve like the slider and curveball I’ve been working on. We kept our heads in the game. We’re taught to keep going and never give up.”
Sophomore Amari Hill drew a leadoff walk and went to third on an opposite-field double to rightfield. He scored on a slow grounder to shortstop, but that was all the damage the Tigers could do in that inning.
However, the sixth was a different story.
Page led off with a single into leftfield and took second on a passed ball. Tolbert got a strikeout for one out, but Weatherspoon smacked a double down the leftfield line to score Page, then Johnson smoked an opposite-field triple to deep rightfield to drive in Weatherspoon.
“The catcher kept setting up outside and giving his pitcher outside pitches, and we were taking them,” said Johnson. “We started taking advantage and started hitting the other way.”
That brought Tolbert’s night to a close in favor of senior left-hander Braxton White. Tolbert allowed all four Hattiesburg runs on seven hits, he struck out seven and walked two.
Hill drove in Johnson with a ground ball between first base and the mound, and the Tigers got two more runners on an error and another opposite-field single to right off the bat of Bryant.
But White got out of further trouble with a flyball to right, and he worked around a one-out single to Page, getting the final out on a strikeout with the runner at third.
Hattiesburg hits the road for its next game, at Poplarville on Tuesday, then the Hornets return the visit on Thursday back home.
“It’s not really a rest, because we’re still going to come in on the weekend and get some cuts in,” said Johnson. “It just gives us a chance to recharge and get our bats going.”
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