By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PASCAGOULA — First year Pascagoula head coach Colton Caver and his Panthers have bounced back pretty well from a big loss last week.
Pascagoula won its second straight game to move back above the .500 level Wednesday night dispatching visiting Vancleave 8-7 in eight innings. The win pushes the Panthers to 4-3 overall on the young campaign, while the decision drops the Bulldogs to an even 4-4. Vancleave has dropped three of its last four games.
“Our guys showed a lot of fight in the seventh to tie it up and come from behind in extras,” Carver said. “I’m extremely proud our their fight tonight against a really good Vancleave Bunch.”
Both teams are scheduled to face off again Thursday night at “The Landing” in Vancleave in the return match of the back-to-back, home-and-home series.

With the game knotted up 6-6 after seven stanzas Wednesday night, Vancleave took a 7-6 lead in the top the eighth on an RBI-sacrifice fly by Hunter Parker that plated Tanner Willis.
In the bottom of the inning, Sean Norvell and J.J. Trinidad each drew back-to-back one-out walks off of Bulldog reliever Tony Craven. Tanner Willis then became the fifth VHS pitcher of the night, and the final one, as Adrian Rosado greeted him with a run-scoring single that scored Norvell.
Willis then intentionally walked Griffin Wells to load the bases and set up a potential force out situation.
However, after swinging and missing on the first pitch, Panther batter Tylan Wilson took four straight balls to earn a walk off RBI-walk as Trinidad danced across home with the winning run.
Pascagoula was down in the game 6-0 after five frames before pulling out the win with a furious comeback in the final three frames scoring a pair of runs in both the sixth and eighth innings with a four run seventh stanza sandwiched in between.

“Our guys came out the gate pretty slow and made some costly mistakes that put us in a big hole,” Caver, whose team beat Ocean Springs 4-3 last week after falling to St. Stanislaus 12-0, added. “The starter for Vancleave pitched a great game and located his pitches well. We ended up scratching a few runs in the 6th to get us within striking distance.”
He was referring to Bulldog starter Hunter Harper, who twirled four scoreless innings scattering just three singles while striking out seven and walking none.
After taking a 2-0 lead with runs scoring on a wild pitch and a passed ball, Vancleave seemingly took control of the contest with that four run fifth frame with Robert Tinson’s RBI-single the big blow.
However, the four Bulldog relievers couldn’t make the six run advantage stand up.

Dylan Melendez started the Panther rally with a two-run single in the sixth. Trinidad then drove in a run in the middle of the big seventh stanza uprising with a bunt on a squeeze play, and Griffin Wells and Rosado also drove in runs in the inning.
Then Wilson, fresh off his duties as the sixth man on a PHS basketball squad that went 29-2, smacked an RBI double to center and suddenly the game was knotted up at 6-6 setting the stage for the climactic eighth frame.
Rosado had a game-high four hits to pace Pascagoula at the plate, while Wilson and Wells had doubles in the winning effort. Rosado, Melendez and Wilson each drove in a pair of runs apiece for the Panthers.
Martin Shaw had two hits to lead Vancleave.
Norvell, the third of three Panther pitchers picked up the win, while Craven took the loss.