PEARL, Pontotoc's deepest run in years ended at Trustmark Park without the banner the Warriors have chased since 1986. Sumrall took Game 1 on Tuesday, held the line through the middle of the series, and closed it out with a shutout to claim the MHSAA Class 5A baseball state championship.
The opening night hurt. Sumrall scored four in the first and three more in the third to build a 7–0 lead before Pontotoc could answer. The Warriors scratched twice in the fifth and loaded the tension in the seventh, a three-run frame capped by J. Wilson's double cut the deficit to 7–5 and brought the tying run to the plate. It wasn't enough. D. Davis earned the win for Sumrall with six innings, six strikeouts, and three runs allowed on six hits.
At the plate, C. Clayton and C. Witcher each had two hits for Pontotoc. Wilson drove in three with the late double. M. Finn added an RBI single in the fifth. Clayton took the loss on the mound in Game 1, allowing seven runs on six hits over three innings before J. Wilson kept Sumrall off the board for three frames in relief.
When the series reached its final night, Sumrall's Cooper McCoy delivered the knockout, a complete-game three-hit shutout with seven strikeouts in a 3–0 Bobcats win. Pontotoc finished the season 21–15–1. The trip to Pearl was real. The fight in Game 1 was real. The title still belongs to someone else.
See the full photo gallery from Trustmark Park at misshsaa.smugmug.com/2026/Baseball/Sumrall-Pontotoc. Game 1 recap and box score at misshsaa.com.
Photo by Keith Warren / MHSAA.
