Cooter pitcher Aaron McCaig (right) leaps into the arms of catcher Corey Hinklin after the Wildcats' 9-5 victory over North Pemiscot in the Class 1, District 1 championship game Thursday at Wardell. [Click to enlarge]

WARDELL, Mo. -- The rivalry this spring between the North Pemiscot Mustangs and the Cooter Wildcats has been fittingly compared to two boxers going at it in the ring.

And on a windy day more befitting of Wrigley Field than the Missouri Bootheel, it was Charles Copeland and the Wildcats that ultimately landed the knockout blow.

Copeland blasted a two-run homer in the top of the sixth inning to snap a 5-all tie and lead Cooter to a 9-5 victory over the Mustangs in the Class 1, District 1 championship game here Thursday.

The title was the second in a row for Cooter.

"It's harder the second time than it was the first, I thought," Cooter coach Allen Crawford said. "We knew North Pem had a good squad and we had our hands full, but we stayed in there."

On a back and forth day, it was Copeland's blow that proved decisive.

After Josh Hutton singled with two out in the top of the sixth, Copeland drove a pitch over the fence to give the 'Cats the lead and the momentum.

"We get by Hutton -- he gets a base hit, which we feel lucky just to keep him to a single," said North Pemiscot coach Jamie Johnson. "(Copeland) put a good swing on a baseball today. The wind just took it and today she's a home run. That's just part of it."

Said Crawford of Copeland: "He's done that all year. He played Senath the first game of the year and he got hurt. He was out like 15 games (but) since he's been back, he's got like four or five home runs and hit over .500. He's been one of our key hitters since he's been back off of the injury list."

The Wildcats also did a good job of capitalizing on North Pem's mistakes, converting eight errors into four unearned runs -- the difference in the ballgame.

"Routine plays that we usually make we didn't make today," Johnson said. "I think that really hurt us. I thought Josh threw a heck of a game to just keep us in it with all the errors that we had. I thought a few innings we gave them six or seven outs."

Trailing 3-0 entering the fourth inning after a three-run homer by Parker Watkins in the bottom of the third, Cooter came alive, scoring four runs -- three unearned -- on three hits, four errors and a walk to take a 4-3 lead.

The Mustangs answered right back, scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth to retake the lead. But like a good fighter, the 'Cats got right back up and answered the bell in the top of the fifth to tie the score at 5-5.

"Basically all year we've hit the ball pretty well," Crawford said. "We knew if we could keep it within four or five runs, we had a good chance. We just kept battling and that's what happened."

Copeland finished the day 3-for-4 with three RBIs and three runs to pace Cooter, while Hutton, Aaron Brown and Jeremy Lambert each had two hits.

Tomlin and John Jackson each had two hits to lead the Mustangs, while Watkins had a team-high three RBIs.

The Wildcats advance to host Oran in next Wednesday's Class 1 sectional contest.

"Cooter's got a great program," said Johnson. "Allen does an exceptional job with them. Today, they got the breaks and they got the hits. They're hard to hold down -- if a pitch goes here or there, then it may be a different ballgame. But all in all, they just did more things right than we did today."

Notes: North Pemiscot won two of the three previous meetings with the Wildcats this season. ... Cooter defeated Oran, 8-5, last month, but lost to the Eagles by the 10-run rule in last year's sectional. ... The win also served as an early graduation present for the Wildcats' seniors, who graduated Thursday night.