You can forget the records as far as Hattiesburg High baseball is concerned; the Tigers are on the prowl.
HHS looked nothing like a team that was 3-13 overall in a critical Region 5-5A clash against Wayne County, taking the measure of the War Eagles 7-3 Friday night at Smokie Harrington Park.
The Tigers solidified their hold on second place in the region behind South Jones at 3-2 in region play. Wayne County dropped to 10-5 and 1-3.
“Our guys have never quit, regardless of what the record is,” Hattiesburg coach Brent Barham said. “We’ve been coming out here playing hard, practicing hard. We didn’t take a day off for spring break, working every day.
“And it’s finally paying off. They’re buying in to what we’re saying and what we’re doing. The best thing is, they’re doing it the right way, the Tiger way.”
Hattiesburg rode a solid effort on the mound from senior right-hander Rodney Parker, who pitched into the sixth inning before running out of gas. He surrendered all three War Eagle runs on six hits. He struck out six and walked four.
“I just sit back and believe in what I throw,” Parker said. “I just try to get it in the strike zone, let the hitters hit it and depend on my defense.”
Parker moved to Hattiesburg from Lumberton, where he played last season, and he’s provided a young team with some senior leadership.
“He’s as good as advertised,” Barham said. “To get him was a big piece that we needed. Of course, he’s played a lot of summer ball with our guys, so the gelling process didn’t take as long as it would have otherwise.
“He’s such a competitor. I gave him the ball tonight and said, ‘don’t give it back until the end of the game.’ He went out there and filled it up.”
Parker and junior left-hander Cameron Holifield for Wayne County matched zeroes through the first four innings of a briskly-played game.
The first hit did not come until James Greene led off the fourth with a single for the War Eagles that Parker was able to pitch around.
Both teams had baserunners in the second inning via walks that were erased on steal attempts for the third out of the inning. Beyond that, it was 13 up and 13 down for Hattiesburg until the fifth inning, when the offenses finally got going.
Senior Konner Adams led off the top of the fifth with a single and scored on Holifield’s one-out double to leftfield. A single up the middle moved the runner over and another run came home on a wild pitch.
However, Parker picked a runner off first base then got a flyball for the final out to keep the War Eagles at just two runs. A big key for Parker was getting strike calls on pitches low in the zone, especially on the inside corner.
“That was a big deal, because when I can keep it low, it’s harder to hit, and I can really pound the zone,” Parker said. “It was just a matter of letting the game come to me and trusting in my teammates.”
And the Tigers wasted little time in answering, and then some.
With one out, senior Dillon Crowell hit a sharp shot to third base and beat the throw for the Tigers’ first hit of the game.
Back-to-back walks loaded the bases before senior Kameron Hopson punched a single into left, driving in two runs. Senior SirGeorge Jordan got the go-ahead run home on a single.
“That changed the game,” Senior Matthew Adams aid. “We had people in the dugout getting their hopes up after that inning.
“It’s a huge win for us, especially since it’s a (region) game. Just because we’re 3-13 doesn’t mean anything; once we get to the playoffs it’s 0-0.”
Parker got a strikeout to open the top of the sixth, but a walk, a single and another walk loaded the bases, and a sacrifice fly to centerfield off the bat of junior Marques Coleman tied the game.
Holifield hit a comebacker that Parker knocked down, resulting in an infield single, but saving a run. At that point, Parker was at 103 pitches, and he was done.
“I just needed to get to the dugout, needed that last out, but I just couldn’t get it,” Parker said. “But the bullpen came in and did their job.”
With the bases loaded, sophomore right-hander Talmadge Davis came on and induced an inning-ending flyball to right.
Holifield (3-3) was still only at 65 pitches through five innings, but the Tigers still got to him in the bottom of the sixth, as his defense betrayed him.
Leading off, senior Isaiah Speights reached on a throwing error on a groundball to third and was awarded second base because of interference at first.
The War Eagles argued the interference call, but it was rendered moot when Adams smashed a high fly ball to deep rightfield for an RBI triple.
“I was looking exactly high and outside,” Adams said. “My previous two at-bats, I popped up to leftfield, then the next at-bat I struck out on a high outside pitch. I talked to Coach (David) Mitchell and he told me to look away from the strike zone and put the bat on the ball.”
That opened the floodgates for Hattiesburg. Junior Dillon Brown beat out an infield single to shortstop to drive in Adams. Crowell reached on another error, allowing Brown to reach third, then he stole second and both runners scored on a single by sophomore Bobo Barnes.
Holifield steadied himself and got three straight outs to get out of the inning, but the damage was done. He allowed six earned runs and six hits, struck out four and walked three in six innings.
“Their team is really talented,” Barham said. “My guys were talking about how his stuff was moving. He was around the strike zone the whole night.”
Davis (1-0) needed just nine pitches on two flyballs and a strikeout to nail down the victory.
Despite having a relatively inexperienced team, Hattiesburg played a big non-region schedule, with most of their losses coming against the likes of Sumrall, Petal, Northwest Rankin and PCS. Barham says that experience has led to where his team is right now.
“That was the whole point of scheduling the Northwest Rankins and the two Petals and PCS and Sumrall,” Barham said. “It was to prepare our guys to face those great quality teams and to be ready for (region) games and, hopefully, for playoff games.”
And the Tigers travel to Lucedale at 11 a.m. Saturday to face George County, another tough non-region opponent and one they may well see in the Class 5A playoffs.
HHS then faces another big series next week against region leader South Jones, Tuesday at Ellisville and Friday back at Smokie Harrington Park.
