The top-seeded Purvis Tornadoes and the second-seeded Sumrall Bobcats have had their fair-share of intense battles this season, but as the two begin their respective playoff journey, a rematch wouldn’t happen until the south state series.
Purvis brings its 19-3 overall record into a first-round series with No. 4 seed McComb. Game 1 is set for a 6 p.m. start in Purvis, Game 2 is Friday at 6 p.m. in McComb, and if necessary, Game 3 is back in Purvis and will start at 6 p.m. as well.
The Tigers are 8-13 overall and they went 5-8 in Region 6-4A, but as Purvis coach Tony Farlow said Monday, his team is in no position to overlook a first-round opponent.
“This group has never been in the playoffs, so they don’t really know,” Farlow said. “Hopefully our guys are hungry to be in the playoffs, and they’ve been hearing ‘playoffs, playoffs,’ and I think we’re going to be ready to get started and get after it.
“I don’t see us overlooking McComb. I think McComb will be a team that if you come out and don’t play well, they’ll have a chance to be you. If you come out and do what you’re supposed to do, you should be OK against them.”
The Tornadoes bring a pitching staff that has a combined 2.06 earned run average, which is led by sophomore Jesse Johnson’s 0.84 ERA. Johnson, the ace of the staff, is 6-0 on the season with 61 strikeouts to 11 walks in 41.2 logged innings.
Pitchers like junior Casey Burge (2.21 ERA) and sophomore Mason Dilmore (2.33) add to a deep staff, but sophomore Dakota Lee has made it to where there isn’t any drop off. Lee is 5-0 with a 2.07 ERA, 33 strikeouts and 11 walks in 27 innings, which is the second most on the team.
“We didn’t know that Dakota was going to pitch as well as he is coming into the season,” Farlow said. “He basically throws as hard as Jesse does, so he has a little velocity. He’s been pretty dang consistent for us all year, and kind of worked himself into that No. 2 starting role.”
This is Purvis’ first playoff appearance since a 2016 loss in the first round to Northeast Jones. The series ended with a 1-0 Northeast Jones win after a lengthy rain delay in Game 2.
Sumrall’s playoff series with Raymond starts Friday night at home with a 7 p.m. first pitch. Game 2 is at Raymond on Saturday at 7 p.m., and if necessary, Game 3 is back in Sumrall at 7 p.m. Monday.
The Rangers finished third in Region 6-4A with a 10-12 overall record and 7-5 region mark.
As a team, Raymond has a .271 batting average, compared to Sumrall’s .270, and the Rangers’ pitching staff has a collective 4.47 ERA, while Sumrall is sitting at 2.22. At the plate, Raymond’s Jared Keys leads the offense with a .476 average and a .593 on-base percentage.
“From what we’ve heard, they swing the bats well, they’re very athletic and it was very close between them and Florence, as far as the No. 2 and 3,” Sumrall coach Larry Knight said. “Their record may not indicate as good as a team they could potentially be. Sometimes those first-round games can draw a pretty easy opponent, and sometimes a pretty tough one. I think this will certainly be a challenge for us.”
Like Purvis, Sumrall had a young arm step up early in his career to help the team. Freshman Kros Sivley leads the Bobcats with a 0.34 ERA, 41.2 innings pitched and 56 strikeouts.
Sivley hasn’t allowed an earned run since March 10 against Brandon, and he hasn’t allowed an unearned run since March 27 against Greene County. In his last two starts, he shut out out Forrest County AHS through seven innings, before Sumrall won in extra innings, then pitched 5.2 innings in an 8-0 win over Poplarville.
“He’s been something,” Knight said. “He’s thrown a couple of games where he’s come out with the score 0-0. We haven’t given him the run support that we’ve liked to see, but he’s been something. Just looking at his numbers definitely shows what kind of guy he is. He makes us to where we’re that much deeper.”
