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RAYVILLE, La. — After sweeping past District 3 No. 4 seed Clinton Christian Academy in the quarterfinals last week, District 5 No. 1 seed Centreville Academy ran into a tougher opponent in District 3 No. 2 seed Riverfield Academy in the semifinals of the MAIS Class 4A South State Playoffs.

And if Game 1 of this best-of-three series proved anything, it’s that the Raiders will not back down from anyone. They showed that with a stunning 7-2 win over the Tigers, who entered the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in Class 4A with wins in nine of their last 10 games.

Colton Williams cooled down Centreville’s offense as he pitched a complete-game one-hitter and struck out 10 batters. The only base hit he gave up came off the bat of Caleb Kinabrew, who also had one run batted in.

The game remained scoreless until Riverfield scored one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Raiders struck for three runs in the bottom of the fifth for a 4-0 lead. After the Tigers scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning, the Raiders responded with three runs in the bottom of the sixth.

Austin Machen had two of Riverfield’s five base hits. The Raiders also took advantage of five errors committed by the Tigers.

Now Centreville Academy (10-11) must win the next two games if it is to advance to the South State Championship series or its season will be over. 

The Tigers played host to Riverfield with Game 2 at 4:30 p.m. If the Raiders win that game, they move on to the South State finals. However, if the Tigers win, they would force a deciding Game 3 at 7 p.m.