Tupelo shuts down Gulfport to claim 6A state title

The hits were there for Gulfport all season.

On a soggy Saturday night, the Admirals' offense dried up in the biggest game of the season.

Tupelo (26-10) topped Gulfport 3-0 to claim the Class 6A state championship in Game 3 at Trustmark Park behind a strong performance on the mound by left-hander Josh Smith.

“You've got to credit their guy a little bit,” Gulfport coach Jamie McMahon said. “He kept us off balance – fastball, change up and breaking ball. He was throwing all for strikes tonight. We just didn't make the adjustment. It's a credit to him. We got a couple of doubles, but it wasn't enough to get runs in.”

There were only a total of six hits in the ball game, two from Tupelo and four by Gulfport.

The two hits for Tupelo accounted for all three runs in the game.

South Sanders ripped an RBI double to left to score Charlie Greer in the second inning.

In the third, Greer stepped up with two outs and men on second and third and went to right field for a two-run single.

All three players who crossed home plate for Tupelo reached on walks.

“Walks kind of hurt us early,” McMahon said. “Holding them to three runs, you hope you can score a few more. They played really good defense. We had a chance there, but we just didn't get a hit to break the ice. It's baseball. It's crazy.”

Gulfport starting pitcher Max Barnes limited Tupelo to one hit in two innings, but he struggled with his control and walked four batters.

He was replaced by Castor Lee, who moved in from second base. He gave up no runs on one hit in four innings, striking out one and walking none.

Gulfport (33-6) wasted its best opportunity of the night in the fourth when Gabe Lacy led off with a single to left and the next man up, Blake Johnson, was walked.

Ethan Saucier moved the two runners over to second and third on a sacrifice bunt, but both Patrick Nelms and Dylan Ladner went down on strikes to end the inning without doing damage.

“This whole series was frustrating, but it was a great learning experience for all of us,” Lacy said. “I'm glad to be able to have the opportunity. You look back it and realize where that frustration came from and learn from it and move on.”

Smith (4-1) threw all seven innings for Tupelo, holding Gulfport scoreless on four hits. He struck out five and walked one.

“Pretty much everything was working for me,” he said. “My fastball and changeup were my two main go-tos. I threw my curve ball in there a little. My ball had so much movement it just kind of worked out for me.”

Lacy was the only Admiral with multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a double.

Gulfport was in search of its first state championship since 1985 and was in the state title series for the first time since 2005.

Gulfport will have a chance to get back to Pearl next year with its top two pitchers, Blake Johnson and Patrick Nelms, both returning along with players like shortstop Gabe Lacy and outfielder Dylan Ladner.

“This team brought this program to a different level,” McMahon said. “I told them I was proud of them and I loved them. The things they've done, especially the seniors, since they've been here. With the amount of growth we've had, I think it's a credit to those guys and it's up to the juniors to keep us at this level now.”

This story was originally published May 20, 2017 at 9:07 PM with the headline "Tupelo shuts down Gulfport to claim 6A state title."