By MAURICE SINGLETON/Sports Writer

Picayune swept past Hattiesburg in two tight games to open the Class 6A South State playoffs.

The Maroon Tide squeaked out a 4-3 win in 12 innings at home at Kent Kirkland Field on Friday night, and followed that up with a 3-1 win in the Hub City on Saturday night.

In game one, Kyler King delivered the game-winning walk-off hit for the Maroon Tide with his RBI-single with no outs in the bottom of the 12th. The hit scored pinch runner Brayden Pomes, who was running for Landon Franklin after Franklin led off the frame with a walk.

The game was scoreless until the bottom of the fifth, when Picayune broke up a pitchers duel between Tanner Busby and David Walls by finally getting to Walls for three runs to break the scoreless tie.

King tallied the games first run with a bases loaded RBI-single, and Jamie Lumpkin stepped up to the plate next and got hit by a pitch to drive in a run and make it 2-0. Morgan Craft made it 3-0 when he followed that with a run-scoring sacrifice fly.

The Tigers finally got on the scoreboard in their final at bat in regulation to keep the game going with three runs of their own in the top of the seventh, and Miles Prince’s two-run single tied things up at 3-3 setting the stage for King’s later heroics.

Landon Watts relieved Busby in the top of the ninth and hurled four scoreless frames to pick up the win for Picayune. 

King collected a game-high three hits and drove in those two runs for the Maroon Tide, while Craft chipped in a pair of hits to the winning effort.

On Saturday night, at Smokey Harrington Park, Picayune wrapped the series up after rallying for a pair of runs in the top of the sixth stanza to break open a 1-1 tie and hold on for the win.

Brady Robertson went the distance on the mound for the Maroon Tide, as he scattered three hits and struck out three in picking up the win.

Picayune opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first frame on an RBI-single by Craft. However, the Tigers tied things up on a run-scoring double by JoJo Polk in the bottom of the third.

Still knotted up entering the top of the sixth, Robertson helped himself out offensively as he registered an RBI-single to make it 2-1. Franklin followed that with a run-scoring single of his own to give Robertson an insurance run and complete the scoring.

King had a game-high two hits to pace Picayune at the plate as the Maroon Tide won the game on the strength of just 11 singles in two games including six of those in the decisive contest Saturday night.