By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director
The Class 6A South State playoffs get started a day earlier than most this week.
And that one South series involves a “Southern Six”, as Long Beach takes on Hattiesburg.
The Bearcats, the number two seed for Region 4-6A, host the Tigers Thursday night. Hattiesburg, the third seed from Region 3-6A, will host Long Beach Friday night at Smokey Harrington Field
A third and final game, if necessary, will be back at Rutledge Field on the Coast Saturday night.
All three of the other Class 6A South State series will start on Friday, including George County hosting Terry.
The defending Class 6A state champion Rebels, under the guidance of veteran head coach Brandon Davis, captured the Region 4-6A crown for the second consecutive season with a 13-2 mark in the league standings. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, finished fourth out of just four teams in Region 3-6A.
Last season, George County battled Warren Central in the Class 6A state championship series at Trustmark Park in Pearl. Just like the Rebels, the Vikings are back to defend their Class 6A North State crown this year as well as they take on Center Hill in the opening round of the state playoffs this week.
The winner of the Long Beach-Hattiesburg series will face the winner of the PRC-Pascagoula match-up in the Class 6A South State semifinals next week. The other side of that same bracket will pit the winner of the George County-Terry series against the survivor of the West Jones-Picayune affair.
MHSAA Baseball Playoffs
CLASS 6A (First Round)
North
North Saltillo vs. Vicksburg
Neshoba Central vs. South Panola
Warren Central vs. Center Hill
Grenada vs. Ridgeland
South
Pearl River Central vs. Pascagoula
Long Beach vs. Hattiesburg
George County vs. Terry
West Jones vs. Picayune
Leave a Reply