Tigers see season end in semis

Published 1:04 am Thursday, May 1, 2008

GALLMAN — Centreville’s great run through the playoffs came to a disappointing end against Copiah Academy Wednesday night in the semifinals Class AA South State playoffs.

The Tigers looked like they would even the series at one game apiece as they took an 8-6 lead into the bottom of the seventh.

However, Copiah scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to take a 9-8 win and end Centreville’s season.

Email newsletter signup

Kyle Brown hit two home runs for Centreville, but it wasn’t enough to offset home runs from Scotty Reese and Matthew Wright of Copiah.

Despite the loss, Centreville coach Jason Horne was proud of the way his team was able to battle back from an 0-11 start to the season to reach the South State semifinals.

“We battled hard all year,” Horne said. “We started the year off 0-11 but we battled back to make it this far. It was a great accomplishment for our team.”

There are only two senior players on the team and the pitching rotation includes two eighth graders, so Horne is looking to future success with the program.

“I’m looking very forward to next year and the years to come with this team,” Horne said. “We’ve got to come back and work harder than ever. It will pay off in the end.”

Eric Nolan, Brad Jelks and Cliff Hurst all had two hits for Centreville in the final game, while Brown had three hits, including his two home runs.