By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

GULFPORT — Gulfport hosts D’Iberville in the second game of their three game Region 4-74A opening series Friday night.

And the Admirals, for now at least, are under a bit of a new direction.

Veteran assistant coach Kelly Weems is now “Overseeing the day-to-day operations of the baseball program while Coach Edwards tends to private matters” according to GHS Athletics Director Matt Walters.

Justin Edwards is in his first season as the head coach at Gulfport.

Weems has stepped in to fill the role after serving as the pitching coach for the Admirals for the past two seasons. Prior to that, he filled the same role for 13 seasons at Harrison Central under both current Red Rebel head coach Neil Frederic as well as longtime mentor Pat Olmi.

The Admirals beat D’Iberville 5-2 Monday night to move to 9-4 overall with their fifth straight win.

Edwards came to GHS after six seasons as head coach at Vancleave after he guided the Bulldogs to the Class 5A state championship last season.

Round Two

Vancleave destroyed East Central 15-3 in just five innings in the top running prep baseball rivalry in Jackson County Tuesday night.

The two teams are back at it again in game two of their Region 4-5 opening series Friday night in Vancleave where the Bulldogs look to win their fifth straight game over their long time arch-rival.

Tuesday’s win was the first in league play for new Vancleave head coach Zac Haarala, who was elevated from his assistant coach spot to replace Edwards at the helm of the Bulldogs.

“It’s always good to win game one of a series,” Haarala said. “I thought we really competed at the plate and played solid defense behind (Starting pitcher Hunter Harper) Harp. But we also know that’s only one game and there is more work to be done this week.”

This match-up pits the last two teams to win the past three Class 5A state championships, as the Hornets took back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023 before yielding to the Bulldogs last season as Vancleave brought home its second state baseball title in seven seasons.

Round Two, Part Two

In the “Catholic League War”, visiting St. Patrick slipped past arch-rival St. Stanislaus 4-3 Tuesday night in Region 8-3A action. The two teams reconvene tonight in Biloxi.

Fighting Irish catcher Jasper Moran stepped to the plate in a 3-3 tie with two outs in the top of the seventh and smacked a solo home run to provide the game winning mark for SPHS.

St. Patrick remained in sole possession of first place at 3-0 in the region race with the win. The Rocks sit at 1-2.