Pass Christian and Stone are tied atop the Region 8-4A standings with one week of league play left.
And Moss Point, once left for dead, may have seen its Clas 4A state playoff hopes resurrected just a few day before Easter as well.
Pass Christian and arch-rival Bay High split a pair of league games on consecutive nights this week, with the Tigers taking a 5-2 win on Tuesday and the Pirates sailing right back into the top spot in the region race Wednesday night with a 7-0 win.
The results leave PCHS and Stone both at 5-1 on top of the league standings, with a two-game, home-and-home series between the Pirates and Tomcats on tap for next week that will decide the region champion.
Pass was coming off of an 11-day lay-off on Tuesday when the series began, and Bay High jumped out to a 2-0 lead after two innings.
The Tigers took command of the game with three more runs in the top f the fifth, and held on for the win.
Xander Ladner went the distance on the hill for Bay High to pick up the win, allowing six hits and both runs on a two run homer by Peyton Lacy. Ladner struck out five.
Ladner also drove in two runs at the plate with a two run triple, while Walker Seymour had an RBI-double. Joel Ulrich and Gavin Garcia also drove in runs in the win for the Tigers.
Brandon Necaise started and took the loss for PCHS.
On Wednesday night, the Pirates rode the arm of the Southern Miss signee Lacy to the 7-0 shutout win at Fred Weems Field in Bay St. Louis.
Lacy gave up two hits and one walk on the mound, and collected 14 strikeouts in a dominant six inning performance to earn the win.
“Peyton Lacy is a dog, he’s been battling a little bit on an injury and honestly was not sure if he was going to make it tonight,” said Pass Christian High School Head Baseball Coach Ricky Smith. “He gutted it out and gave us everything he had. Offensively, we started really early and I thought that was important for us. Bay High has improved a lot since last year, credit to their players and coaches.”
As the Pirates coach stated, offensively Pass Christian jumped on the scoreboard with Lacy knocking in three RBIs on two hits along with Centerfielder LJ Jaynes and Shortstop Dylan Welter crossing home plate twice. The shortstop was on base four times while there were three stolen bases by the Pirates.
Ulrich recorded two of the Tigers’ three hits off of Lacy, and Braden Necaise took the loss.
Bay High is firmly in the third spot at 3-3 in the region at this point, but the Tigers will meet Greene County next week in a big two-game series for both teams with playoff implications on the line.
Greene County could have wrapped up the fourth and final playoff spot in Region 8-4A with a win over Moss Point Thursday night, but the Tigers had different ideas.
On the brink of elimination, Moss Point rallied back and pulled out a 5-4 walk-off win over the visiting Wildcats to stay alive in the race for the Class 4A state playoffs. The Tigers finish league play at 2-6, while GCHS drops to 1-5 with two games vs. Bay High left to play. Greene County defeated MPHS 10-0 on Tuesday night.
The win keeps Moss Point’s once slim playoff hopes alive, but the Tigers will have to act as observers next week as the postseason picture rounds into shape as MPHS has completed the region portion of its schedule.
(Hunter Dawkins of The Gazebo Gazette contributed to this story)
