By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

HURLEY — East Central senior standout Brody Long gets the “Baria Law Firm Game Ball of the Week” this week.

Every week throughout the end of the school year, we will honor student/athletes across the “Southern Six” with our “Game Ball of the Week” sponsored by David Baria, Attorney-Mediator.

East Central came up with one of its biggest regular season series sweeps in almost two decades with three straight wins over arch-rival Vancleave in Region 4-5A play last week, and Long was a major reason why as he went 4-for-9 at the plate with five RBI’s as the Hornets clinched a state playoff berth for the 16th straight season. It also marked the seventh straight region win for Long and ECHS.

Then, in a key series that started Tuesday on the road against perennial state power Purvis, Long had two hits and drove in a run in a close 3-2 loss to the Tornadoes as the two teams battle for the top two seeds in the region race and the corresponding homefield advantage that goes with it next week in the opening round of the Class 5A South State playoffs.

Long, an infielder and a pitcher and a two-year starter for ECHS, and his Hornets are back in action Friday night at home taking on Purvis, and then wrap up the regular season back in Purvis Saturday afternoon.

The Baria Law Firm, the Gulf Coast branch of Cosmich, Simmons and Brown, provides a beacon of trust and reliability in a complex legal landscape. Our firm’s unwavering dedication to you is at the core of everything we do. Choose David Baria of Baria Law as your legal ally, and let us handle the details while you focus on what matters most. Reach out to David at 228-395-8303 or dbaria@barialaw.com and at https://barialaw.com.