The Hinds Eagle baseball team flew past Jones College in a pair of late-inning rallies this past weekend to secure the sixth seed in the 2021 Region 23 Baseball Tournament next Monday night in Poplarville.
Following a 7-4 loss Friday night in Game 1 of the Best-Of-Three play-in series at Joe G. Moss Field, the Eagle bats woke up in a big way to break a 4-4 tie in the sixth inning. Freshman Vantrel Reed, of Vicksburg, playing second base during the series, and sophomore catcher Pablo Lanzarote, of Venezuela, began a five-run inning with three RBIs during the stanza. Freshman Caleb Sterling, of Vicksburg, playing first base during the series, smacked a solo homer to right field to salt away a 9-4 win. Freshman right-hander Brooks Auger, of Ruston, La., went five innings for the win on the mound, with sophomore right-hander Matthew Taylor, of Southaven, getting his third save of the season with four innings of work.
In the decisive Game 3, the trio combined for nine RBIs to rally the Eagles from a 5-0 deficit in the sixth. Sterling homered to left field to start the comeback, notching his fourth round-tripper of the season. In the seventh, Lanzarote sent a three-run shot over the left field wall to help take the lead for good in what became a 13-5 win in eight innings. It was his 13th of the season to add to his single-season school record. In all, the Eagles had 29 base hits in Games 2 and 3. Freshman right-hander Noah Magee, of Mount Olive, got the win with three strikeouts in two innings pitched.
Hinds, now 24-16, opens the first round of the double-elimination regional playoffs against top-seeded Pearl River Community College on the Wildcats’ home field, Dub Herring Park. First pitch is at 7 p.m. The winner plays either LSU-Eunice or East Central Community College Tuesday at 7 p.m. The loser plays the loser of Meridian Community College and Itawamba Community College.