McCOMB-The McComb Tigers defeated the Lawrence County Cougars6-4 in Division 6-4A high school baseball action Tuesday night atRotary Park. The homestanding Tigers forged a 6-2 lead, then heldoff Lawrence County’s seventh inning rally to record the importantdivision win.

With the win, Coach Chuck Freeman’s Tigers improved to 6-4 onthe young season, and 2-0 in Division 6-4A play. Lawrence County,under Coach Chris Clark, fell to 2-6 overall, and 1-2 in thedivision.

“We didn’t really play a bad game,” Clark said. “We’re just in arut right now in which every base on balls, every hit batsman,every wild pitch or passed ball, every little small bobble, iscoming back to bite us.

“Give McComb credit,” he continued. “They did what they had todo to win. They only got four singles but they take full advantageof everything they get.”

Clark’s Cougars took a 2-0 advantage in the top of the third,scoring two unearned runs. McComb roared right back to tally fourin the bottom of the inning. The Tigers had three singles in theinning, two of them of the infield variety but took advantage of awalk, a base on balls, and an error, to take the lead.

McComb scored two more in the bottom of the fourth, without thebenefit of a base hit. Three Tigers walked in the inning, and tworunners scored on a passed ball.

It was that kind of night for Lawrence County starter KleinHarbour. Harbour was effective, limiting McComb to just the foursingles but his four bases on balls and lone hit batsman were allinvolved in Tiger scoring rallies. Harbour struck out eight in sixinnings of work.

McComb righty Matthew Hay was equally effective. In six-plusinnings of work, he limited the Cougars to just two runs on threehits and struck out four. When Hay ran into trouble in the top ofthe seventh, senior lefty Pat Barnes came in to retire the finalthree Lawrence County hitters, the last two by strikeouts.

McComb’s 6-2 lead held up until the top of the seventh. In thatinning, Lawrence County’s Marlon Stanfield led off with a single.Freshman shortstop Trent Hartzog blasted a two-run homer, the firstof his high school career. When Harbour walked to bring the tyingrun to the plate, Freeman brought in Barnes from center field andthe veteran left-hander quickly closed out the game.

Hartzog was the hitting star of the night, banging out threehits, including the home run.

Stanfield and Harbour also had hits for Lawrence County.

Hay, Barnes, Michael Lewis and Eli Fowler had singles forMcComb.