Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

LIBERTY — Natchez High School juniors Caron Williams and Jaylin Davis combined to pitch a no-hitter as the Bulldogs defeated the Amite County High School Trojans 17-4 in five innings last Tuesday night.

But it was a unique way in which not only Williams and Davis teamed up for their combined no-no, but also how Amite County scored its four runs, all of them in the bottom of the first inning. 

“I didn’t realize they had a no-hitter until after we got on the bus,” Bulldogs head coach Dan Smith said. “This is Caron’s first year playing high school baseball, let alone varsity baseball. He had a few walks. A lot of them were on 0-2 counts. He’s got to finish those batters.”

Williams, the winning pitcher, pitched the bottom of the first inning and gave up four runs, two of them earned, and walked five batters. He also struck out the side to get out of what could have been an even bigger jam. And that was after Natchez High gave him plenty of run support by scoring eight runs in the top of the first inning.

And that’s when Smith decided immediately to go to his bullpen and bring in Davis, Natchez High’s ace pitcher, to make sure Amite County wouldn’t get any closer.

Davis went the next four innings and struck out 11 batters while walking just two batters. Smith said he wasn’t surprised at all by Davis’ outing.

“I was proud of my ace. He shut the door down. It was a close game,” Smith said.

Natchez High had just five hits in the game, led by Kameron Carter, who went 3-for-4 with a triple, two runs batted in, and three runs scored. He was one of the few batters who weren’t walked by Amite County pitching. 

Martavis Woods went 1-for-1 with a double, one RBI, scored three runs and was walked twice. Davis was 1-for-3 with two RBIs, scored two runs, and was walked once.

“Kam just came right in from basketball and he’s already hitting the cage. Martavis is a ninth-grader playing shortstop, but he’s getting better,” Smith said.

The Trojans ended up going with four different pitchers on the mound and combined walked 11 batters and hit two batters. Starting pitcher Gregory Young was charged with the loss after giving up eight runs, all of them earned, on two hits and five walks while striking out two batters. 

JaKenyon McGehee, the first of three relief pitchers, had the most success against the Bulldogs as he allowed three runs, two of them earned, on no hits and three walks while striking out seven batters over three innings.

Natchez High (2-1) plays host to Amite County High School with the junior varsity game at 5 p.m., followed by the varsity game at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs then host Enterprise Attendance Center with the JV game at 11 a.m., followed by the varsity game at 1 p.m.

Warren Central 13, Natchez High 4 (Mon. night; 4 innings)

NATCHEZ — Natchez High School’s home opener at Chester Willis Field didn’t turn out the way the Bulldogs wanted it to as they were held to just three hits in a 13-0 loss to the Warren Central High School Vikings last Monday night.

Jack Wright, Charlie Appleton, and Maddox Lynch combined to hold Natchez High to just three hits. Even though Warren Central had just six hits in the game itself, the Vikings took advantage of five Natchez High errors.

“In a nutshell, we had too many errors. We put that on the errors,” Smith said. “Take those away, and it’s a whole different game. Warren Central is a good team. Against a good team like that, you can’t make any errors.”

The Vikings were only up 1-0 after one inning of play before exploding for five runs in the top of the second inning and seven more runs in the top of the third inning. Despite the blowout loss, Smith said his team never gave up.

“We kept fighting in the game. We didn’t keep our heads down,” Smith said.

Conner Watkins led the Vikings at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a double, one RBI and two runs scored. Blake Channell went 1-for-2 with a double, one RBI, and three runs scored. Cade Fairley was 1-for-2 with a double, two RBIs, and one run scored.

Kameron Carter led the Bulldogs at the plate by going 2-for-2. The only other Bulldog player to get a base hit was Jaylin Neal, who was 1-for-1.

On the mound, Wright got the win after striking out five batters and allowing only two hits in two innings. Skylar Brown was charged with the loss after allowing nine runs, three of them earned, on three hits and four walks while striking out two batters over two-plus innings.