Collin Waldrip had himself a day at the plate, going 3-for-5 to help lead the Lafayette Commodores to a 9-6 win over South Jones Varsity Braves on Thursday at Trustmark Park. Waldrip came through with a double in the seventh and singles in both the third and sixth innings.

The game stayed close until late, with Lafayette finally pulling ahead in the top of the seventh. With the score tied at six, Waldrip stepped up and ripped a double that cleared the bases and brought in three huge runs.

Lafayette got on the board in the second thanks to a Landon Cobbs double and a sacrifice fly from Caleb Guest, each bringing in a run.

South Jones answered in the bottom of the third, narrowing the gap to 3-2. An error let one run score, and Eyan Butler added a two-RBI single to push them ahead.

In the fifth, Lane Theobald worked a long at-bat and came through with a single to center, tying things back up at 3-all for Lafayette. But South Jones didn’t stay quiet. They jumped back in front in their half of the inning with a fielder’s choice RBI from Cayden Kinmon and a double by Cambridge McDaniel that made it 6-3.

Then came the big rally. In the top of the seventh, Guest knocked in a run with a single before Waldrip’s clutch double cleared the bases and gave Lafayette the 9-6 lead they wouldn’t give up.

On the mound, Brett Williams threw five strong innings in relief for Lafayette, giving up six hits and three unearned runs, with two strikeouts and just one walk. Levi Hamm started the game, allowing three hits and three runs (two earned) over two innings. He struck out one and didn’t issue any free passes. For South Jones, Micah Coutta started and went 4.2 innings, giving up six hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out six and walking six.

Lafayette’s bats were hot, piling up 11 hits overall. Cobbs, Theobald, and Ian Mayo each had multi-hit games, and Hamm showed great patience at the plate, drawing three of the team’s eight total walks. They also turned a double play on defense.

South Jones collected nine hits of their own. Butler and McDaniel each had a pair, with McDaniel driving in two runs while going 2-for-4 at the plate.