Douglas hurls Tigers to first title in 49 years
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Jun. 5—PEARL — Drake Douglas found redemption, and Saltillo found its elusive fifth baseball title.
Douglas tossed four innings of no-hit relief as the Tigers topped Pascagoula 9-5 on Saturday to win the Class 5A state championship in three games.
It's Saltillo's first baseball title since 1972. When asked about ending the 49-year drought, an emotional coach Eric Reynolds had to take a moment to gather himself before speaking.
"It's been a long time since we had a championship in baseball. Those guys right there have put in the work," Reynolds said, looking at his celebrating players. "They've believed in our system and bought in completely. It's all them."
It was all Douglas (9-3) on the mound for the last four innings. The sophomore, who was torched for six runs and exited in the second inning of Saltillo's Game 1 loss, relieved starter Ian Dillon in the fourth inning with two on and nobody out.
Douglas' wild pitch allowed Pascagoula (22-18) to tie the game at 5-5, but he was lights-out after that. He faced 13 batters and retired 12 of them, with the lone baserunner reaching via an error.
"I had something to prove this game. I had to prove I wasn't the guy that pitched the first game," Douglas said.
Saltillo (26-11) broke the 5-5 tie in the bottom of the fourth with three runs. That chased Pascagoula starter Brayden Scott (5-3), who had held the Tigers to one run on five hits in Game 1.
Saltillo had 11 hits on Saturday, with each member of the lineup reaching base at least once. The Tigers also stole six bases.
"We knew if we put the ball in play, we're a dangerous team," said catcher Matthew Roncalli, who had two hits and an RBI. "We're a hard team to stop."
Saltillo went ahead 4-1 with a four-run second inning, and it was 5-2 after Nolen Wright's RBI single in the third.
The Panthers answered with three runs in the fourth.
Extra Bases
Big Inning: Mason Easterling scored on a wild pitch to give Saltillo a 6-5 lead in the fourth. Luke Wood then knocked an RBI single, and Ethan Turner had a sac fly to make it 8-5.
Big Stat: Saltillo scored six of its runs with two outs.
Coach Speak: "I told our guys, just hold that line. That's our thing — hold the line, and know it's going to be back and forth." — Reynolds
