Holding a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, Jerry Burkett did what a small few of Hattiesburg baseball players have been able to accomplish. With the bases loaded, Burkett came up with a grand slam swing and hit the ball over the right field wall to set up the Tigers' 13-3 run-rule win over Laurel on Friday night.
"Jerry hit a ball into right field, and it's been a longtime since I've seen someone hit the ball out of right field," Hattiesburg coach Joe Hartfield said. "We haven't had a lot of lefties in the past that could do it. It was good to see that because Jerry deserves it. He's worked and has played an awful lot of baseball to get to where he is at."
For Burkett, hitting a home run out of Smokey Harrington Park has been an accomplishment he had been striving towards.
"I was close last year," Burkett. "I hit the top of the wall last year. It's a magical feeling to hit out of a field that 445 dead center and 340 in left and right."
But leading up to Burkett's swing, Hattiesburg struggled against Laurel's side starting arm pitcher.
"The first kid was a sidearm. His ball had a nice drop on the end of it and he was eating us up with his time management," Burkett said. "It took him forever to throw a ball, so we were out front with everything. We had to work on staying back with slower pitching."
The Tigers struggled early to score runs. Hattiesburg's baserunning mostly drove the Tigers' offense as Laurel walked 10 batters and hit three throughout the night.
While Laurel's pitcher kept the Tigers' bats at bay, there were still multiple infield errors and wild pitches that allowed the speedy Hattiesburg base runners to thrive as Hattiesburg came away with 15 stolen bases.
"We are really fast this year one through nine and we try to use that strength," Hartfield said. "We stole a lot of bases tonight and we were able to move up on some balls down in the dirt. We are trying to be aggressive and of course sometimes that's not so good, but most of the time, that works out in our favor."
Hattiesburg's successful base running put several runners in scoring position and was the reason for the Tigers scoring three runs in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.
Like the third inning, stolen bases set up Hattiesburg's next two runs in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 5-1.
Laurel managed to get back on the board in the fourth inning, after a pair of infield errors scored runs for the Tornados to cut the deficit to 5-3.
However, Hattiesburg answered with Burkett's swing in which kicked off an eight-run frame that helped the Tigers end the game in the fifth inning.
By the end of the game, Cam Lott finished 4-for-4 with one RBI, Jermel Ford finished 3-for-3 and Burkett finished 1-for-4 with five RBI.
"Their pitcher actually had us off balance the first two or three innings," Hartfield said. "It was something that we hadn't seen this year with his approach and the way his ball moved and his angle of throwing. I was a little disappointed with the way our guys approached the game. I don't think we were mentally ready today and I think that's partly my fault."
On the mound, Jack Jackson threw a complete game in five innings. After allowing an RBI single in the first inning of the game, Jackson gave up two hits and allowed one earned run while striking out five batters.
"Overall, I thought jack pitched really well," Hartfield said. "Defensively, we played well until those last couple of errors. I saw some bright spots and I saw some not so bright spots. It's about getting better each week so we're going to have to go in there and make an emphasis on that again."
Holding a 6-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, Jerry Burkett did what a small few of Hattiesburg baseball players have been able to accomplish. With the bases loaded, Burkett came up with a grand slam swing and hit the ball over the right field wall to set up the Tigers' 13-3 run-rule win over Laurel on Friday night.
"Jerry hit a ball into right field, and it's been a longtime since I've seen someone hit the ball out of right field," Hattiesburg coach Joe Hartfield said. "We haven't had a lot of lefties in the past that could do it. It was good to see that because Jerry deserves it. He's worked and has played an awful lot of baseball to get to where he is at."
For Burkett, hitting a home run out of Smokey Harrington Park has been an accomplishment he had been striving towards.
"I was close last year," Burkett. "I hit the top of the wall last year. It's a magical feeling to hit out of a field that 445 dead center and 340 in left and right."
But leading up to Burkett's swing, Hattiesburg struggled against Laurel's side starting arm pitcher.
"The first kid was a sidearm. His ball had a nice drop on the end of it and he was eating us up with his time management," Burkett said. "It took him forever to throw a ball, so we were out front with everything. We had to work on staying back with slower pitching."
The Tigers struggled early to score runs. Hattiesburg's baserunning mostly drove the Tigers' offense as Laurel walked 10 batters and hit three throughout the night.
While Laurel's pitcher kept the Tigers' bats at bay, there were still multiple infield errors and wild pitches that allowed the speedy Hattiesburg base runners to thrive as Hattiesburg came away with 15 stolen bases.
"We are really fast this year one through nine and we try to use that strength," Hartfield said. "We stole a lot of bases tonight and we were able to move up on some balls down in the dirt. We are trying to be aggressive and of course sometimes that's not so good, but most of the time, that works out in our favor."
Hattiesburg's successful base running put several runners in scoring position and was the reason for the Tigers scoring three runs in the third inning to take a 3-1 lead.
Like the third inning, stolen bases set up Hattiesburg's next two runs in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 5-1.
Laurel managed to get back on the board in the fourth inning, after a pair of infield errors scored runs for the Tornados to cut the deficit to 5-3.
However, Hattiesburg answered with Burkett's swing in which kicked off an eight-run frame that helped the Tigers end the game in the fifth inning.
By the end of the game, Cam Lott finished 4-for-4 with one RBI, Jermel Ford finished 3-for-3 and Burkett finished 1-for-4 with five RBI.
"Their pitcher actually had us off balance the first two or three innings," Hartfield said. "It was something that we hadn't seen this year with his approach and the way his ball moved and his angle of throwing. I was a little disappointed with the way our guys approached the game. I don't think we were mentally ready today and I think that's partly my fault."
On the mound, Jack Jackson threw a complete game in five innings. After allowing an RBI single in the first inning of the game, Jackson gave up two hits and allowed one earned run while striking out five batters.
"Overall, I thought jack pitched really well," Hartfield said. "Defensively, we played well until those last couple of errors. I saw some bright spots and I saw some not so bright spots. It's about getting better each week so we're going to have to go in there and make an emphasis on that again."
