PEARL —  Two high school baseball players from the city of Vicksburg highlighted the Juniors All-Star game at Trustmark Park in Pearl Saturday.

The South team won the game against the North team 18-3 in seven innings. The South dominated the game from start to finish as they collected 14 hits on the day. The North team dug themselves a deep hole on the defensive end with nine errors in the game.

Taft Nesmith, the left-hander and outfielder from Warren Central represented the North team and Will Pierce, the outfielder from St. Aloysius represented the South team. They both took center stage for the city of Vicksburg and performed well in a game filled with talent from all over the state of Mississippi.

Nesmith got the starting nod for the North team and pitched two shutout innings giving up one walk and one hit with one strikeout.

“I felt like I did alright in the first inning,” Nesmith said.

“I walked two people in that inning which shouldn’t have happened. Other than that, I felt like I pitched a good game.”

Nesmith entered the game at left field in the bottom of the sixth inning and grounded out to second base in the top of the 7th in his only plate appearance of the game.

Getting the start for the North team in the Juniors All Star game is something that meant a lot to Nesmith and something he’ll remember for a long time.

“It meant a lot to me getting the starting nod in this game and representing my school,” Nesmith said of the moment. “It’s really a great honor being selected as an all star.”

In the bottom of the second, Nesmith faced off against Pierce in a battle between two all stars from the city of Vicksburg.

It was a draw as Pierce reached first on a fielders’ choice, but did not reach home in the inning.

“It was kind of funny seeing him out there, but it was cool going up against him in this game,” Pierce said of facing Nesmith. “Having two players from Vicksburg in the game is pretty cool.”

Pierce played the entire stretch for the South team and went 1-5 from the plate with two RBI’s and two runs scored.

With the North up 3-1 in the bottom of the third, Pierce scored from second on a throwing error, which scored the runner from third and Pierce and tied the game up at three.

With runners on second and third in the bottom of the fifth, Pierce smacked a two-RBI single to center field and made the score 11-3.

“I’m glad I drove in some runs, especially with ducks on the pond,” Pierce said. “I wanted to leave my mark on the game and I got my chance and made the most of it.”

Coming from a small class and playing against talented players from the state meant a lot to Pierce when it comes to showcasing his abilities.

“It’s a great opportunity for me to represent the little guys from 1A,” Pierce said. “It was fun to represent for them.”

The MVP for the North team was Ian Lander from Northwest Rankin and the MVP for the South team was Walker Robbins from George County.