By Stan Caldwell
stanmansportsfan.com
PEARL – Sumrall was dead, absolutely dead in the water as Game 1 of the Class 4A State Championship Series reached the bottom of the seventh inning.
The Bobcats trailed Pontotoc 5-1 and were well on their way to their fifth consecutive loss at Trustmark Park, extending a curse that goes back to 2019.
Then they flipped a switch and magic happened.
Sumrall scored four runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie it up and won it in the eighth to stun the Warriors 6-5 and take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
The Bobcats (34-1) can clinch their sixth state title at 4 p.m. Thursday in Game 2. Pontotoc (31-10) must win to force a deciding third game either Saturday or Sunday.
“That’s the advantage of having 16 seniors,” said Sumrall coach Andy Davis. “Gritty, gritty, gritty bunch.
“I mean, I’m in the seventh inning and I’m already thinking about what I’m going to tell the kids to get our morale back up after this game. Early in the game, I think we came out with the 0-4 curse that’s been there, and we played tight. It’s just good to get a win here.”
This was truly a remarkable comeback for Sumrall. The Bobcats never led until senior Ethan Aultman’s RBI single in the eighth.
“I was trying to hit the fastball,” said Aultman. “I got a fastball for a strike – we were taking until we got one – then he threw one in the dirt. I was supposed to lay down a bunt, but I didn’t get it down. I got another ball and did the job on the next one.”
Davis rolled the dice with his starting pitcher, sending senior right-hander Levi Odom to the mound instead of senior Andrew Knight, as expected. Davis said Odom had been his first-game starter in the previous round, and decided to go with Odom.
“He’s been lights out for us the last two rounds,” Davis said. “he’s gutsy, he’s a bulldog and this atmosphere won’t get to him. I’d make that decision 10 times out of a 100.”
But the decision almost blew up in his face as Odom was plagued by wildness at key moments. Odom had five wild pitches and three of them contributed to Warrior runs.
Pontotoc turned the first into a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Junior Jabari Farr was hit by a pitch leading off, a wild pitch got him to second, a groundout put him at third and a sacrifice fly got him home.
The Warriors made it 2-0 in the third. A one-out walk to senior Walt Gardner, a steal and two wild pitches got the run home.
On offense, the Bobcats again had trouble adjusting to the big park and the pitching of senior right-hander Brice Deaton, who handcuffed Sumrall for much of the early going.
“(Deaton) was pretty good,” said Sumrall senior Marshall Phillips. “He did what he was supposed to do. He located outside, did a good job with his off-speed, almost pitching backwards sometimes.”
Phillips had the best hit of the game for Sumrall in the early innings, a double to the leftfield corner in the first. But it came right after junior Landon Holliman was tagged out on a steal attempt after reaching on an error with one out.
The Bobcats had baserunners on in the second and third with singles by senior Ryan Cole Broom and Holliman.
Sumrall finally got a run across in fourth when Deaton walked four batters, with senior Cade Dedeaux drew a four-pitch free pass with the bases loaded. But Deaton got a strikeout to end the inning and keep the Warriors ahead.
“I thought we came in tight,” said Phillips. “It took us awhile to get the bats going. But, really, it doesn’t matter how you start, it matters how you finish.”
The Warriors got the run right back in the top of the fifth, when eighth-grader Corbyn Clayton led off with their first hit of the game, a single to rightfield. A sacrifice, a groundout and another wild pitch made it 3-1.two out in the
Odom ran out of gas in the sixth after one was out. Deaton singled and Farr walked to bring Davis out for junior left-hander Keaton Mauldin, who got an out, but then gave up a walk. Clayton sent a 1-2 pitch into leftfield for a two-run hit.
A groundout got the Bobcats out of more trouble, but they initially had trouble with Pontotoc junior lefty Garrett Pound, who came on after Deaton reached the 100-pitch mark with two out in the fifth.
Sumrall got two runners on in the sixth, but failed to score. However, Mauldin worked around a two-out walk to set up the dramatic seventh inning.
“Usually when we’re down, it always is usually in the seventh,” said Phillips. “That seventh inning comes and we start getting really greedy, just trying to find baserunners.”
Holliman got it started with a sharp single to right-centerfield and Phillips crushed a double into the left-centerfield. Aultman loaded the bases with a walk and a wild pitch brought one run home.
Odom followed with an RBI single, and the Warriors chose to bring in Clayton from shortstop to pitch. His defense betrayed him as a potential double-play ball was booted to load the bases and a walk to senior Brycen Smith made it 5-4.
The Warriors got two outs on plays at the plate, the second on a squeeze play attempt by senior Hayes Rayner, but Dedeaux again looked at four straight balls to drive in the tying run.
“I was kicking myself calling a squeeze there, but that was just me trying to force the score,” said Davis. “But then we got the walk to bail me out. I’ve got to hand it to these guys. They just get it done.”
Clayton got a strikeout with the bases loaded to send the game to extra innings, but the Warriors were unable to score off Mauldin in the top of the eighth despite getting runners to second and third with two out.
But Mauldin got a strikeout to end the inning, and the Bobcats wasted little time in scoring the game-winner.
“The seventh was a big, big moment for us,: said Aultman. “It shows a lot of heart from o ur team to come out here and come back from 5-1. This is huge. A Game 1 win is always huge, but this is really big for us. We know we have the momentum now.”
Phillips drew a leadoff walk, stole second and steamed home when Aultman whacked a 2-2 pitch just inside the bag at third.
“I’d say this was the biggest comeback of my career,” said Davis. “To come back in the seventh from 5-1 down in a championship situation, that hasn’t happened in championship games with us at all.”
Prep Baseball Linescore
Class 4A Championship Round
Game 1
Tuesday at Pearl
Sumrall 6, Pontotoc 5
Pontotoc 011 012 00 – 5 6 3
Sumrall 000 100 41 – 6 7 0
PONTOTOC (31-10): Brice Deaton 1B, Jabari Farr 2B; Corbyn Clayton 2 1B. LP – Corbyn Clayton (1-1). Also pitching – Brice Deaton (starter); Garrett Pound.
SUMRALL (34-1): Landon Holliman 2 1B; Marshall Phillips 2 2B; Ethan Aultman 1B; Levi Odom 1B; Ryan Cole Broom 1B. WP – Keaton Mauldin (3-0). Also pitching – Levi Odom (starter).
Photos courtesy of Richard Thompson
