Purvis baseball heads to 1st Class 4A State championship in 9 years

PURVIS, Miss. (WDAM) - It’s been 11 long years since Purvis High School’s baseball team has been able to call itself a state champion.

A victory in the Class 4A Championship baseball series would allow the Tornadoes to meet that goal.

In his 26 seasons heading up the Purvis program, Tony Farlow said he has seen just about everything in the Purple & Gold dugout.

The 2023 season however feels a lot different, Farlow said.

“This team is very, very special” Farlow said. “This team has leadership. Offensively, we’ve put up great numbers this year. We’ve been kind of building towards this.”

As a team, the Tornadoes have established a come-from-behind mentality this season.

Monday’s win-or-go-home game against Sumrall High School proved the point.

Down by a run in the sixth inning against the Bobcats, Purvis catcher Ethan Walker’s two-run, go-ahead home run was the shot that all-but clinched the series.

“My mind was going insane.” Walker said. “In my mind, I couldn’t believe I gave us a chance to win that game.”

Walker and his club are aware fully of what they’re walking into next week’s in the Class 4A Championship series.

But Purvis’ sophomore catcher said his team loves to step up against competition.

“It’s a new series, new game, new mindset,” Walker said. “We have to adapt to them like we have other teams before and we’ll be just fine.”

The Tornadoes are lined up to face West Lauderdale on Wednesday, May 31 at Trustmark Park.

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