FERRIDAY, La. &045; A quick 5-0 deficit a day removed after getting tattooed by 14 runs never shook anybody in the Huntington dugout.

Really. It might have shaken up a player or two, but all the Hounds had to do was realize not much of that was caused by what Glenbrook actually did at the plate.

So they just went to playing the ball that got them to the Class A South State championship from there on out &045; pitching and defense.

And one more thing.

All the timely hits and baserunning you could want.

The end result was an 11-7 Huntington win to claim the series and get into the state championship for the first time since 1998. The Hounds (22-7) will face Tunica Institute in a best-of-three series next week with a chance to win the second state championship in the program’s history.

&uot;They scored 18 runs yesterday and five (early) today, but it was kind of like the same thing,&uot; Huntington head coach Mitch Ashmore said. &uot;They had three walks and one hit batter or something like that. They were doing some things, and we weren’t making plays. When you take kids and put them in a pressure cooker situation, they’re going to make mistakes.

&uot;We just needed to overcome them. Twelve runs in the opener and 11 in this game. You know as well as I do we haven’t done that all year.&uot;

The Hounds got the pitching and defense behind left-hander Trey Brashier after falling behind quick by those five runs, but the bats came through again like no one has this season up until that last game in the Riverdale series.

The Hounds finished with 10 hits off pitchers Brandon Flornoy and Houston Lacobee and came through with timely hits just about every time the situation arose. And it was the Apaches who struggled at times on defense that led to more runs from Huntington.

&uot;He (Flornoy) wasn’t throwing anything at all &045; he didn’t throw anything but straight fastballs,&uot; said catcher Ples Arthur, who doubled in a run as part of a three-run fourth. We should have hit a lot more than we did. We’ve always had the bats. It’s just getting a hits when you need it and getting the right hit at the right time.&uot;

The Hounds answered that deficit with four in their half of the second with four hits to trim the lead to one against Flornoy and followed with two more in the third to take the lead. But the runs in the third were the kind the Apaches couldn’t stand to see.

An error on the catcher allowed Trey Keith and Huston Eliser to come around to score to take a 6-5 lead their club never gave up.

That’s because in the fourth the Hounds got three more. With Jacob Bonnette on first, Chad Thomas put down a bunt that the Apaches misplayed that scored Bonnette and allowed Thomas to get all the way to third.

Arthur doubled in Thomas, and Keith followed with a single to score Arthur for a 9-5 lead.

&uot;I said it Tuesday when I came down here &045; you can’t do that against a quality, class team,&uot; Glenbrook head coach Heath Harville said. &uot;And Huntington is a quality, class team. We’ve got nothing but respect for Coach Ashmore and his team. I hate to lose, but it doesn’t hurt as bad when you get beat by a quality team.&uot;