HATTIESBURG – The Hattiesburg Tigers are really hard to beat when senior Dexter Jordan toes the rubber. In fact, in games where he’s pitched more than three innings in his high school career, the Tigers are 22-7.
Hattiesburg’s second-round contest with Wayne County on Friday was no different for Jordan, as he pitched Hattiesburg to a 1-0 series lead over the War Eagles with a 10-0, six-inning win. Game 2 of the series is set for Saturday at 7 p.m. in Waynesboro.
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“It’s a playoff atmosphere,” Jordan said. “I knew the guys would come out and battle so I had to go right at them. It was a good atmosphere to get me back in the playoffs for my senior year. I really had to go after it and adjust to some things.”
Jordan allowed just two hits in his six innings of work, and he struck out six while issuing only one walk.
“He’s Dexter,” Hattiesburg coach Joe Hartfield said. “He threw well tonight and threw a lot of strikes, obviously. He struggled with his curveball a little bit, which is very rare for him, but he was able to throw his changeup for a strike and move his fastball in and out.”
When Jordan is on the mound, Hattiesburg is capable of winning every game, and Jordan can feel the confidence build from the entire team while he’s on the bump, too.
“It’s a confidence booster,” he said. “My teammates love when I’m on the mound. Joe (Gray) tells me all the time, ‘Dex, just throw the ball and whatever comes out here, I’ll catch it.’ They love when I’m on the mound because of the pace that I have and I really salute my teammates for being behind me. They really make good defensive plays.”
Gray made good on his promise, too. In the sixth inning, he laid out for a ball that was drifting away from him in left center field, only to secure the catch over his left shoulder.
Back on the mound, Jordan began the night with four strikeouts in the first two frames, making quick work of the War Eagles early. Wayne County did get a two-out hit in the first inning, but Jordan quickly threw three straight strikes to the next batter to end the inning. In the second, he struck out the first two batters before a 2-0 fly out brought Hattiesburg back to the plate.
“When I’m warming up, I try to do some backside things to get my backside flowing,” Jordan said when asked about what allows him to start a game strong. “The first inning is going to be a getting loose type of inning, but I still have to make sure my pitches are working. After the first inning, I felt my pitches start to work and I got more comfortable
on the mound.”
When Jordan references his backside, he’s talking about his legs when he’s pitching. He wants to make sure he’s finishing his pitches well.
In the meantime, Hattiesburg scored two runs in the top of the first to take a 2-0 through two innings. Jordan’s sacrifice fly plated the first of the two runs, then a fielder’s choice scored Joe Gray for the second run.
Jordan’s impact at the plate was felt again in the third inning. With sophomore Caleb Tart at second base, Jordan laced a pitch to right center field for a triple to give Hattiesburg a 3-0. His courtesy runner, freshman Jamel Ford, later scored on a bases-loaded walk to push the lead to 4-0, and a fifth run came home on another walk one batter later.
“When I’m pitching, I try to focus in on both because some people who pitch in high school just pitch and forget about the plate,” Jordan said. “I try to maintain the plate and the mound at the same time, and I try to score runs and hit runners in.”
Jordan did a good job of helping himself out while he was batting. He finished the night by going 3-for-3 from the dish with the triple, two singles and three RBI.
“For him to hit the ball, not only well, but very well, he gapped some balls tonight and seemed to square up every ball he hit,” Hartfield said. “On top of all of that, he was the best leader in the dugout. I started to walk over there to tell him to get quiet and get focused, but I didn’t want to mess with him at the moment. He seemed to be rolling pretty good.”
While Jordan cruised through his outing, he did run into some trouble in the fifth inning when Wayne County loaded the bases with two outs. After a walk, a single and an infield error, Jordan got a Wayne County batter to fly out to Hattiesburg first baseman, senior A.J. Stinson, to keep it a 5-0 Tigers’ lead.
Hattiesburg added five more runs in the bottom of the sixth to force the 10-run rule.
