George County ambushes Saltillo 5-1 in MHSAA 5A Softball Championship Series opener

Irina Sanford's three-RBI double got the party started, and Peyton Collins was money in the circle for the Lady Rebels

HATTIESBURG — Wednesday’s MHSAA Class 5A Softball Championship Series opener will be classified as a game, but it was more like an ambush.

South Champion George County jumped all over North Champ Saltillo, plating three runs in the fourth inning en route to a 5-1 win.

Game 2 in the series is set for 6 p.m. Thursday. If necessary, Game 3 would be Saturday at a time to be decided.

“We’ve been preaching to the girls to stick with the game plan and try to put pressure on the other team early and often,” George County coach Kasey McCann said. “I think that’s what we were able to do today.”

The Lady Rebels (29-4) pounded out 12 hits — the most of any team in these first two days of games at Hattiesburg’s Southern Miss Softball Complex.

The big hit in the pivotal fourth inning came off the bat of Irina Sanford — one of two seniors on this George County team — after the Lady Rebels loaded the bases with one out.

Sanford jumped all over the first pitch, lacing it into the gap in right-center for a bases-clearing double.

“I just tried to get the pitch I wanted, and it came on the first pitch,” Sanford said. “That was big for us to get those runs on the board.”

Sanford was far from the only star for George County. Sidnee Beech went 4-for-4 at the plate with a triple, Gracie Magee went 2-for-4 with a triple and an RBI and Natalie Jones drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.

Most of that damage came off of Saltillo (19-10) starter A.K. Willingham, one of the more revered pitchers in the state who came into this championship series with a 15-3 record.

“We didn’t clinch the North until Monday night,” Saltillo coach Lee Bose said. “And we had to travel to Philadelphia three nights in a row, totaling around 900 miles. We knew (Willingham’s) legs were gone, that’s why we pulled her as early as we did.”

It was the first game this season Willingham started but did not finish.

On the other side, eighth-grader Peyton Collins was dominant in the circle. She gave up just four hits and three walks in seven innings, striking out seven. Saltillo’s lone run came in the seventh inning after the game was all but decided.

“There’s just no words for how good she’s been and was today,” McCann said. “She’s only an eighth grader and it was hot out here today. She just continues to impress us.”