(This is an analysis)

By Curtis Rockwell/Sports Director

PEARL — In the past 30 years, 15 different “Southern Six” prep baseball teams have won state championships.
Also, 15 others have finished second in the chase for a state title.
And, next season, a pair of Pearl River County squads from our area hope to return to the final round after coming up just short last week to try and take home the gold trophy.
On paper, both Pearl River Central and Poplarville seem in great shape to do just that, after the Blue Devils fell in three games to Saltillo in Class 6A and the Hornets were swept by Mooreville in Class 4A.
After all, both teams bring back most of their starters and have a solid nucleus in place to make another run at a state title. PRC loses just four seniors, and Poplarville none.

However, even though the future looks bright, both squads should take heed of some past performances of teams elsewhere in the “Southern Six”, in particular one real recent as well as one other from 30 years ago, as examples not to follow.
Two years ago, George County won the Class 6A state championship with a talent-laden roster dotted by mostly juniors.
Included in that lot was two players, the Class 6A Player of the Year as well as the Most Valuable Player in the champiosnship series, and four total products that earned First Team All-State honors that season.
The Rebels, which won a state title for the first time in 27 years, returned seven starters the next season, including the majority of their offensive output. And even though George County got back to the state finals again, Saltillo swept through the title match-up to win it all.
“Playing that much baseball at a high level is stressful,” veteran GCHS head coach Brandon Davis, who has two state titles under his belt as a mentor and one as a player, said. “We had a lot of players back that had won it and they all had scholarships set and it was hard to keep their feet in the present. Success comes at a price.”
Davis also led three different GCHS teams to the state finals in 2015, 2017 and 2018, and all finished second.
Three decades ago, a similar situation unfolded in Pascagoula. The Panthers, in 1996, had just won their first state title in 13 years after several close calls.

Pascagoula also won it with seven juniors in the starting line-up, as well as their top two starting pitchers who formed the most dominant duo on the mound in the state that season.
But, PHS fell to Hattiesburg the next season in the Class 5A South State semifinal round.
“After winning in 1996, we felt like we were the the best team in the state for 1997.” then PHS head coach Johnny Olsen, who has won two state titles, said. “We had the core of our team back, especially our pitching staff. We had to move a couple of guys around. but we were still pretty good. It just goes to show you that you have to be in the moment and ready to take advantage of what is in front of you. Those chances aren’t guaranteed.”
Next season, PRC will be without one of its top two pitchers in Roman Mitchell as well as one of its top offensive weapons in Blake Gill. Those mark the two biggest losses.

Poplarville, despite having no seniors on its roster, will almost certainly be without junior multi-sport standout Ty Keys. Keys is one of the most sought after prep running backs in the nation, who recently committed to the University of Miami, and he plans on leaving high school once his senior season on the gridiron wraps up during the fall.

So, both the Blue Devils and Hornets will sail into next season with most of their top talent returning. The two teams are now part of that group of 15 “Southern Six” squads that will be on a mission to return to the state championship round after finishing second in the state the year before.
Of those 15 previous teams, only Resurrection in 2022 and George County in `1997 were able to win the state title after falling short the season before in the finals.
And, Rebel leader Davis, who has experienced both sides of the situation, may have a word to the wise. After all, he was a standout catcher on the 1997 state champ GCHS squad that took the title after finishing second in 1996.
“It’s hard to beat a hungry team,” he concluded.