By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Editor

Resurrection can clinch its seventh consecutive Region 8-1A championship Friday night.
The Eagles head to Brookhaven to face home-standing Enterprise-Lincoln in the second half of a home and home league series.
Resurrection turned back the visiting Yellow Jackets 10-0 in five frames in Region 8-1A play at Lee Tingle Field Tuesday night. The win marked the 43rd consecutive league win for the back-to-back Class 1A state champions, and marked 26 straight home wins in the loop.
The series is a rematch of last year’s Class 1A South State semifinals match-up in which the Eagles swept the Yellow Jackets en route to its second straight state title.

The Eagles moved to 7-0 in the region race, while Enterprise Lincoln dropped to 6-1 in league play, and this battle that will in all likelihood decide the top two seeds in the league for the upcoming state playoffs. Resurrection moves to 13-3 overall.
The Eagles, which have won three straight Class 1A South State titles, have the longest league winning streak in the state. The last region loss for the Eagles came just under seven years ago, on April 7, 2017 on the road at Stringer. Resurrection hasn’t lost a home game in Region 8-1A play in almost eight years, and has won 25 straight at home.
Resurrection won the league title for three straight years from 2017-2019, and then there was no league action in 2020 due to the pandemic. The Eagles have again won three consecutive league titles since then from 2021-2023 and appear to be quickly closing in on yet another.

After facing Enterprise-Lincoln Friday night, RCS remains on the road on Saturday at St. Patrick to renew that Catholic League rivalry and then remains in the “Holy Wars” next week to wrap up Region 8-1A play with a home and home series against Sacred Heart.
Resurrection finishes up regular season play facing the Fighting Irish of SPHS once again at home one week from Saturday.

Meanwhile, things aren’t going quite as smoothly for the other back-to-back and two-time defending state champion in Jackson County, the East Central Hornets.
East Central finishes up its Region 4-5A three game series with county rival Gautier Friday night as well, but the Hornets are trying to take their first league series of the season after Gautier won 8-5 at home Thursday night to earn a split in the first two games.
The win also pushed the Gators into third place in the Region race, and back ahead of the Hornets. Stone remains atop the league standings at 8-0, while Vancleave sits at 7-1 and in the second spot while and Gautier is 3-4 and in third. East Central sits in the fourth spot at 2-6 along with Wayne County which has won just one actual game on the field but claims a 3-4 region mark because of two forfeit wins over Laurel last week. Laurel is 0-5 on the field and also still has a possible third game against Gautier to make up as well.
The War Eagles fell to Vancleave at home on Monday and the teams are set to face off again Friday night in Vancleave before finishing up the series Saturday afternoon back in Waynesboro.
The good news for the Hornets is that all seven of their region games they have left are against the teams they need to beat in order to get the third or fourth seed and qualify for the state playoffs once again. They face Laurel next week in three games (hopefully) before a trio of games the following week against Wayne County wraps up the region race.