By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

CARRIERE — Former Pearl River Central head coach Neil Walther will lead his new team into his old stomping grounds this week for a key Region 4-6A three game series.

And that makes the series opener between Hancock and home-standing PRC Tuesday night in Carriere this week’s “Vertical Raise Game of the Week” for SouthMiss6 Sports.

Each week during the prep basketball season, SouthMiss6 Sports will feature a “GOTW” sponsored by Vertical Raise, the premier online fundraising platform for athletic teams and associated clubs and supporters of all ages.

The league-leading Blue Devils are 12-0 in the region race and have a one game hold on the top spot in the midst of a solid 20-5 overall season. Second place Hancock, under the direction of its first-year head coach Walther, comes in at 11-1 in the loop and a program best 21-3 overall, and is looking for its first region title in Class 6A.

Pearl River Central stayed perfect in the region race by sweeping Pascagoula last week, including a big 11-0 win in just five frames at home Friday night in the series finale of the three game set.

Blake Gill and Roman Mitchell each had two hits apiece, including a double each, in the winning effort, while J.J. Morealle also posted a double and Luke Herring drove in a pair of runs.

Gill finished up with six hits in the three wins over the Panthers.

Walther led the PRC program for almost 17 seasons before being let go abruptly late in the 2024 season. Budddy Turnage is in his second season at the helm of the Blue Devils.

The two teams are jockeying for seeding as it relates to the upcoming Class 6A South State playoffs, which begin in a little over a week. The two teams are assured of the top two seeds in the region race as well as homefield advantage in the opening round of the state playoffs.

So this series is all about who will take the top spot

After the series opener Tuesday night, the two teams head to Hancock Friday for game two before reconvening back in Carriere Saturday afternoon for game three.

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Our successes are built upon our best-in-class email deliverability, detailed tracking and the complete personalization of every participant’s page. Combining this proprietary system, with experienced and passionate fundraising coaches has made us the most effective fundraising platform available.

We look forward to partnering with you to elevate your organization to its full potential! Please contact your local fundraising rep Ricky Cunningham at 228-263-4755 for more information.