By By Marty Stamper/The Meridian Star
May 1, 2001
LAKE All that was missing in the bottom of the seventh inning of Monday's Class 1A state playoff game was a point from Lake's Bryan Williamson to the left-field fence before he stepped up to the plate.
Trailing 5-3 after watching Mercy Cross score five times in the top of the sixth inning, the Hornets got their first two baserunners aboard in the bottom of the seventh on walks.
With Jake Nester and Craig Martin drawing bases on balls to start the inning, Williamson then crushed a three-run blast over the fence in left field to give Lake a dramatic 6-5 win and keep the defending Class 1A state champions' season alive.
Lake, 25-7, will face Division 6-1A rival St. Aloysius, 22-3, in the Class 1A South State championship series this week. St. Aloysius rallied from a 4-2 deficit to beat Union 11-4 in Monday's other 1A South half semifinal.
Game One of the Lake-St. Aloysius series will be Thursday at Vicksburg. Game Two will be Saturday at 7 p.m. at Lake.
It was Williamson's first homer of the year, although Goodman said he had probably hit more out in practice than anybody else on the team.
Lake took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning as Eric Gunn singled and Lee Dooley was hit by a pitch to get things started.
After fielder's choices by Jason McGee and Jason Massey, Nester drew a walk to force in the game's first run. The second scored on a sacrifice fly by Martin.
Lake went up 3-0 with a run in the fifth. Martin singled, went to second on a wild pitch and to third on a passed ball, and scored on a double by Martin.
The Crusaders racked up five runs in the top of the sixth. Chris Elliott's two-run homer snapped a 3-3 tie and gave the Biloxi team a temporary 5-3 advantage.
Eric Watkins (7-2) got the win in relief of Martin, who tossed the first five innings. Both Lake hurlers struck out five batters.
Watkins had pitched a complete game Saturday in a 5-2 Hornet win at Biloxi after Martin tossed six-plus innings in Friday's 12-8 Mercy Cross win.
Martin got out of a bases-loaded jam in the fourth with a strikeout to end the inning.
Lake got a single, a double, and two walks from Nester, while Martin had a double and a sacrifice fly. Gunn added a pair of singles as Lake had seven hits.
Mark David Howard (11-2) took the loss in three innings of relief of Nick Moody.
James Ward had two doubles for Mercy Cross, 21-7, while Moody had a pair of singles. Buddy Pellegrino added
a triple as the Crusaders had eight hits.
Marty Stamper is a sports writer for The Meridian Star. E-mail him at mstamper@themeridianstar.com.