The McComb Tigers scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh to get an extra inning, and they put another run on the board for a 10-9 win over Mendenhall in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday.
McComb (6-9, 4-5) lost the first game 4-3 to tie the series heading to the rubber game.
The Tigers led 3-2 until the fifth, when Mendenhall took the lead back with three runs. The visitors added four more in the seventh, including a three-run homer. McComb was down, but not quite out.
Kenny Artigues added a three-run homer of his own with two outs to bring McComb to within 9-7.
Artigues was 3 for 3 in the second game and 4 for 6 in the doubleheader. He drew three walks in the late game, including one in the eighth that left him shaking his head because the bat was taken out of his hands with the winning run on third.
“It ignited things,” McComb head coach Brady Jones said. “He gritted is teeth and I could see in his eyes he really wanted to come through.”
After Artigues’ homer, Hunter McCullough singled in the tying runs when he slapped a 3-0 pitch up the middle. Mendenhall loaded the bases with a walk and a hit batter, but McComb didn’t finish the game in regulation.
Trey Terrell only faced four batters in the eighth to give the Tiger offense a chance to win it with just one run.
Terrell singled to lead off the bottom of the inning and stole second before advancing to third on a wild pitch with one down. Artigues was walked to put runners on the corners.
Landon Mabile laid down a bunt that the pitcher threw to first without checking Terrell at third. It didn’t matter, as the throw sailed over first base, allowing Terrell to score and win the game for McComb.
“When a young team sees success like that, they can play off emotion,” Jones said. “That’s all we have with the youth on our team.
“They’ll remember this ballgame. Even when you’re down six runs with two outs left in a division ballgame, you’ve still got a chance to compete.”
The late offense didn’t work as well in the first game of the day. Artigues led off the game with a single but was stranded on second. McComb didn’t get another hit until the sixth inning when the Tigers were down 4-0.
Brock drove in two runs with a homer to left, after a run had scored on a ball to make it 4-3.
McComb put a runner on in the seventh, but didn’t advance him past second base.
“Mendenhall has some good arms,” Jones said. “If we don’t get on a roll hitting we can go three or four innings in a drought.
“The younger guys are realizing it’s an emotion-driven ballgame. We had our chances and spoiled our chances.”
The first game of the series was rained out on Monday and played on Tuesday, McComb won 3-1, but three games in two days was a tough request after eight days off.
“We played 22 innings in about 30 hours,” Jones said. “We’d had eight days off, which was good because we were able to heal, but we made nine errors today.
“We did win the division series and that gives us a better chance for the playoffs.”
