[7/5/03]Only two of the first four games in the Cal Ripken 9-year-olds’ State Tournament were played Friday before rain washed out play.

North Jackson and Clinton were supposed to play Friday at 4 p.m., and Vicksburg was scheduled to play Orange Grove at 6. Both those games will be played this morning at 8 a.m. Clinton’s game will be on the National Field, while Vicksburg’s game will be on the Bluff Field.

The 8-year-olds’ state tournament games scheduled for today have been moved back one hour each.

In the two early games, Stone County advanced to the winner’s bracket with a 12-7 victory over Central Mississippi.

Individual statistics for that game were unavailable.

In the second game, Meridian pitcher Blake McMullen allowed a leadoff double to Oxford’s Al Graham, then struck out 10 and did not allow a hit over the next four innings as Meridian won 9-0.

Chad Key relieved McMullen in the fifth and pitched two perfect innings.

McMullen had an RBI double, while Jesse Lang and Jacob Follin each had a single and a double in the win. Taylor Carmichael belted a single and a triple for Meridian.

Central Mississippi will play Oxford in an elimination game today at 10 a.m., while Meridian will meet Stone County today at 2 p.m.