POPLARVILLE – For the second time in three seasons, Northwest finished as the state baseball runners-up, falling to East Central on Championship Sunday, 4-0, behind a complete-game one-hit shutout by sophomore right-hander Severino Signa. 

East Central improved to 31-19 overall and went through the weekend a perfect 3-0 to claim the championship. Northwest won two elimination games, 3-0 over Northeast and 16-4 over #8 Pearl River, to advance to the title game and finished the weekend 2-2 to move to 31-16 on the year.

In Sunday's championship game, East Central took advantage of two Ranger errors in the third and scored a pair to take a 2-0 lead that was more than enough offense for Signa.

Chase Domino added a solo home run in the sixth and Tim Anderson delivered an RBI-single in the seventh that gave the Warriors a comfortable 4-0 lead after seven.

Signa was dominant for East Central and carried a perfect game into the eighth inning before a lead off hit-by-pitch to Chase Clark and base hit two batters later by Walt McCullough also broke up the no-hit bid.

The Rangers rallied with runners at second and third and just one out, but a strikeout and fly out ended the inning and the only scoring threat of the game for Northwest.

Anderson, a projected first round MLB draft choice, did not disappoint in going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs for East Central. The Warriors out-hit Northwest 6-1 on the day.

Cody Waddell (1-3) went 6.1 innings and took the loss, scattering four runs (two earned), four hits, three walks and three strikeouts. Will Faulkner tossed the final 1.2 innings and allowed two hits and no runs.

East Central will be the No. 1 seed at this weekend's Region 23 Tournament, also in Poplarville, and will play tournament host and 8th-ranked Pearl River at 7 p.m. Thursday. Northwest, the No. 3 seed, will open with the nation's top-ranked team, LSU Eunice, at 3:30 p.m.

The winner of the Region 23 Tournament will advance to the NJCAA DII World Series in Enid, Okla.