By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

OCEAN SPRINGS — Last season, as Ocean Springs and Gulfport kicked off their three game battle for supremacy in Region 4-7A, the Greyhounds turned to junior starting pitcher Jack Jordan to draw first blood in the all-important match-up.

A year later, this time at home, the senior standout ace hurler was back at it once again.

Almost a year to the day of earning a complete game win against the Admirals in game one last season, Jordan marched back on to the mound and duplicated the feat Tuesday night twirling a complete game shutout as OSHS thumped Gulfport 10-0 at Greyhound Field.

The decision moved the Greyhounds into sole possession of the top spot in the region race at 11-2, and dropped Gulfport a game behind in the second spot at 10-3. Ocean Springs needs one more win in the series, either Thursday night or Friday afternoon, to clinch the league crown for the second straight season.

Jordan struck out six and scattered four singles in earning his fifth straight win in region action. His teammates gave him all the support he would need in the six stanza contest,

“It’s always good to get the first game of a series against such a good team,” OSHS second-year head coach Ryne Long said, who is looking for his second straight region title during his time at the helm of the Greyhounds. ” Jack was Jack, he filled up the zone and stayed ahead in counts and was efficient. And we played clean defensively behind him.”

It was actually Jordan himself that gave OSHS a lead it would never relinquish with a RBI-single in the bottom of the first frame. A.J. Rossi’s run-scoring sacrifice fly made it 2-0 just a few batters later and the home team was off and running.

Nicholls State signee Cannon Hensarling had a game-high three hits, including a pair of doubles, as well as a game-high three RBIs to pace the Greyhounds at the plate. His two-run double in the fifth made it 5-0 and broke the game open a bit.

“I thought we got back to the little things offensively that have played a big part when we’ve had success,” Long added. “That’s a good baseball team over there, they are well coached and have some guys that’s been through the fire in that lineup so we’ll have to play really well the rest of the series.”

Adam Clower added two hits and two RBIs to the game-winning attack, while both Rossi and Justin San Miguel also drove in two runs apiece for OSHS.

Tolar Raybourn started for GHS and went just over four frames to take the loss.

The Admirals got two runners on two different times, in both the fourth and fifth innings, but Jordan induced a ground ball double play on each occasion to end the threat.

Last year, Jordan paced OSHS to a 6-4 win on the road in game one of this annual affair.