The Natchez Americans weren’t wasting any time Friday night.

The Americans scored seven runs in each of its three innings to defeat Franklin County in Game 2 of the Dixie Youth District 6 T-ball Tournament Friday night at Duncan Park, 21-4.

“They may show up one day, they may not,” Americans coach Robert Segrest said. “Today was that day, and we were able to get it done.”

The Americans pounded out 26 hits in the win. At the top of the order, JaCorrian Davis, Andrew Goldman, Lucas Mullins and Cody Dillon all ended a perfect 3-for-3.

Multiple other players recorded two hits, including Bentley Gann with an inside-the-park home run.

Segrest said despite the quick start, he didn’t want his team to take its foot off the gas.

“We have a good hitting team,” he said. “I teach them not to slow down. You have to play as hard as you can for that one hour. We still made a few errors but they are young. They will do that.”

Segrest also said with every out, the Americans are becoming more comfortable as a team.

“I think they are the ones with more confidence because they are getting more used to each other,” he said. “I give this team a lot (of credit). They don’t get down too much.”

Franklin County’s Wyatt Kent led his team’s effort with two hits and two RBIs.

“They are a real good team,” Franklin County coach Jason Brumfield said. “In the first inning we had a double play and had two outs, but we couldn’t get that last one to get off the field.”

Game 1

Franklin County 21, Natchez Nationals 14

Franklin County allowed the Natchez Nationals no runs in three of its five innings during Game 1 Friday night, ultimately winning 21-14.

The win secured Franklin County a spot in Saturday’s double-elimination tournament.

“In other tournaments we usually start out slow, but we were lucky tonight,” Brumfield said. “They wanted to play more, and I was glad we could get them that.”

Austin Brumfield highlighted Franklin County’s defense with an unassisted triple play to end the game, catching the first out and tagging out two additional base runners.

Brayden McGehee and Blake Barfoot each added a cleanly caught pop up of their own.

“I can’t figure out a better way to end it,” Jason Brumfield said. “We also had some good double plays which helped us out a lot.”

On offense, all but two of Franklin County’s 12 players ended with three hits on the night.

Jeremiah Bell led the efforts, batting in three runs and scoring two of his own.

The Nationals came out strong, scoring seven runs in the first inning. However, coach Justin Lees said Franklin County’s defense was just too much.

“On the triple play, that was the inning we could have tied it up,” he said. “On one hit, it was three outs in 10 seconds. They just played good defense.”

The Natchez Americans can clinch a spot in the tournament’s championship with a win over the Natchez Nationals in Game 3 at 9:30 a.m. today.

The Nationals must win to keep its tournament chances alive, yet Franklin County will also advance to the championship with a Nationals loss.

The championship game will follow all other deciding games.