By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
HATTIESBURG – The 2021 baseball season has been a rollercoaster ride for Hattiesburg High, with a young team and a new coach.
After battling through some injuries and a few growing pains, the Tigers seem to be getting back in stride. HHS stayed firmly in the Class 5A playoff hunt Tuesday night with a 9-5 victory over Picayune on Senior Night at Smokie Harrington Park.
Hattiesburg improved to 10-7 overall and 2-3 in Region 7-5A. Picayune dropped to 5-16 and 0-6.
“It’s good when they are high-character, like the group we’ve got,” said HHS head coach Brent Barham. “But you really have to look at our senior class. We’ve got seven of them, and they’ve just stepped up their leadership.”
Barham, a longtime assistant coach, was promoted to the top spot last fall when veteran Joe Hartfield retired after 14 successful seasons guiding the Tiger program, winning the 5A state championship in 2018.
“I talk to Coach Hartfield quite a bit, and I told him, ‘I understand a lot more of what you did and things you said that I didn’t understand at the time, but now I do,’” said Barham.
“I couldn’t have picked a better mentor that him. He’s one of the best coaches of all time, so for him to help me be in this situation, I’m always in debt to him.”
Against the Maroon Tide, Hattiesburg used two big innings to do their damage, and relied on a solid effort on the mound from senior Jermel Ford.
“I threw strikes, the defense played behind me, and we just had a good all-around night,” said Ford (3-1). “I threw a four-seam fastball at the beginning, then I started with the two-seam, because they were falling off of it and popping it up.”
Ford and Picayune freshman right-hander Kyler King each retired the opposition in order in the first inning, but Ford had some control issues that cost him a couple of runs in the top of the second.
Maroon Tide senior Carson Conner led off with a single and junior Sam Landrum legged out a one-out single on a slow roller to third. Ford got a strikeout, but a walk loaded the bases, and a pair of hit batters allowed two runs to score.
However, Ford got out of further trouble by inducing a popup to end the inning, then settled down and got the Tigers to the seventh inning without allowing a run or a hit.
And it was only a matter of time before the potent Tiger bats came to life. That came in the bottom of the third when Hattiesburg took the lead for good with a four-run rally, all with two outs.
Ford, batting in the leadoff spot, got things started with a double into rightfield corner. Ford actually reached third standing up, but the ball became lodged in the tarp and he was forced to settle for a ground-rule double.
It didn’t matter, as Junior Jack Jackson was hit by a pitch, and both runners scored on a triple to wall in left-centerfield by Josh Jones. Senior Matt Adams followed with another triple to the wall in leftfield to drive in the go-ahead run.
It appeared that Picayune tagged out Adams at third for the final out of the inning, but after a lengthy conference between the three umpires, the call was reversed, keeping the inning alive.
After the Maroon Tide returned to the field, King’s next pitch sailed to the backstop, allowing Adams to score. King (0-3) deserved better, but his defense let him down in the bottom of the fifth when the Tigers scored five runs, four of them unearned, off three Picayune errors.
“I’m thankful for the rain (earlier in the day), because I was out here at 2 o’clock getting some swings in,” said Adams, who returned to action after missing some time with a concussion. “I was warmed up, I saw the pitches coming, and I made good swings.”
Sophomore Jaylen Backman led off with a single and was retired at second on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Ford. A walk signaled the end of King’s night, but senior Austin Samples was shaky coming on in relief, walking the next two batters to allow a run to score.
Then a botched pickoff play resulted in two errors and two more Hattiesburg runs, and senior Fred Evans made it 9-2 with a single to leftfield.
A walk, an error and another walk brought Barham out to get Ford, and Backman was brought in to finish it up. Ford went six-plus innings, allowing two runs on just two hit, with four strikeouts.
“I was torn between who I wanted to start tonight, either Jermel or Jaylen,” said Barham. “But Jermel called me last night and said, ‘I want the ball.’ When a kid shows that much grit and determination, you give him the ball.
“He wanted to finish it, but he was getting up in his pitch count, and we felt like Jaylen would give them a different look. He’s a kid with a bright future for us, and he came on and got the job done.”
Conner made it 9-4, however, with a two-run single for Picayune, and another run scored when the throw to second on a steal kicked off the foot of the Tiger shortstop.
But Backman got out of any further trouble with a groundout to second, a strikeout and a diving catch in centerfield for the final out of the game.
Hattiesburg lost its top five hitters from last season, but goals remain the same for a program that boasts six state titles.
“(Barham) is filling the shoes well,” said Adams. “Everything’s the same really. The day of our first practice, Coach Barham told us, ‘we’re going to State,’ and I believe him 100 percent.”
The Tigers have a busy week of region play remaining, as they travel to Pearl River Central on Friday, then host Long Beach on Saturday in a makeup contest for a game that was postponed from earlier this season.
Prep Baseball Linescore
Tuesday at Smokie Harrington Park
Hattiesburg 9, Picayune 5
Picayune 020 000 3 – 5 3 3
Hattiesburg 004 050 x – 9 9 3
PICAYUNE (5-16, 0-6 in 7-5A): Carson Conner 2 1B; Sam Landrum 1B. LP – Kyler King (0-3). Also pitching – Austin Samples; Zach Jones.
HATTIESBURG (10-7, 2-3 in 7-5A): Jermel Ford 2B; Landon Scott 1B; Josh Jones 3B, 1B; Matt Adams 3B, 2B; Fred Evans 1B; Dillon Brown 1B; Jaylen Backman 1B. WP – Jermel Ford (3-1). Also pitching – Jaylen Backman.
