Editor’s Note: The Tigers were defeated in Game 1 of the state championship 8-1. Results were not availiable by press time.
Baseball is all about superstitions.
Saturday was not any different than any other game day for the Ethel Tigers as far as the superstition department was concerned. Uncharted waters were about to be crossed as Tiger head baseball coach Chris Schuster drove the team bus down that dusty dirt road, purposely avoiding a shorter paved route, that led from the town of Ethel to Highway 14.
The journey would ultimately end some 60 minutes later in Nanih Waiya where his team was to play the third and deciding game of the Class 1A South State Championship series.
“I didn’t want to go the same way as last time,” Schuster said. “We got beat pretty bad at Noxapater when I went the other way, and there was no chance that I would go that way again.”
Pavement or not, the Tigers arrived in Nanih Waiya and not only completed their journey, they left as the best 1A baseball team in South Mississippi after defeating the Warriors 7-5. The Tigers dropped game one last Thursday night 7-4 before winning game two on Friday 3-0 to force a game three that culminated into a South State Championship and a berth in the Class 1A State Championship Series at Trustmark Park in Pearl against North State Champ Tupelo Christian Prep.
Game 1, Nanih Waiya 7, Ethel 4
Tyson Steen got the start for the Tigers in game one at Nanih Waiya and pitched six innings, allowing eight hits, seven runs (four earned) and four walks while striking out three Warrior batters. The offensive leaders for the Tigers were Hayes Wood with a single; Alex Schuster with a single and one run scored; Steen with a double, one run scored and one RBI; Cody Weeks with a single and one RBI; Chase Walters with two singles and one run scored; Daniel McBride with one run scored; Hayden Beall with a single and Daquan Mallett with two singles and an RBI. Nanih Waiya scored three in the second, three in the fourth and one in the fifth while the Tigers scored four in the six. Ethel accumulated 10 hits in the contest and committed three errors while the Warriors had eight hits and two errors.
Game 2, Ethel 3, Nanih Waiya 0
Blake McKinley took the hill for the Tigers in game two at Ethel and dominated the Warriors on his way to a complete game five hitter. He gave up no runs while walking two and striking out five. The offensive leaders for the Tigers in game two were Wood with a single, McKinley with a single and one run scored, McBride with an RBI and Beall with an RBI. The Tigers scored all three of their runs in the sixth inning while scratching out two hits in the contest. Nanih Waiya committed two errors in the shutout.
“I was just thinking that nobody can beat me,” said Ethel pitcher Blake McKinley. “I was giving it my all and when we went up by three runs, I felt like it was over. I really felt like I could finish and we got it done.”
Game 3, Ethel 7, Nanih Waiya 4
The winner of game three would represent the South, and Hayes Wood was up for the task. After a tough first inning that included a walk, error, single and a home run that put the Tigers down 3-0 early, Wood settled down and gave up only four more hits through 5.1 total innings before handing the ball to game two winner Blake McKinley. Wood gave up six total hits and struck out five Warriors while walking only two.
McKinley pitched the final 1.2 innings to earn the save and yielded only one hit, one run and one walk while striking out one.
“Hayes (Wood) pitched a great game and kept them off balance,” said Tiger head coach Chris Schuster. “He gave us five strong innings and did exactly what we needed him to do; he did a great job. We then brought in the big dog (McKinley) and shut the door. We just shut the door.”
The Tigers banged out 11 total hits in the contest and were led by McKinley with three singles, one run scored and two RBI; Wood with two singles, one run scored and an RBI; Tyson Steen with a double and two RBI; Chase Walters with one run scored; Daniel McBride with two singles and two runs scored; Daquan Mallett with three singles and one run scored and Alex Schuster with one run scored.
“It was a lot of pressure and I just depended on my defense,” said starting pitcher Hayes Wood. “I just did a lot of ground ball pitching and just let my defense work. I knew I wasn’t going to overpower them, but they hit a lot of ground balls and then we turned it over to Blake (McKinley).”
The win gave the Tigers their first-ever Class 1A South Title and their first-ever Class 1A Championship appearance. Ethel is now 24-8 overall on the season and will be playing the Tupelo Christian Prep Eagles for the first time ever. The Eagles bring a 23-12 overall record into the best-of-three series.
“It’s really a dream come true,” concluded Tiger head coach Chris Schuster. “They’ve worked so hard and they never give up. We were down 0-1 in three straight series and had to go on the road for game three, three straight times and found a way. We came over here to one of the hardest places to play in 1A baseball and won the game, just out of shear courage, heart and desire. They just refused to lose.”
The Tigers played game one on Tuesday at Trustmark Park in Pearl and will play game two at 1 p.m. on Thursday at Trustmark as well.
