SUMRALL – Round One in the Lamar County showdown for the Class 4A South State championship goes – just as it did a year ago – to Sumrall.
The Bobcats rode the longball in two big innings to come away with an 8-4 victory over Purvis Friday night in Game 1 of the best-of-three series at Larry Knight Field.
Sumrall (31-4) can advance to another state championship series and dethrone their archrivals with a win Saturday in the second game of the series at Purvis. The defending state champion Tornadoes (25-8) must win to force a deciding third game Monday back at Sumrall.
The Bobcats’ 12th straight victory came on the back of the bottom half of their batting order that produced a five-run rally in the bottom of the second inning, after Purvis grabbed a 2-0 lead in the top half of the inning.
“That kind of production from the back end of order was a bit of a surprise,” said Sumrall coach Andy Davis. “Their job is to get on base for the guys in the top half of the order to drive in.
“But that just shows what kind of team we are. The top of our order didn’t get it done, but the bottom half did. And I said at the beginning of the season that we’ll go as far as the bottom of our order carries us, and tonight, they carried us.”
Purvis actually had a better scoring threat in the first inning, loading the bases with a leadoff error, a hit batter and a walk of Bobcat freshman ace Drew Davis, who got out of the jam with a bases-loaded strikeout.
But two mistakes wound up costing Davis two runs on two swings of the bat. Junior Cannon Turner led off by jerking a 3-1 pitch just over the rightfield fence for a home run, and junior JoJo Parker followed suit in the same area with two outs.
“They just got good swings on my pitches,” said Drew Davis. “You can’t do anything out it once it’s gone. Just go to the next pitch. That’s what I did and battled through it.”
Junior Jacob Parker, starting on the mound for Purvis, blew through the first four batters he faced, but with one out in the second, junior Jack Miller smacked the first pitch he saw over the rightfield fence.
Davis followed with a home run in the same spot, near the scoreboard in rightfield, on a 3-1 pitch, and that really got Sumrall going.
“I thought (Parker) was pitching pretty well, but then he gave up the two home runs,” said Purvis coach Tony Farlow. “Obviously, that was a momentum-killer for us.”
A bloop single to left by junior Kellen Garcia and a double to center by senior Kody Broom set the table for senior Malik McNair – the Bobcats’ 9-hole hitter – to stroke a two-run single up the middle.
Two errors, a bad throw on a stolen base and a throwing error on a tough play at third base, allowed McNair to reach third and score to make it 5-2.
Davis (8-2) didn’t have his best stuff, but he gave the Bobcats five innings. He allowed four runs, all earned, on five hits, he struck out five, walked three and hit a batter.
“My fastball was probably my best pitch,” said Drew Davis. “They were swinging through it. I think getting my off-speed pitches over helped set up my fastball.”
Purvis got two runs in the fourth to narrow the margin and keep the heat on Sumrall. Davis got two quick outs in the inning before the Tornadoes put together their rally.
Freshman Paxton Cooper, in the 9-hole, beat out a dribbler down the third-base line for a single. JoJo Parker drew a walk after a seven-pitch battle and Jacob Parker smoked a double to the wall in right-centerfield to drive in the runs.
“You just have to go at them,” said Drew Davis of pitching to the Parker twins. “You can’t back down; you just have to go at them the hardest.”
After giving up another walk, Davis got out of trouble and kept the lead for Sumrall when junior centerfielder Kaden Williamson tracked down a hard-hit ball off the bat of Tornado sophomore Hunter Walker.
Parker (4-2) left the mound after three innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on five hits, four strikeouts, one walk and a hit batter.
Senior right-hander Eli Lowe handled the Bobcats fine in the fourth, but quickly found trouble in the fifth. Senior Cade Clinton led off the inning with a single, and he trotted home when Miller sent another ball over the rightfield fence for a two-run homer.
“I’m really excited about that,” said Miller. “That was a big part of the game right there, helping my pitcher with those runs. That first one, I was sitting on a fastball and that’s what he gave me. I put my swing to it and knocked it over.”
Whether there was some atmospheric reason for the anomaly is hard to say, but it should be noted that all five home runs that were hit Friday night went out over the rightfield fence.
“I’m not really sure, but it seemed like it,” Miller said. “Those two pitches I hit were both outside fastballs and I just drove them to the opposite field.”
There was more bad news for Purvis in the inning. After getting a strikeout for the second out of the inning, Lowe issued a walk to Garcia and immediately complained of arm pain, forcing Farlow to make a pitching change for Turner, the regular third baseman.
“We got back in the game, made it 5-4, then Eli hurt his arm, and that really hurt us,” said Farlow. “He’s been having some issues with that all year.”
Broom greeted Turner with a single up the middle, then McNair coaxed a walk to load the bases and Garcia walked home when Williamson was hit by a pitch.
Miller pitched the final two innings in relief of Davis, who helped by initiating a game-ending double play in the top of the seventh.
Game 2 is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start at Tony Farlow Field. Purvis will send JoJo Parker to the mound to save its dream of a repeat championship.
“Last year, we were in the same position, and came back to win it,” said Farlow. “We responded at home, and I think our kids will respond this time too.
“I mean, Sumrall’s going to be really hard to beat. They’ve got a really good team, so hopefully our kids will bounce back and some balls that we hit that didn’t find holes tonight will find some holes tomorrow. It’s a game of momentum.”
Sumrall will counter with junior right-hander Leo Odom in hopes of flipping the script from last season, when the Tornadoes rallied from a game down to knock out the Bobcats on the way to their championship.
“I firmly believe that they’re going to be ready to play tomorrow,” said Andy Davis of Purvis. “They’ll have JoJo on the mound and he’s their dog. He’s a great player.”
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