By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PEARL — Coming into Wednesday, it had been exactly 25 months and seven days since George County lost to the same baseball team in back-to-back games.

Unfortunately for the Rebels, that streak ended here in game two of the Class 6A state championship series at Trustmark Park.

Saltillo rallied from a 1-0 deficit in the sixth inning to score three straight runs to end the game and secure a sweep of GCHS with a 3-1 win. The decision, combined with a game one 4-3 win, clinched the sixth overall state title for the Tigers and the second in four years.

The Tigers ended the season at 27-5, while the Rebels finished at 24-11. George County, the defending Class 6A state champs, was attempting to win back-to-back state titles for the first time in program history.

“They were the better team in this series,” veteran GCHS head coach Brandon Davis, who just completed his 14th season at the helm of his alma mater, said. “It was a great year for our program and a great two year run for us.”

For the second straight game, the Tigers again produced some late inning antics to pull out an improbable win.

Again, just like in game one, GCHS broke out on top early 1-0 on Bryce O’Neal’s RBI-single.

Rebel starting pitcher Caron Pierce sailed through the first five frames, allowing no runs and just three hits. He then quickly retired the first two batters in the top of the sixth, but the Tigers slapped together three straight hits including an RBI-double by Easton Reynolds that tied things up at 1-1. Saltillo’s Dawson Arriola then slipped a run-scoring single into left to give the Tigers a lead they would never relinquish at 2-1.

Pierce gave way to Brayden Havard, and Saltillo added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on an RBI-single by Baylor Roberts to close out not only the scoring but the season for George County.

Meanwhile, Saltillo starting pitcher Wilson Rodriguez was solid all game long, as the southpaw scattered just five singles and struck out 11 to earn the win.

Pierce was saddled with the loss.

The last time that the Rebels lost two straight games to the same team came in mid-May of 2023, when East Central ended the regular season by knocking off the Rebels three straight times.

Those same Hornets went on to capture their second straight Class 5A state championship over, you guessed it, Saltillo.

The last state title for the Tigers came in 2021 when they got by Pascagoula in three games.