By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

SOSO — Picayune came up with perhaps its biggest road win of the current prep baseball season Friday night.

And fortunately for the Maroon Tide, it came at just the right time as well.

Picayune slipped past home-standing West Jones 3-2 here in the opening round of the Class 6A South State playoffs. The decision marked the second straight season that the Maroon Tide went on the road in the first round of the postseason and brought back a win over a team from the Pine Belt area, after sweeping Hattiesburg last year.

Picayune junior pitcher Colt Robertson took his turn as the normal Friday night guy for head coach Evan Nichelson, and turned in a solid work sheet on the mound coming within one out of a complete game while striking out five and scattering five hits in picking up the win.

“Colt competed his tail off.” Nichelson said. “He gave us a chance to win. We had some timely hits and we were able to scratch a few across in the middle endings. It’s always good to get the first game of a series.”

Picayune never trailed, after taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a run-scoring sacrifice fly from Brunson Stockstill.

The Maroon Tide doubled that advantage in the fourth frame on Landon Franklin’s RBI-double to make it 2-0. An inning later, Cooper Moreaux’s RBI-double gave Picayune and much-needed insurance run and it was 3-0.

The Mustangs managed to get to Colt for a run in each of the fifth and sixth stanzas to cut the deficit to 3-2 heading into the final inning.

Armed with that slight 3-2 lead entering the bottom of the seventh, Robertson quickly recorded the first two outs before being relived by Franklin. But when Franklin walked two straight batters, Makon Burnette took over and induced a fly ball out to end the proceedings and earn a save.

Franklin collected a game-high three hits to pace Picayune at the plate in the winning effort, and Parker Helton added two hits. They both, along with Moreaux, each had a double also.

Luke Everwine had a double for West Jones. Dash Piper took the loss.

The two teams reconvene at Kent Kirkland Field in Picayune Saturday night for game two.

“West Jones is a good team and coached very well,” Nichelson concluded. “We gotta look at it being 0-0 now, And be ready to go in game two.”