By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

HURLEY — History was made in prep baseball in Jackson County Tuesday night.
For the first time in 45 years, a non-alumnus of Pascagoula High School led the Panther baseball program into action on the diamond.
When Colton Caver made his head coaching debut in the visitor’s dugout against perennial state power East Central, it marked the first time since 1979 that a former Panther player was not the head coach of a Pascagoula baseball team.
Despite an early lead by Pascagoula, the two-time defending Class 5A state champion Hornets nipped the Panthers 3-2 in the season-opener for both squads.

The last time PHS was led into battle without a former Panther standout at the helm was in 1979, when Mike Arbuckle was the head coach.
Since then, Donnie Davis, Johnny Olsen, John Tomes and Richie Tillman were the head coaches for the PHS baseball team with 40 years of that belonging to the Olsen and Tillman eras.
Caver was proud of the outing despite the setback.
“Our players competed in all aspects of the game last night against a solid East Central team and I couldn’t be prouder of them for that,” Caver said. “A timely hit here and there we might have walked away with a win, but that’s baseball and it’s early in the season. I look forward to seeing how our guys answer and build off a solid start.”
Matthew Combs delivered a two-out walk-off RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh stanza for the winning run as Blake Hays scored.
That big hit came after a climactic sixth inning when East Central rallied to tie the game up at 2-2 on a run-scoring single by Payton McLean that plated Nathan Trochessett.

Pascagoula took a pair of early leads in the game, going up 1-0 with the Panthers’ first ever run in the Caver era in their first at bat when Jarrad Loper singled home Griffin Wells to make it 1-0.
East Central knotted things up at 1-1 on an RBI-double by Combs in the third frame.
The Panthers took their second one-run lead of the night in the next inning on a run-scoring single by J.J. Trinidad, setting the stage for the exciting ending.
Brody Long worked just the seventh inning to pick up the win, while Adrian Rosado picked up two outs in the seventh before being saddled with the loss.
The two teams meet again Thursday night in Pascagoula as Caver makes his home debut with the Panthers.
In other early season action from earlier this week, Picayune pummeled perennial state power Petal 11-0 Monday night at Dub Herring Park in Poplarville on the campus of Pearl River Community College.

Tanner Busby hurled four frames and allowed just two hits while striking out eight in earning the win on the mound for the Maroon Tide. He got a lot of support at the plate from both Morgan Craft and Brady Robertson. Craft, who doubles as the Picayune place kicker on the football field, and Robertson, the Maroon Tide quarterback, each had a pair of hits to open their senior seasons. Kyler King added a hit and a pair of RBI’s in the winning effort, while Cooper Moreaux had a run-scoring double.
Picayune heads to Biloxi to face the Indians Friday night.
Elsewhere, in Bay St. Louis, home-standing St. Stanislaus knocked off Harrison Central 4-0.
The Rock-A-Chaws, fresh off an appearance last season in the Class 3A state championship series, broke open a close game with three runs in the sixth stanza to secure the win.
Jeremy Mares had a game-high three hits to pave the way to the win for SSC, while Stephen Hutchinson added a pair of hits and an RBI and Tate Murphy added a run-scoring double for the Rocks.

Brady Wallis and Sam Pike teamed up to throw a season-opening no-hitter for SSC, as Wallis started and went the first four frames striking out six and walking two, while Pike relieved in the fifth and finished up the final three innings with four strike outs.
Tri Gaughf took the loss for the Red Rebels.
Harrison Central faces Vancleave at PRCC Thursday, while SSC travels to Stone on the same night.