Yazoo County High School came back in the bottom of the seventh to defeat rival Yazoo City High School.
Corbin Ellis, the head baseball coach for Yazoo County High School, was thrilled to see the rivalry game live up to its hype.
“It was just what a rivalry game is supposed to be,” Ellis said. “Back and forth with both teams playing hard. I was proud of my guys for never giving up and always fighting back. We are young this year in spots with several new starters on the infield and behind the plate and some older guys playing new positions. We dropped our first game of the year to Raymond. These kids have bounced back and now we have won three in a row.”
The Panthers of Yazoo County struck first in the rivalry game with four runs in the bottom of the first inning, thanks in part to a series of walks.
The defense for both teams held strong in the second inning, and neither team was able to score.
In the third inning, the Indians struck back hard.
Yazoo City was able to put up four runs of their own to tie things up at 4-4.
Yazoo County regained a 5-4 lead in the bottom of the fourth when Taylor Nash was brought home on a fielder’s choice.
The Indians tied things up 5-5 in the top of the fifth with a run, but back-to-back-to-back singles by Talyn Shaffer, Cailton Shaffer and Taylor Nash gave the Panthers a 6-5 lead.
Yazoo City attempted to put the game away in the top of the sixth with a three run inning to take an 8-6 lead.
With three outs left in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Panthers started to fight back.
The rally began with a Ben Luckett single, which was followed by a Cailton Shaffer walk and a Taylor Nash hit by pitch, loading the bases up with no outs.
Trevor Leal stepped up and hit a double to right field to tie the game at 8-8.
The Panthers had runners on second and third with no outs in the bottom of the seventh when Cody Parker walked up to the plate.
Parker took the sign from Ellis and laid down a bunt that rolled down the first base line, bringing Nash home for the win.
Jamari Brown earned the win in relief for Yazoo County after giving up three runs (1 ER) in two innings with two walks and two strikeouts.
Senior Talyn Shaffer started the game for the Panthers and earned a no-decision after giving up five runs (3 ER) in five innings. He struck out six and walked six.
Shaffer went 1-for-3 at the plate with a walk, a stolen base and two runs scored.
Trevor Leal had a big day for the Panthers, going 2-for-2 with a double, two walks, two RBIs and two stolen bases.
Taylor Nash went 1-for-2 with a walk, a stolen base, an RBI and two runs scored.
According to Ellis, the best is yet to come for his young team.
“We are only going to get better the more we play together,” Ellis said. “Our pitchers are still getting arms in shape and the kids are settling into their new positions.”
Yazoo County will host J.Z. George on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.
The Indians had a couple of ejections in the game, although Yazoo City High head coach Ben Tillman wasn’t certain exactly why that was the case.
“We had two guys thrown from the game, and I’m still not entirely certain why,” Tillman said. “We fought and had a lead late in the game even without them. It was good to get some of the other guys some playing time.”
According to Tillman, the Indians have some work to do, but his hat is tipped to Ellis’ squad.
“There are some things we really need to fix,” Tillman said. “We have to work on our bunt defense. We have to know what to do in that situation. But I have to commend Yazoo County. They stayed in the game and fought back to win it.”
Terrance Reese earned the loss on the mound in relief after giving up three earned runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Darius Taylor went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk, two RBIs and two runs scored.
Taylor also had a no decision on the mound after giving up six runs (4 ER) on five hits in five innings with five walks and nine strikeouts.
Despite having no hits, Torie Haymer led the Indians with three RBIs.
Jacques Gates, Jabral Sherrif and Kory Price each had an RBI in the loss.
Yazoo City will return to action on Friday night when they travel to face Cleveland High School.
The first pitch is set for 5 p.m.
