By Curtis Rockwell/Sports Director

PEARL — Catching up on a few items as we converge here on Trustmark Park for the 15th straight season:
Both Poplarville and Mooreville each experienced some pretty long lay-offs before taking the playing field here at Trustmark Park in game one of the Class 4A state championship series Tuesday morning.
After all, the Hornets hadn’t seen action in 10 days, while it had been eight days since the Troopers last played a game.

Thr delay was the longest ever in program history for Poplarville during the middle of a season.
However, the long layoffs and early morning first pitch didn’t really seem to matter much to either team, as Mooreville chased PHS starting pitcher Ty Keys quickly with six early runs in the first two frames and the Hornets scored five quick runs of their own as well.

Long streak
When Pearl River Central and Saltillo open the Class 6A state championship series early Tuesday afternoon, the Tigers from up around Tupelo will carry with them a pretty sweet streak into the action.
That’s because Saltillo, the defending Class 6A state champs, has now won 14 straight state playoff games as they head into the best-of-three series against the Blue Devils.
The Tigers swept through four different opponents in eight consecutive games last post season, including sweeping George County for the title here in this venue.
So far this season, SHS is a perfect 6-0 in the playoffs.

Trophy Case
In both state title tilts involving “Southern Six” squads this week, there is one fact that catches your attention right off the bat.
The Hornets and Blue Devils are each playing in their second state championship series ever in their respective program histories. PRC beat Oxford in 2017 for its only state title to date, while 52 years ago in 1974, the Hornets fell to Kosciusko in its only other trip to the finals.
But that’s far from the case for their two opponents.
Mooreville and Saltillo are two of the more experienced squads in the state at this level, with 26 trips combined to the state championship round.
Also, the Troopers have won nine total crowns and the Tigers six, for a total of 15 state titles between the two.