FERRIDAY — For the third year in a row, the Huntington Hounds have made it to the MPSA state baseball championship, and this year they did it by defeating Heidelberg Academy 9-8 in game three of their MPSA South State showdown.

The game got off to a late start after early afternoon thunderstorms pushed the first pitch back to 9 p.m. Once it started the Hounds jumped on top of the Rebels early after a throwing error on Heidelberg starting pitcher Derek Beach scored Richard Steele.

The Rebels took the lead back in the top of the second inning by scoring two runs on a pair of Hounds’ errors, but Huntington scored two more of their own in the latter part of the inning to regain the lead.

The Hounds scored two runs in the bottom of the third to take a 6-2 lead, but the Rebels cut the lead to one at their next at bat when Scott Brady and Beach each doubled to drive in a run, and Colby Reeves hit an RBI single.

The Rebels tied the game at six in the top of the fifth inning and then at seven in the top of the sixth, but Heidelberg could not stop Huntington from taking the lead once more in the bottom of the sixth.

With two outs, Josh Lee belted a doubled that scored the two winning runs, and gave the Hounds a 9-7 lead.

Beach lead off the bottom of the seventh inning with a home run to cut the lead to one, but the Rebels could not touch Brant Bradly, who closed out the game for the Hounds.

“We pitched our butts off and worked our butts off to come back and win this series,” Huntington head coach Mitch Ashmore said. “We got some breaks and came up with some big hits.”