Maroon Tide Moves to 2-0 in Division 5-5A   by Carey Meitzler 

Picayune  2   Hancock  1

     The Maroon Tide got a superb pitching performance from Heath Stevens in defeating the

Hancock Hawks 2-1 at Picayune to move their Division 5-5A record to 2-0 and overall record

to 9-3.

      Picayune scored an unearned run in the bottom of the first.  Chris Stewart reached on a

fielder's choice and then promptly stole second base.  He moved to third base on a deep sacrifice

fly to left field off the bat of J.P. Moreaux.  With two outs, Stevens lofted a fly ball toward first that

was dropped by the Hawk first baseman and Stewart scored to stake the Tide to a 1-0 lead.

      Catcher Alex Riser lined a double to left to lead off the second inning.  Justin DeLoach came

on as a courtesy runner for Riser and moved to third on a groundout to short by Ryan Detillier.

With one out, Kelly Ray drove in Deloach on a groundout to give the Tide all the runs they needed

with a 2-0 lead.

     Hancock would score a unearned run in the top of the fifth inning as the Tide threw the ball

away at first base trying to turn a double play.

      The Tide only had two hits, both from Alex Riser.  Stevens allowed three hits, recorded 9 strike-

outs, and did not walk any batters in going the distance to move his record to 3-0.

      Coach Kent Kirkland was pleased with the win to move his team's division record to 2-0.

      "Hey, it's a win, a division win.  I told the guys we cannot become complacent at the plate when

Heath is pitching.  We can't expect him to win for us every time," said Kirkland.

   Picayune (9-3, 2-0) will travel to Carriere to play Pearl River Central on Thursday with the

Junior Varsity game at 5:00pm and the Varsity scheduled for 7:00pm. 

Heath Stevens, throwing here in an previous game, pitched another gem

for the Tide in moving his record to 3-0.

Alex Riser had both of the Tide hits against Hancock, a double to left

and a single to right.