HEIDELBERG – The Bayou Academy Colts won their second consecutive Class A MPSA state baseball championship here Saturday night with an 8-3 win over the homestanding Rebels.

The win was the twenty-fourth straight win for the Colts as they end their season at 29-2 overall in winning the championship series two games to none. Heidelberg ends their season at 30-5. Bayou outscored their playoff opponents 69-13 in eight playoff games.

“I am very proud of this team. They have represented Heidelberg in a very positive way. We just ran into a very good ball club in Bayou,” said Heidelberg coach Jim Fries.

Heidelberg jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Joseph Collins led off with a single and would later score on a Bayou error. The Rebels went up 2-0 in the third inning when Colby Reeves reached on a throwing error by the Colts catcher and ended up at second base on the play. Jamie Keenan then reached on another error before Collins came through with a run scoring Reeves.

Bayou responded with three runs in the third inning to take the lead for good. The winners used two walks and singles by Tripp Pilgram and Austin Davis to produce their first run before a fielder’s choice and a throwing error by the Rebels added two more runs giving the visitors a 3-2 lead after three and a half innings.

Mississippi State baseball signee Caleb Read hit a solo home run in the top of the fifth inning giving Bayou a 4-2 lead. It was Read’s ninth home run in the playoffs this year and 11th on the year.

Heidelberg’s Derek Beach drilled his 13th and final home run of his career in the bottom of the inning closing the gap to 4-3. Unfortunately for the Rebels, it was a solo shot. The batter before Beach’s home run hit into a 6-4-3 double play and that turned into being a crucial defensive play for the Colts on the night.

Bayou scored four times in the sixth inning in breaking the game open as they used two walks and had five hits to send ten batters to the plate.

Read singled and homered to lead the winners while Pilgram and Davis each added two singles in the nine-hit offensive attack.

Beach singled and homered while Collins had two singles. Blake Hitt and Andrew Jones added singles in the contest.

Blake Denham (12-1) suffered his first pitching loss of the season while Colby Smith and Beach also pitched for Heidelberg. Paul Mangialardi ran his pitching record to 9-1 as he fanned six Rebels.

“I think we exceeded a lot of people’s expectations. To start out 2-3 and end up 30-5 is an awfully good year,” said Fries.