By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

HURLEY — East Central and South Jones face off in the Class 5A South State playoffs for the first time in three years this week.

And the Hornets are hopeful that the results and the aftermath are the same as in 2022.

East Central hosts the Braves for game one in the Class 5A South State championship series Tuesday night, with game two set for Ellisville at 7 p.m., on Wednesday.

The last time the two teams faced off was three years ago in the second round of the state playoffs, and the Hornets swept SJHS propelling them on to winning the Class 5A state title for the first of back-to-back state championships.

“Everyone I’ve talked to have talked about how good their pitching is.,” veteran ECHS head coach Bo Long said. “We’ll definitely have our work cut out against them.”

East Central is coming off a three game decision over Florence, which marked the third straight season the Hornets ended the season for the Eagles in the Class 5A South State playoffs. East Central also went three games with North Pike in round one.

The Braves, meanwhile, took down defending Class 5A state champ Vancleave in three games last week after sweeping Wayne County in the opening round.

Both ECHS and South Jones finished second in their respective region races in the regular season, as the Hornets trailed Vancleave in Region 4-5A and the Braves did so to Florence in Region 3-5A.

East Central is 20-14 overall and South jones sits at 28-7.

South Jones is led by senior standout pitcher Dylan Causey, a Southern Miss signee.

“We faced their number one (Causey) when he was a freshman,” Long added. “And he w was a really good then.”

The Hornets are hoping to get back to the Class 5A state title series for the first time since winning it all in back-to-back seasons in 2022 and 2023.

A game three, if needed, in the series will take place back in Hurley at 6 p.m., Thursday night.