Hunter Elliott threw a big bucket of cold water on Warren Central’s recent hot streak.

The Ole Miss signee had 11 strikeouts in a five-inning no-hitter, and also homered and drove in five runs at the plate to lead Tupelo to a 13-1 rout of Warren Central in Game 1 of an MHSAA Class 6A baseball playoff series on Friday.
Warren Central entered the game having averaged 12.5 runs in its last six outings.

Tupelo (21-7) won its fourth game in a row.

Elliott bookended Tupelo’s big win with a pair of extra base hits. He hit a triple in the first inning to drive in Tupelo’s first two runs, then finished the game via the mercy rule with a three-run home run in the fifth.

In between, he simply mowed down the Vikings (9-18). Elliott retired 10 batters in a row after hitting Floyd Davenport with a pitch in the first inning. He walked three, all in the fifth inning, and pinch-runner Elijah Gonzalez came around to score on a wild pitch for Warren Central’s only run.

That only made it 10-1, however, and Elliott’s homer in the bottom of the fifth finished things off.

Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Saturday at 6 p.m. at Warren Central. If the Vikings win, they will return to Tupelo for Game 3 on Monday at 6 p.m.

The winner of this series will advance to play Region 2-6A champion Oxford in the second round.