JACKSON — In the fifth inning, the MAIS Class AAA baseball all-star game devolved into organized chaos.

Batting orders went out the window, pitchers paraded on and off the mound, and runners circled the bases as if they were turning laps at the Indy 500. The Blue and Red teams combined for 20 runs in two innings, and there probably wasn’t a person in Smith-Wills Stadium who could say for sure who scored or drove in most of them.

The final score wasn’t all that important. For posterity, the Red scored nine runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to beat the Blue 14-10. What was important was that it was loose, relaxed, and a fun way for 30 senior players — including St. Aloysius’ Lane Hynum and Will Pierce — to finish their high school careers.

“There was one point in the game where we didn’t even know who was up to bat. Someone just said ‘You go,’ and then a guy got up,” Hynum said. “It’s just real laid back and a real fun time to play with all these guys.”

The all-star game wasn’t particularly memorable for anything either St. Al player did.

Hynum started at shortstop for the Blue team, played the first four innings before a wave of mass substitutions led to the wacky last 2 ½ innings, and went 0-for-3. He reached base on a dropped third strike in the seventh inning and scored a run while serving as a courtesy runner in the fifth.

Hynum said a long layoff led to his bad day at the plate. He hasn’t been on the field and rarely practiced since St. Al’s season ended in late April.

“Going that long without seeing live pitching definitely takes a toll on how you see the ball,” Hynum said. “I played good in the field, so that kind of makes up for it. All in all it was a great experience playing with all of these guys. I wish I would have hit the ball better, but there’s nothing you can do about it now.”

Pierce had a slightly better day. He went 0-for-3 with a walk — while batting in three different spots in the lineup over the course of the game — but started in right field and caught two fly balls in the early innings.

“It wasn’t one of my best days. I haven’t hit or played a game in a month, and coming off an arm injury I haven’t thrown in a while,” Pierce said.

After sitting out the fifth inning, Pierce returned to the field in the sixth and played first base for just the second time in his career. He helped turn a wild double play that was symbolic of the game’s later stages.

With no outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning, Jeremy Whitfield of Indianola Academy and the Blue team hit a ground ball to third. The Red third baseman threw home to get a force out, then catcher Noah Burns fired to Pierce at first to attempt a double play.

The throw was late, but Central Hinds’ Weston Acey inexplicably tried to score from second base. Pierce alertly threw home for the second out.

It nearly turned into a triple play as Whitfield tried to advance to second amidst the chaos. Burns’ throw went into center field, however, and Whitfield wound up on third base when it was all said and done.

“I played (first base) one time in the playoffs last year, but other than that it’s the first time I played there. He was just putting people in and out. It was kind of a fun thing,” said Pierce, a Hinds Community College signee.

The fifth and sixth innings featured more than a half-dozen pitching changes between the teams.

As the tired and out-of-shape arms served up meatballs and regular balls, the offenses came to life.

The Blue scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 7-1 lead, then gave up four in the bottom half. Blue scored three more in the sixth inning, then allowed the Red to score nine to surge ahead for good.

Columbia Academy’s Jonathan Broughton drove in three runs with a bases-loaded double for the Red, and Burns had a two-run double.

Central Hinds’ Hunter Harvey had a two-run single earlier in the game for the Blue.

“We blew it,” Hynum said. “We didn’t have any pitching left. We played good the whole game, and then we got to the fifth and sixth and that’s when the errors hit.”

The final result will quickly be forgotten. Or it will be once Pierce lets Hynum stop hearing about it. The St. Al teammates wound up on opposite rosters because of the all-star game’s format, in which each coach drafts their team from a pool of players.

Pierce went out a winner, Hynum a loser, and the former joked that he intends to remind his friend about it for at least a few days.

“It was obviously good to get a come from behind win. I made some good friends this week. Some good guys, some great talent. It’s cool to play against Lane. I’m glad I got to beat him. I’ll let it go after about a week,” Pierce said with a smile. “It’s pretty relaxed. That’s the thing about the all-star game, is everybody gets a chance to play. That’s why we come here.”