By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

ELLISVILLE — South Jones will play for a state baseball championship for the first time in 41 years next week.

Unfortunately, the return to the title round for the Braves came at the expense of current perennial state power East Central.

Home-standing South Jones eliminated the Hornets from state title contention with a 10-5 win in game two of the Class 5A South State championship series Wednesday night. The Braves moved to 30-7 overall with the decision, and they move on to Trustmark Park in Pearl next week to vie for the state title against Lafayette, which swept Corinth in two games for the Class 5A North State title.

East Central, meanwhile, which won back-to-back Class 5A state titles in 2022 and 2023, finishes the season at 20-16. South Jones won game one in Hurley Tuesday night 4-1.

“I couldn’t be any prouder of our team and the way they competed,” veteran Hornet head coach Bo Long said. “South Jones was just the better team, but we competed from the first to the last out.”

After Brave ace Dylan Causey shutdown the Hornets in game one, East Central looked to shake the rust off in game two against South Jones starter Micah Coutta. And Pacey Baria made sure of that as he smacked a two-run home run in the top of the second to put ECHS 2-0.

That, however, would turn out to be the only lead of the game for the Hornets, and it didn’t last long.

South Jones immediately responded with five unanswered runs over its next two at bats to take a lead it would never relinquish. Beckett Johnson’s two-run single tied things up in the bottom of the second, and Russ Thompson followed with a two-run double in the third to put the Braves ahead to stay at 4-2.

The Hornets had one last gasp left to keep their season alive, as Matthew Combs led off the top of the fourth with a solo home run to make it 5-3, and Brody Long’s run-scoring ground out cut the deficit to just one at 5-4.

But the Braves bounced right back with a pair of big flies of their own, as Cayden Kinmon and Coutta cracked back-to-back solo shots in the bottom of the frame to stretch the advantage back to 7-4 and aim the reservation towards Trustmark.

Baria, a junior, collected a game-high three hits to pace the Hornets at the plate, including a homer and a double, and he drove in two runs. Anthony Tanner had two hits in his last game as a Hornet, and Jaxon cripps had a double in his.

Hunter Prouty, the first of four Hornet hurlers on the night, started and took the loss.

Causey, Kinmon and Coutta each had two hits apiece to lead the 12-hit winning offensive attack for South Jones.

Coutta started and worked six stanzas to earn the win, striking out seven and allowing six hits in the process.

“I’m proud of these guys, they worked hard to be in this position.” SJHS head coach Mason Strickland said.

Lafayette has reached the Class 5A state championship series for the second straight season, after falling in three games to Vancleave last year.

South Jones is competing for the crown for the first time since winning the Class A state title in 1984.