Prep baseball roundup: St. Al and Vicksburg take tough losses; Tallulah rolls past Tensas

Published 12:01 am Saturday, April 6, 2019

St. Aloysius got hit with a deadly dose of deja vu on Friday.

Brier Williamson hit an RBI double in the bottom of the sixth inning to send Riverfield Academy to a 6-5 victory over the Flashes, clinching the MAIS District 3-AAA championship for the Raiders and putting St. Al’s playoff hopes in jeopardy.

It was the second time this week that Riverfield beat St. Al with a late rally. On Tuesday, the Raiders scored in the top of the seventh at Bazinsky Field to win by an identical 6-5 score.

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The two narrow victories clinched the district title for Riverfield (15-0, 8-0 District 3-AAA) and left St. Al (10-6, 6-2) in a precarious position for the playoffs. The Flashes must beat Central Hinds at least once, and preferably twice, next week to earn the district’s second and final playoff spot.

St. Al and Central Hinds will play Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. at Bazinsky Field, and next Friday at 6:30 p.m. at Central Hinds in Raymond.

St. Al jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning Friday against Riverfield, but lost it by giving up four runs in the second. St. Al tied the game at 5 when Haden Luke scored on a wild pitch in the top of the sixth inning, then lost the handle again in the bottom half.

A single, fielder’s choice and a walk put runners at first and second with one out for the Raiders. Williamson then doubled to center field to bring in the go-ahead run as the Raiders took a 6-5 lead.

Unlike in Tuesday’s game, when St. Al loaded the bases in the seventh inning, there was no more late drama in the rematch. The Flashes went down in order, with two of the three outs coming via strikeout.

Jackson Shelton went 2-for-4 with two RBIs for Riverfield. Brandon Steed had two hits for St. Al, and Tyler Breithaupt drove in two runs with a double in the first inning.

Germantown 14, Vicksburg 1
The Vicksburg Gators couldn’t sustain a promising start and Germantown took advantage to pull away for a region victory on Friday.

Kendrick Bershell hit an RBI double in the bottom of the third inning to give the Gators a 1-0 lead. It was their first run in three meetings this season with the Mavericks, who outscored Vicksburg 30-0 in the first two.

Germantown started the fourth inning with three straight hits, however, including an RBI double by Gage Gregory that gave it the lead for good. The Mavericks scored six times in the inning, then added two in the sixth and six more in the seventh to blow open what had been a competitive game.

Gabe Garner finished 4-for-5 with two doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored for Germantown (12-6, 8-1 MHSAA Region 4-5A). Braden Montgomery homered, tripled, had three RBIs and scored two runs.

Terrance Johnson had two hits for Vicksburg (6-10, 1-6).

Tallulah Academy 10, Tensas Academy 1
Marsh Wood went 4-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored, Hager Fortenberry was 3-for-4 with a double and three runs scored, and Tallulah Academy (11-5) routed Tensas Academy.

The Trojans scored four runs in the sixth inning and two more in the seventh to blow the game wide open. Logan Tullos also had three hits as the Trojans totaled 16 for the game.

Six Tallulah pitchers, meanwhile, struck out 18 batters in a combined two-hitter. Wood pitched two innings. Fortenberry, Ty Schaufele, Joshua Collins, Kayne Romero and Dee Morgan each pitched one inning.