SUMRALL – It seemed only fitting that the final game of the Class 4A South State Championship series and sixth meeting between rivals Purvis and Sumrall came down to a thrilling finish in extra innings.
But this time, the Tornados emerged victorious after holding off Sumrall for a 6-5 win in eight innings to take down the defending state champions and punch their ticket to the state title for the first time since 2014.
“It was such a back-and-forth game,” Farlow said. “My gosh, I feel like us and Sumrall are so evenly matched. I guess we won four (games), and they won two, but it feels like it’s been pretty dang even the whole season. I’m proud of our guys.
“It was a great series, and somehow we came on top. It’s been such a huge emotional thing with us and Sumrall. We are not even thinking about the state championship. I think it’s been more focused on; we want to beat Sumrall, and they want to beat us.”
Monday night’s game was undoubtedly a rollercoaster for both sides, with a pair of late lead changes and a late rally by Sumrall, along with a pair of heroic performances from Purvis relief pitcher Eli Lowe and catcher Ethan Walker.
Sumrall jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the first inning after starting pitcher Jojo Parker hit and walked a batter to start his outing. Leo Odom then put the Bobcats on the board with an RBI.
In the fourth inning, Purvis got on the board with an RBI double but failed to plate any more runs despite having bases loaded with one out. The Bobcats looked to retake the lead in the bottom of the frame as they had bases loaded and no outs, which is when Purvis turned to Lowe. Lowe came out of the inning unscathed with a pair of strikeouts and a ground out.
“They can’t hit my fastball, so I was throwing my fastball,” said Lowe, who improved his record to 9-0. “I had to place everything. I was talking to myself, ‘Throw strikes, and they can’t hit me.’ I had to do my thing like I had been doing all year, and that’s throw strikes.
“I kept competing with myself. I was like, ‘I can do this.’ I didn’t give up on myself because I knew I could do it. There is no reason to just give up. It was a ton of pressure, but I wanted to be in that spot. It made me fight more.”
Sumrall again loaded the bases in the fifth but scored just one run on a wild pitch by Lowe to go up 2-1. By the end of the game, Lowe stranded eight of Sumrall’s 11 runners left on base.
In the sixth inning, Walker gave Purvis its first lead of the night as he hit a 2-run home run over the left field wall despite nearly being unable to as he was throwing up just an hour before the game.
“I was just throwing up and didn’t feel good,” Walker said. “I didn’t feel good at all. I had to bow up. My adrenaline is pumping, so I feel good now.
“It wasn’t nerves. I don’t really get too nervous. It made me a little more calm. I don’t have to worry about anything else but just get a (win) for the team.”
Walker’s home run took Davis out of the game, who finished his night recording 10 strikeouts, three walks and allowed three runs off of four hits.
Lowe then looked to put Sumrall away in the seventh after recording a quick two-outs. However, the Bobcats rallied after Lowe gave up a single and walk, which led to an RBI single by Landon Hawkins to send the game into extra innings.
“I got pretty nervous when we had to go extras, but the kids responded,” Farlow said. “They got down, and it would have been easy to lay down and quit. They battled back. I’m proud of this team.”
But the momentum didn’t stay with Sumrall for long as Purvis plated three runs in the top of the eighth to take a 6-3 lead. Two of those runs came off errors by the Bobcats.
Yet Sumrall attempted a second rally to keep the game alive, with the Bobcats scoring two more runs in the bottom of the eighth. But Purvis caught a break after Sumrall’s Hampton Baudion overran third base, which was fortunate since Walker Long came up with an RBI double two at-bats later.
“Those are things that aren’t supposed to happen in a game,” Sumrall coach Andy Davis said. “He busted his tale running and didn’t see my slide sign. That’s baseball. Teams are going to make errors. We just hope we aren’t the team that does.
“Us coming back is what we do. That’s what we have done since these kids have grown up. We gave ourselves an opportunity to come back, but credit Purvis. They popped us and we popped them right back. We just ran out of outs.”
For Lowe, the pressure never got to the junior as he embraced the moment as he ended the game with the fourth strikeout in his outing.
“One of the things that fueled me is when the Sumrall student section started chanting ‘ELI’ and our student section starting chanting ‘ELI,’ and that fueled me even more,” Lowe said. “I just started doing my thing. I loved every bit of it. I was tired but not tired enough.
“It’s the best moment in my life by far.”
Purvis will now prepare to head to Trustmark Park in Pearl for the Class 4A state title series. The Tornados will face either West Lauderdale or Mooreville. The first game of the state championship series will be played on Wednesday, May 31, at 4 p.m.
