By Staff
From Staff Reports
The 14th-ranked Knights of West Lauderdale started the Hattiesburg Tournament Saturday and downed the loaded host Hub City Tigers 7-3 in the second game of the day for Jerry Boatner's club.
Hattiesburg, a team with six players already signed to Division I programs, allowed four Knight unearned runs in the top of the first on a pair of walks and three errors.
Clay, in his first varsity appearance, struck out four, walked just one and gave up only five hits in five innings of work.
Todd Doolittle had a crucial appeartance as we
ll, coming on in the sixth and getting a pickoff at second, along with a strikeout to get West out of a jam. Josh Snider chipped in with a triple.
Tuscaloosa Central 6, West Lauderdale 4, 10 innings: In their first action of the day, the Knights jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second and added another run in the fourth before the Falcons put up four over the next two frames to force extras.
The Knights had a chance to win it late in the game, but couldn't pull off a successful suicide squeeze play.
Trent Posey and Bo Davis had doubles, while Richie McAllister added a triple for the Knights. Both teams combined for five errors.
Meridian 13, Quitman 2: John Iverson pitched a one hitter, while striking out five and walking three to begin a productive day for Meridian, which beat Quitman then traveled to Brandon and topped the No. 8 Bulldogs.
The Wildcats started the day at the plate with a huge seven spot in the top of the first.
The Cats, led by Richmond Alexander's triple and four RBIs, also put up four more in the third. Kris Barnett turned in a pair of RBIs to go with his two-bagger. John Iverson, Ricky McMillian and Torry Bates also had two hits.
Chris Fagan absorbed the loss for the Panthers.
Meridian 5, Brandon 0: John Hays Compton turned in another great pitching performance for the Wildcats with a four-hit shutout.
MHS scored all of its runs in the first inning of play and held on defensively to best the Bulldogs. Compton struck out five and walked three. Brent Leach took the loss for Brandon (3-2).
John Stevens and Iverson were both 2-for-4 hitters. Bates had two hits and McMillian had a pivotal two-out, two-RBI single in the first inning that fueled the Wildcat's scoring output.
MHS (7-4, 1-0 in 5-5A) will play in the Hattiesburg Tournament Monday at 4:30 p.m. against Moss Point. Tuesday, the tourney contiues with a game against Greene County at 5 p.m.
Wayne County 7, West Jones 4: The Warriors got a win in the Northeast Jones Tournament with a big three-run inning in the second. Marcus Powe (1-1) pitched a four-hitter and struck out four to notch the win.
Jonathan Sellers and Scott Cooley came up big at the plate, as Sellers had a pair of hits and Cooley came through with two RBIs. Akeem Lofton added a triple.
The War Eagles continue their play in the tourney Monday at 6:30 p.m. with a game against Laurel.
Noxapater 11, Sebastopol 1: The Tigers improved to 3-3 with a home-field run-ruling of the Bobcats.
Sed Eichelberger was the winning pitcher. Curtis Price took the loss for Sebastopol, giving up five runs in the bottom of the first. Sebastopol opened the game with a run in the top half of the first.
The Tigers, who got a pair of home runs from Eichelberger, tacked on four more runs in the second inning. Other big hitters for the Tigers included David Edwards, who was 2-3 with a double, and Rayford Manning who also went yard for NHS.
The Tigers stamped down the mercy rule with two more runs in the third.
The Tigers will face off against Ackerman Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the Choctaw Central Tournament.
Nanih Waiya 4, Choctaw Central 2: The Warriors rallied from a 1-0 deficit with a a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Matthew Warren improved to 1-1 on the year by striking out five CCHS batters in seven innings while only giving up two hits.
The Warriors (1-2) added runs in the fourth and fifth innings, while Choctaw Central tacked on another in the top of the seventh for the final margin. Angelo Bell was the losing pitcher for CCHS.
Warren helped his cause at the plate with a solo homer in the fifth. Chad Kitchens added a double and a single for Nanih Waiya, while Mark Baker also laced a pair of hits.
The Warriors will play Eupora in the opening day of the East Webster Tournament that runs through Wednesday.
Late Friday
Northeast Lauderdale 14, Mendenhall 4: The Northeast Lauderdale Trojans got a decisive 14-4 road win over Mendenhall late Friday night.
Stephen Bergin was the winning pitcher for the Trojans with eight strikeouts. Phillip Garrett came during the late innings and also pitched well.
Mendenhall's Brian Gregory took the loss.
Leading the Trojans at the plate were Chase Spencer, who had a home run and a double, Drew Anderson with a double, Will Gardner with a 3-run homer and Jay Jacobs. Garrett had two RBIs, while Spencer and Jacobs each had three and Gardner collected four for NEL (4-3, 2-1 in Div. 5-4A).
The Trojans will participate in the Quitman Tournament Monday at 4 p.m. when they face off against the Clarkdale Bulldogs.
Wayne County 10, South Jones 9: In other late Friday action, the War Eagles improved to 2-6 on the year by edging the Braves.
Ty Lawson earned his first victory on the mound, while Nick Fox took the defeat for the Braves.
Multiple Hitters for the War Eagles were Michael Palmer, who had three hits and a double, Brett Wilson with a pair of hits and Jacob Bynum with three hits.