SUMRALL – Sumrall's Drew Davis was watching the Bobcats play in the South State Championship in the stands just a year ago.
But now as a starter, the eighth grader turned in a dominant outing on the mound that helped Sumrall emerge with a 6-1 victory over rival Purvis to open the Class 4A South State Championship series.
The young right-hander improved his record to 14-0 as he struck out seven batters and allowed one run off three hits, all of which were in the infield, and walked two batters in 5.2 innings of work in front of a crowd estimated to be around 2,000 fans.
"It's unreal," said Davis on playing in front of the large crowd. "They are loud. I just have to shut it off and pitch my game.
"It's always a great feeling to beat Purvis, and it's always fun to play them because it's tough competition, and all the people come to watch."
Although Drew Davis was able to fully embrace the moment, for his dad and Sumrall head coach Andy Davis it was a little more stressful.
"To have 14 wins, I don't know what to say," Andy Davis said. "Obviously, this game is stressful anyway, but then having your son, who is an eighth grader and 14 years old, coming out and pitching in front of over 2,000 people, the daddy comes out, and I get a little nervous."
Aiding Davis' outing was a quick lead from the Bobcat offense. Purvis' starting pitcher Jacob Parker struggled early in the game with his command as he walked and hit the first two batters of the game. Walker Long capitalized with an RBI single that kick-started a 3-run inning in the first.
"He was leaving a lot of stuff up," said Long. "I was also just sitting and there, and I wasn't going to strike out. He would rotate between his curveball, breaking ball and fastball every pitch. I was sitting curveball on that last pitch and shot it up the middle."
Leo Odom followed with an RBI sac fly, with Landon Holliman driving in another run with an RBI single. In the second inning, Barrett Breazealle extended the lead to 4-0 after coming up with another RBI single; however, Parker settled in after as he retired eight of the next nine batters he faced.
"We didn't get off to the start that we wanted to," Purvis coach Tony Farlow said. "We walked a guy and then hit a guy, and they made us pay for it. We couldn't do anything against Drew (Davis). He dominated us. I felt like our guys didn't quit. We just could never get enough hits to get things going offensively. We have kind of been a big-inning team all year. Give Sumrall credit. They were ready for us and pretty much outplayed us. We'll see if we can bounce back Thursday and see if we can make a series out of it."
Through the first five innings, Davis had a no-hitter going. The only trouble he fell into was in the third after he walked the leadoff batter. But Davis battled back from a 3-0 count and came up with a strikeout with Long then throwing out the runner at first base.
"You are not going to find a guy who fills (up the zone) as much as he does," said Long on what it's like catching for Davis. "He stays in the strike zone. The moment doesn't get to him. He's very mature for his age. (I was impressed with how) he was controlling both of his pitches. He could put them wherever he wanted to whenever he wanted to. Whenever he got into jams or lost it for a second, he dialed right back in.
"Everybody wants to beat Purvis, but more than everybody wants to get state and get another ring."
Davis' no-hitter ended with an infield hit to the second baseman with two outs just after a runner reached base on an infield error, and luckily he got out of the inning with a flyout. Sumrall then scored two more runs in the fifth inning after Odom and Cade Clinton hit back-to-back RBI double to push the score 6-0.
In the sixth inning, Davis' outing came to an end, and despite Purvis picking up a run, the Tornados' offensive frustration reached its boiling point as they put up three hits by the end of the night. Jojo Parker and Jacob Parker opened the frame by beating an infield shift in back-to-back at-bats to reach base. Davis then gave up a walk, but Long managed to throw Jacob Parker out at second, which led to Purivs' third base coach being ejected after arguing with the umpire on the call.
"He was too worked up for this ball game," Farlow said. "I kind of think coaches, players and fans get caught up in the Sumrall trap with the (idea of) this being the biggest game of the century. It's just another game to me. That's the way we have played all year, and that's the way we have to play this series. It's just another game. We can't get caught up in the rivalry stuff."
Damon Putnam drove in a run for the Tornados with an infield RBI single, which led to Davis leaving the game, but proved to be an effort too little too late as Sumrall's reliever Keaton Mauldin finished the game.
"It was a typical Sumrall-Purvis game," Andy Davis said. "We got some big hits in the first inning and opened it up a little bit and was able to relax a little bit with the lead. But I told the team that Purvis has won plenty of games in the sixth inning. Even though we had a 5-run lead, I still didn't feel safe.
"The next game is at Purvis, and I expect the same atmosphere. Can they come back and win two? Most definitely. That's what we'll preach. They don't want their season to end, and they have a home game. All of those people will be there, but we should be a lot more comfortable."
The second game of the series will be held at Purvis on Thursday, with first pitch set for 7 p.m. If Sumrall wins, then the Bobcats will reach the Class 4A State Championship, but if Purvis wins, then the Tornados will force Game 3, which will be played next Monday at Sumrall.
