NATCHEZ — The Trinity Saints would have preferred a sweep of their doubleheader against district foe River Oaks, but had to settle for a split of the twinbill instead.

The Mustangs upset the Saints 10-4 in the first game before Trinity recovered to post a 10-7 win in game two.

Trinity did take the weekly three-game series two games to one after defeating River Oaks on the road earlier this week and still cling to first place in District 3-AA with a 5-1 record.

“We wanted to get the sweep of the series, but winning two games out of three is always good,” Trinity coach Matt Mason said. “I was pleased with the way we stayed focused throughout the games. Sometimes it’s hard to keep your focus in a doubleheader, but we did a good job of that.”

River Oaks jumped on Trinity early in the first game, scoring two runs in the top of the first inning.

The Saints closed to within 2-1 with one run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Mustangs scored two in the top of the fifth and four more in the top of the sixth to put the game out of reach.

“River Oaks really swung the bats well in the first game,” Mason said. “Give them credit. They wanted it and they took it from us.”

However, Trinity showed there was no hangover from the first game, as they jumped out to a 9-0 lead after two innings of game two.

“We talked about getting on them early and putting pressure on them,” Mason said. “We did a good job of doing that.”

However, River Oaks made the game very interesting in the later stages.

The Mustangs scored single runs in the second and third innings and put a five-spot up on the board in the fourth to close the gap to 9-7.

The big blow of the inning was a two-run triple by John Rockett off of starting pitcher Matthew Freeman.

However, Matt Barnes was brought in to relieve Freeman and pitched the final 3 1/3 innings without allowing a run.

“Matt came in and did an excellent job closing the game,” Mason said. “The team really got behind him and never quit.”

Freeman was the leading hitter in the first game for Trinity, going 4-for-4 with two doubles while Brumfield was the only Saint with multiple hits in game two, finishing 3-for-4.