By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

OCEAN SPRINGS — Gulfport remained right in the thick of things in the chase for the state playoffs with its fourth straight Region 4-7A win on the prep softball diamond Wednesday night.

The Lady Admirals never trailed in taking a 6-4 road win over Ocean Springs. The win pushes Gulfport into a three way tie with the Lady Greyhounds and St. Martin all at 4-3 in the region race, as Harrison Central leads the way at 5-2.

Gulfport, which started league play off at 0-3 including an 8-5 home loss to OSHS, broke open a 4-4 tie with single runs in each of the fifth and sixth stanzas to take the win.

Juliana Espat led off the fifth with a single and three batters later Fairley Hall drove her in on an RBI-double. Caroline Woodward’s RBI-double in the next at bat completed the scoring.

Woodward, Espat, Georgia Emmer and Marleigh Lowe each had two hits apiece to guide Gulfport’s game-winning 11-hit attack. Hall, Woodward and Emmer each had a double apiece, while Paige Moore drove in a pair of runs.

Woodward, with just over three frames of relief work in place of starting pitcher Skylar Brock, picked up the win in the circle. She worked her way out of a two-out, bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh.

Taylor Farra had a home run and a double to pace OSHS at the plate, and that home run kicked off a three-run fourth frame rally that erased a 4-1 Gulfport advantage and forced that aforementioned 4-4 tie. Gracie McDonald and K’Lee Gum also had two hits apiece for the Lady Greyhounds.

Gum popped out with two outs and the bags packed to end the game.

Kylie Untisz went the distance and took the loss for OSHS.

Ocean Springs faces St. Martin in a key region game Thursday night, while Gulfport takes on D’Iberville and Biloxi takes on Harrison Central.

With three games to play, Biloxi and DHS each sit in fifth place at 2-5 behind the top four seeds currently.