Southeast Lauderdale's Blake McMullen turns the double play over Perry Central's Dalton Hayes Monday night.

    Several times, Southeast Lauderdale coach Shay Cooper was ready to make a pitching change.

    Every single time, Ladarious Clark assured the Tigers’ skipper he was good to keep going. And after pitching his second complete game in the MHSAA Class 3A second-round series, Clark made sure the Tigers were also good to keep going as they pulled away from Perry Central 9-3 on Monday in the decisive Game 3 in Vimville.

    “Several times we were ready to take him out,” Cooper said as the 18-8 Tigers advanced to the third round against St. Patrick, the second seed from Division 8-3A. “He kept coming off the field saying, ‘I got it. I’m fine. I got it.’ Of course, that doesn’t help your nerves none, but that’s what he kept saying.

    “We had guys warmed up the whole game, ready to go in, but every time us coaches would get together and talk it over, we felt he was OK. Heís just so strong.”

    Clark, who broke his hand during the Tigers’ regular-season finale, allowed six hits, four walks and a pair of hit batsmen. Still, the junior right-hander worked himself out of jam after jam.

    “That kid is a warrior,” Cooper added. “He went to the doctor again today and they told him if he can stand the pain, to do what he can do. He was great the whole series.”

    The one jam he wasn’t able to escape unscathed came in the third. Joel Hillman led off with a double for the Bulldogs and Cody Brewer, a Meridian Community College signee, followed with a bunt single. Brandon Hinton then delivered an RBI single to drive in Perry Central’s first run and Clark proceeded to hit leadoff hitter Dalton Hayes to load the bases with no outs.

    However, following a sacrifice fly from Codey Minter that pulled the Bulldogs within 3-2, Clark got out of the inning with a double play grounder. Perry Central wouldn’t score again until the seventh.

    By that time, though, Southeast had broken the game open.

    The Tigers began to pull away by tacking on a run in the fourth, taking advantage of a Perry Central miscue. Brooks Linton walked to open the frame and then Will Branning reached on an error. Two batters later, Blake McMullen singled to push the lead to 4-2.

    Two innings later, though, the Tigers would put the game out of reach. With Brewer, the winner in Game 1, now on the mound — the third of the Bulldogs’ four pitchers in the game — Southeast’s offense started rolling. McMullen drove in his second run with a single and when Minter, Perry Central’s catcher, threw wildly to third following a walk to Colby Ramey, Clark and McMullen both darted home. Hillman then relieved and two batters later, Jeremy Leach unloaded a two-run home run to center to make it 9-2.

    “We have been geared up — from the pitching machine to speed drills — for the Brewer kid because he throws harder,” Cooper said. “And so I was proud of them for when he came in that the top of the lineup was geared up and ready for him.

    “We’ve talked all year about adding on and not going into a lull and getting into a bind later on. They kept pushing and kept fighting and we were able to do that today. A lot of guys had some great at-bats.”

    Southeast’s offense also hit Bulldog starter Drew Robnett hard as the Tigers racked up 12 hits. Branning led off the bottom of the first with an infield single and then scored on Ramey’s two-out single. The Tigers added two more runs with two outs in the second as Linton drew a walk and Branning followed with the second of his three hits. The single to left from the Southeast leadoff hitter then got away from Hillman, allowing Linton to score. Clark followed with an RBI single.