PETAL – Clutch is a term that can be overused in the sports world.
That’s not the case for Petal’s Ethan Byrd, as he not only came up with the walk-off hit to help the Panthers defeat Tupelo 4-3 in extra innings but also delivered the game-tying run that kept his team alive.
“Byrd is a worker,” Petal coach Jake Mills said. “He earned that moment and deserved that moment because he is a worker.
“This game rewards people who work, and it rewarded Ethan tonight.”
On a cold Monday night at the bottom of the ninth, Byrd allowed his baseball instincts to take over. With one out, facing an 0-1 count, and with a runner at second, the senior hit a ball to the right field wall.
“It was amazing,” Byrd said. “You can’t beat it. That’s what you live for, that’s what you play for, and that’s what you practice for.
“My adrenaline was going real fast. I saw the pitch, and it was just see ball, hit ball. That’s all that was going through my head.”
However, Byrd’s hit in the bottom of the seventh inning was arguably even more critical for Petal (5-4). The Panthers were down to their final out, but back-to-back singles by Fischer Howell and Dylan Dykes set up Byrd driving a single to center to tie the game at 3-3.
“We locked in, and we knew what we had to do to get the job done,” Byrd said. “I had to do a job. That’s all I had to do. I love these boys with all my heart, and I couldn’t sell them out right there.”
Yet Petal’s night was highlighted by numerous missed opportunities, with the Panthers stranding 13 runners on base.
“I’m sitting there thinking we shouldn’t be playing the bottom of the (seventh) inning, but hey, that’s baseball,” Mills said. “You look at the nine hits and runners on base. You probably shouldn’t be there. You have to execute the game. Overall, we didn’t do a good job of executing the game tonight. But we executed when our backs were against the wall, and we had to come out punching because there was nowhere else to go.”
Petal took a 2-0 lead in the second inning after Dykes hit an infield RBI single. Tupelo’s shortstop overthrew the first baseman, which allowed Nathan Wheeler to score.
However, Tupelo (8-2) answered right back in the top of the third with a three-run inning. With two outs, the Golden Wave scored off an RBI double before errors by the Panthers helped Tupelo add two more runs. Petal catcher Britt Stringer had a ball get past him on a walk to allow a run to reach home. Starting pitcher Tanner Beliveau then threw a wild pitch to set up an RBI single that gave Tupelo a 3-2 lead.
“A good team wants to answer back,” Mills said. “It was a lot of self-inflicted things in that inning. If we play clean and pitch it clean, then we probably put up zero and might never ever be in extra innings, but that’s part of learning and being in those situations.”
In five innings, Beliveau struck out seven batters, walked five and allowed three runs off three hits. Relievers Cooper Smith and Jayden Madison combined to allow just one hit and one walk while striking out four batters.
“It says a lot about our arms for keeping us there until we can get it figured out,” Mills said. “That’s one thing they did tonight. They kept putting up zeros until we got it done.”
Petal had numerous opportunities to answer as the Panthers left at least two runners on base between the fifth and eighth innings.
“Anytime you leave 13 guys on, it’s frustrating,” Mills said. “We are getting better at communicating with each other between each at-bat. You can tell we have some young guys that are starting to grow up a little bit. We have a young team.
“Each win is a confidence builder, especially against a quality opponent like Tupelo. That’s a good team that we just beat.”
Petal will face Germantown on Wednesday, which will be played at St. Martin High School.
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