JACKSON - Bart Jenkins brought his Pillow Academy baseball team together at the right time.
The Mustangs lost their first two North AAA conference series, and some had to wonder if PA would even make the playoffs.
But the Mustangs won their final four league series, capping that run here Thursday by splitting a doubleheader with Jackson Academy.
The Mustangs, who rallied for a thrilling 10-9 win Wednesday at home over JA, won the first game Thursday 7-1 as senior ace Daniel Allen pitched a complete-game three-hitter.
The win wrapped up the North AAA Division I title for the Mustangs for the second straight season.
"After a tough start, everybody has questions. We just weren't playing well and our confidence level was way down," Mustang coach Bart Jenkins said. "Our guys never quit and started to work even harder. We've developed into a really good baseball team.
"Our senior leadership has been a real key for us to be able to turn things around like we did. Also, my assistant coach Tim Burton has done a great job. We couldn't have done this without him."
Allen also had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a three-run homer in the sixth that blew the game wide open.
"That's the kind of performance I've come to expect from Daniel. He's such a great player," Jenkins said. "He didn't have the velocity that he usually does, but he kept the ball down."
Allen (9-2) gave up a solo home run in the first inning and then allowed just two hits over the next six innings. He struck out four.
Pillow went ahead 2-1 in the fourth, thanks to RBI doubles by Taylor Young and James Davidson.
The Mustangs added two more runs in the fifth before Allen blasted his three-run homer in the sixth.
Luke Kimmel and Spencer White also had hits for PA, which is 17-9 going into next week's first-round playoff series against Madison-Ridgeland Academy.
Allen, a Meridian Community College signee, thinks the Mustangs can keep it going in the postseason.
"For us to get two out of three against (JA) is great because that's a really good ballclub," Allen said. "If we hit like we have this week, we can beat anybody. We're really peaking at the right time. With our pitching, hitting and fielding, we're really doing it right now."
Pillow lost the second game 10-9 on a base-clearing double by Keith Shumaker in the bottom of the seventh.
Anthony Ola, Andrew Ables, Adam Crick, Gaston Lyon, Jim Tom Pilgreen, Landon Taylor and Davidson each had a hit.
