HATTIESBURG – Powerful Purvis pounded the Lawrence County All-Stars 12-2 Thursday night in the championship finals of the Dixie Youth Baseball Major League State Tournament. Purvis needed only four innings to secure the title and finish unbeaten in the double-elimination bracket at the Larry Doleac Youth Baseball Complex.

     Purvis advances to the DYB World Series at Laurel.

     Purvis 12, Lawrence Co. 2

     Casey Burge threw a complete-game victory for Purvis. He allowed just 1 hit, struck out 6 and walked none.

       Marquez Hudson, one of five Lawrence County pitchers, absorbed the loss. Hudson gave up 4 runs on 3 straight hits, including a grand slam homer by Burge.

     Lawrence County went through 3 pitchers in the bottom of the first.

     Brandon Bullock (1K, 2BB) followed Hudson and  gave up 5 runs on no hits.  John Clyde Ready (4K, 2BB) gave up 1 run and no hits in 1.2 innings.

     Peyton Little (0K, 0BB) finished the game and allowed 2 runs on 1 hit.

      Brandon Bullock’s single was LC’s only hit as the runners-up committed 6 costly errors.

     Purvis finished with 4 hits.  Collin McQueen hit a double and a single.  Hayden Williams added a single.

          Coaching the Lawrence County team were Damond Ready, Josh Bullock and Scott Doster.

     “I’m real proud of our team,” said Ready. “They accomplished a lot by making it to the finals.

     “Purvis has a great team,” Ready pointed out. “They play like a machine.”

     Lawrence County came back strong through the losers’ bracket to reach the finals. They defeated Columbia 8-4 in the opening round before losing 7-4 to Magee. They proceeded to win 4 straight games, beating Greenville 14-2, Wayne County 13-2,  Franklin County 11-4 and Lincoln County Americans 6-2.

     AAA Championship

     In the Dixie Youth Baseball AAA State Tournament at Magee, Corinth shut out Clarksdale 6-0 Thursday night. Corinth plays McComb today at 4  p.m. for the state title at 4 p.m., with the winner advancing to the World Series at Laurel.

     Corinth and McComb each have one loss in the tourney.