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Copiah battles way into playoffs

By James Beasley
The Copiah Academy Colonels, after scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the sixth and surviving a 5-run rally by Presbyterian Christian in the top of the seventh, managed to hang on for a 9-7 win in Gallman last week. The victory came in game one of a 3-game series and virtually guaranteed CA a spot in the upcoming playoffs.
Copiah jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first, thanks to Colton Brown’s opposite-field RBI-double and Mitch Little’s 2-run homer to left. The other run came on Trevor Blocker’s double, a passed ball, and Jeremy Newman’s infield single. CA scored another run on Casey Hurley’s solo HR leading off the bottom of the third.
After Presbyterian Christian scored a pair of runs in the top of the sixth, the Colonels countered with 4 runs of their own in the bottom of the inning. Ty Higginbotham started things off with a solo home run. CA then loaded the bases and scored single runs on a hit batsman, Blocker’s RBI-single, and a walk, respectively.
The Bobcats’ bats woke up in the final inning as they scored 5 runs on 6 hits and had the tying runs on second and third with two out. Relief pitcher Colton Brown came on midway through the seventh for Copiah and secured the win for starting pitcher Ty Higginbotham.  
On Thursday, the Colonels didn’t fare so well as Presbyterian Christian swept a doubleheader in Hattiesburg 9-5 and 6-5, respectively. In the first game, the Bobcats led 5-1 until CA scored a pair of runs in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to 5-3. However, Presbyterian Christian responded with 3 runs in the bottom of the inning, added another run in the sixth, and then survived a 2-run rally by the Colonels in their final at-bat.
Mitch Little had a pair of doubles in a losing effort, while Peyton Whitehead and Latham Pyron had 2 singles apiece. Trevor Blocker cracked a solo home run in the top of the seventh for Copiah, while teammate Jeremy Newman contributed a double.
Pyron (0-1) was the losing pitcher.
In the nightcap, Presbyterian Christian scored a run in the bottom of the sixth and went on to nip CA 6-5. Peyton Whitehead (1-2) was the losing pitcher despite allowing only 5 hits. The Bobcats led 4-0 after 3 innings of play, but Copiah scored 3 runs in the top of the fourth and took a 5-4 lead with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Presbyterian Christian tied the game with a run in the bottom of the fifth and then scored what proved to be the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth.
Mitch Little and Trevor Blocker each had a pair of singles for the Colonels, while Casey Hurley had CA’s only extra-base hit with a double in the top of the fourth.
Despite the two losses, the Colonels, 17-14 overall, made the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year according to head coach Scooter Prince. Seeded #2 in the South, they hosted Heritage Academy on Tuesday of this week, and are scheduled to play a doubleheader (if necessary) in Columbus this Thursday in the best two-out-of-three matchup.

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