By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PASCAGOULA — Bay High waited almost until the last week of the regular season to win a baseball game this season.

But the Tigers couldn’t have picked a more opportune time to snap that 19-game losing streak.

Bay High captured the fourth and final seed for postseason purposes in Region 8-4A Thursday night, as the Tigers beat Moss Point 6-1 here at Tillman Field. The win was the third straight overall for BHS, but more importantly, the second straight win over MPHS secured that spot in the upcoming Class 4A South State playoffs which begin next week.

Bay High snapped that long season-opening losing streak Saturday at St. Stanislaus with a 7-5 win over Pleasure Ridge Park High of Louisville, Ky., before following that up with an 8-2 win at home Tuesday over Moss Point in game one of this final league series of the season.

Feeding off the momentum of that win on Tuesday, the visitors wasted no time in taking a quick and commanding lead Thursday night as Bay High jumped out to a 3-0 advantage in its first at bat before extending it to 5-0 with single runs in the second and third frames.

Xander Ladner gave BHS a lead it would never relinquish just two at bats in, as his RBI-double drove in lead-off hitter Tryston Alford who reached on a walk. Brennan Bilich plated Ladner with a run-scoring ground out, and Isiah Hoyer made it 3-0 with an RBI-single.

Carson Tallent also had an RBI-single for Bay High, and Billich later added an RBI-double also.

Meanwhile, Tucker Monti was keeping Moss Point off balance on the mound as he went the distance to earn the win with four strike outs, three walks and allowing five hits in the process.

An RBI-single by Aiden Evans in the bottom of the third produced Moss Point’s only run.

Versatile senior multi-sport standout Kevon Ford took the loss for MPHS with six stanzas of work.

Ladner had a game-high three hits to lead Bay at the plate, including that double and a triple.

The teams are slated to meet again Saturday afternoon back in the Bay.