AMITE, La. — After leaving 15 runners on base in a 10-8 loss at home to Oak Forest, few gave Trinity Episcopal much of a chance to defeat the Yellow Jackets Friday night.

But the Saints (14-13) had good pitching, solid defense and key hits to win both games on the road in the first round of the MPSA Class AA South State Playoffs. They defeated Oak Forest 3-1 in game two of the best-of-three series, thanks to a complete-game performance by Givonni Dent and then took care of the Yellow Jackets in five innings in game three 15-1 behind a strong outing from Jordan Dossett.

“Our pitching was excellent. Both guys just battled and threw strikes,” Trinity head coach Matt Mason said.

The Saints will take on Copiah Academy, the No. 2 team in the state, in the South State semifinals next week. Game one will be at 7 p.m. Monday at Copiah Academy in Gallman, and game two will be at Chester Willis Field at 7 p.m. Tuesday. If necessary, game three will be at Copiah Academy at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“We know we’ve got a big challenge ahead of us,” Mason said. “But we’re going to work hard and try to come out with a win.”

In the first game of the doubleheader, the pressure was on Dent. But the sophomore pitcher kept Oak Forest to just six hits, struck out seven and walked only two. The Yellow Jackets’ only run of the game came in the bottom of the third inning, and the defense behind Dent committed just one error.

Those two factors offset Trinity’s inability to once again bring runners home.

“We left some runners on base, but we played good defense. That gave us a chance to win,” Mason said. “We picked up a couple of hits (12 total) when we needed them.”

Wells Middleton doubled to score Trevor Faust in the top of the first inning, and Daniel Dunaway hit the first of his two doubles an inning later and scored on a single by Kent King. Then in the top of the sixth, Dunaway hit a two-out double and scored on a single by Jake Winston.

In the series-deciding game, Oak Forest jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning, but Trinity tied the score at 1-1 in the top of the second. The Saints then took the lead for good with a three-run rally in the top of the third.

Two innings later, the Saints put an end to the game — and the series — by scoring nine runs. Every batter for Trinity scored a run in its half of the fifth inning.

“We swung the bats well the second game,” Mason said. “We were able to get ahead in the count, and when we did that we were able to swing the bats.”

Dossett threw all five innings for Trinity, giving up five hits, striking out six and walking one to pick up the win. Losing pitcher Cody Binder, one of four pitchers Oak Forest used in the game, lasted 2 2/3 innings.

The Saints had 15 hits in the game, led by Dent, who went 4-for-4 with two doubles. Winston and R.J. Fleming both went 2-for-4.

Sumrall 14, Franklin County 0

BUDE — When Franklin County starting pitcher Dehendrit Collins was taken out of the Bulldogs’ game against Sumrall after injuring his pitching hand, the Bobcats’ batters put even more pressure on the defense.

Franklin County committed eight errors in a shutout loss to the defending Class 3A state champions and was eliminated in the second round of the MHSAA Class 3A South State Playoffs Friday night.

“Collins took a ball off the hand, and we had to pull him in the third inning. The score was 3-0,” Franklin County head coach Brent Calcote said. “And that’s when the wheels fell off. We had too many errors. You have to play perfect to beat them — they’re not going to beat themselves.”

Sumrall, which is perfect in 30 games this season, is ranked No. 1 in the Clarion-Ledger Top 15 poll.

“They’re better than the teams I’ve watched. They’re good. They’re not going to hand you anything,” he added.

Sumrall will take on the winner of the Columbia-Raleigh series next week in the third round. Franklin County, the Region 7-3A runner-up, finished with a 13-10 record.

Even though Franklin County’s season is over, Calcote said his team overachieved.

“We didn’t play good of late. But we’re young for the most part,” Calcote said. “We only had three returning starters from last year. We’ll have a good group of seniors and juniors next year.”