By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
SUMRALL – That noted baseball philosopher, the late Yogi Berra, was famous for his saying that, “it’s never over ‘til it’s over.”
Sumrall High took that adage to heart Tuesday night, producing a rally that stands with any of the many historic moments in the school’s run of success under head coach Larry Knight.
The Bobcats watched an early five-run lead disappear, fell behind, then came back in the bottom of the seventh inning, scoring two runs to defeat West Lauderdale 7-6 in the third and deciding game of the Class 4A state semifinal series.
Sumrall (32-6) advances to the MHSAA State Championships at Trustmark Park in Pearl, facing North State champion New Hope in the best-of-three game series beginning at 10 a.m. Thursday. West Lauderdale finished its season 28-5.
“That was a great team over there, so I’m real proud of the way we hung in there,” said Knight. “This was a tough series.”
It will be the eighth trip to the state finals in Knight’s 12 seasons as the Bobcats’ coach, but the first since 2015 – when the Bobcats won their fifth state championship – and the first since Sumrall moved up to Class 4A in 2016.
“No doubt, it’s a tougher road, and it’s our first time (in 4A),” said Knight. “We came close in 2016, got beat by Newton County in three games in South State. So, we didn’t want to have another 4A South State here and not get it.”
As was the case Sunday in the series opener, won by the Bobcats 3-2 in nine innings, the biggest hero was senior Graham Crawford.
His three-run home run in the bottom of the first inning got Sumrall started offensively, and his single in the seventh drove in the tying run and set the stage for victory. Crawford drove in seven runs in the Bobcats’ two wins in the series.
Knight made the decision to start senior right-hander Billy Garrity, and he wasted no time getting his team back in the dugout by retiring the Knights in order in the top of the first.
“We felt like we had to get off to a good start, and we did that,” said Knight. “I was more concerned with us getting off on the right foot. I thought Billy pitched real well.”
Felling a bit salty after losing 10-0 in Game 2 of the series Monday night at Collinsville, the Bobcats ripped West Lauderdale starter Mason Willis right from the get-go.
Leadoff batter Dannis Jackson smoked the first pitch he saw into the gap in left-center field for a double and senior Zane Berry followed with a single to right.
“We knew we could come out with a great start, a lot of intensity,” said Jackson. “That’s what I wanted to do being the first guy up. We saw this guy in the first game, toward the end, so we knew what he would do and I was ready for it.”
Crawford followed by clubbing a rocket shot way past the fence in right to give Sumrall a 3-0 lead. After Willis got two outs, senior Mason Willis doubled and scored on a single by senior Tanner Morgan.
“The first pitch was a change-up for a strike,” said Crawford. “I thought he was going to come with a fastball, so I knew he was going to come back with it on the second pitch.
“He was the same guy I got the game-winning RBI on the other night. I knew what he had; I knew I could hit the fastball and hit it a long way if I put a good swing on it. I did do a pretty good pimp job on it. I’m not gonna lie.”
Sumrall added another run in the second, with Berry getting the RBI on a groundout, and Willis did not return to the mound for the third, as the Knights turned to right-hander Brett Mason.
Unlike his relief appearance on Sunday, when he walked two batters in the ninth and took the loss for West Lauderdale, Mason was razor-sharp on Tuesday, pitching four scoreless, hitless innings.
That gave the Knights a chance to come back and take the lead as they scored a run in the third and five unearned runs in the fourth.
It was Mason who helped himself the most, smacking a three-run homer after the Bobcats made a pair of errors that allowed two runs to score.
“Those were a couple of turf errors, where the ball bounced funny as it sometimes does on turf,” said Knight. “You hate that on your home field, and our guys are used to it, but we didn’t play it very well in that inning.”
Fortunately, junior J.C. Stogner came out of the bullpen, as he did in the first game, and, once again, the submarining right-hander was sensation for Sumrall, allowing just two hits and kept the Knights off the scoreboard in 3-1/3 innings of relief.
“My mentality was to just get in and get outs,” said Stogner. “That’s what my main goal always is. Don’t focus on getting strikeouts; just try to help my team get outs. I was locating my curveball better than I have lately, and that really helped.”
Stogner (7-0) got a strikeout after West Lauderdale put two runners on in the fifth, and a double play got the Bobcats out of the sixth. And after he retired the Knights in order in the seventh, Sumrall rewarded him with a game-winning rally in the bottom of the inning.
With the capacity crowd of approximately 1,200 in full roar, sophomore Hayden Barrett drew a four-pitch walk from Mason (2-3) to open the inning.
Jackson showed bunt twice, but then swung away when the Knights moved up to defend the bunt, and hit a high chopper in the hole between shortstop and third that he easily beat out for an infield single.
“It was a sac bunt, but the coaches said that if they crashed, I could slash it, and that’s what I did,” said Jackson. “I knew as soon as I hit it that I could beat it out.”
Mason got Berry to strike out on a 3-2 pitch, but Crawford worked the count full, then fouled off two 3-2 pitches before pulling a sharp single inside the bag at first base to drive in Barrett and send Jackson to third.
“I just said, ‘dear Lord, help me out,’” said Crawford. “Man, I’ve never been (to Trustmark Park), but we’ve been close a couple of times. This is a feeling I can’t describe.”
The Knights elected to put Garrity on to load the bases and put the force in play, but senior Hunter Barrett stepped up and hit a fly ball to deep right field, and Jackson easily scored the winning run on the sacrifice fly.
“The kid was throwing a great game in relief, but I felt like if we could get somebody on, he’d start to feel the pressure,” said Knight. “We did that, and our crowd really came through.”
Prep Baseball Linescore
Class 4A Semifinal Round
Game 3
Tuesday at Larry Knight Field
Sumrall 7, West Lauderdale 6
WL 001 500 0 – 6 7 2
SHS 410 000 2 – 7 8 3
WEST LAUDERDALE (28-5): Austin Davidson 2B, 1B; Brett Mason HR (3-run) (4 RBIs); Ben Ethridge 1B; Cade Kennedy 1B; Brandon Andreacchio 2 1B. LP – Brett Mason (2-3). Also pitching – Mason Willis (starter).
SUMRALL (32-6): Dannis Jackson 2B, 2 1B; Zane Berry 1B; Graham Crawford HR (3-run), 1B (4 RBIs); Mason Story 2B; Tanner Morgan 1B. WP – J.C. Stogner (7-0). Also pitching – Billy Garrity (starter).
