The Natchez Democrat

JONESVILLE, La. &045; Mission accomplished.

After a dreadful Saturday night that included playing through heavy rain in a 12-3 loss to South Franklin, Catahoula had a specific goal Saturday against Madison &045; score 10 runs in the first four innings and shut out Madison to end the game early.

Catahoula did just that, scoring two runs in the fourth to win 10-0 and finish the game early.

&uot;After what happened last night, this is great. Errors just killed us in that game,&uot; Catahoula assistant coach Donnie Humphries said. &uot;We knew we had to try to get 10 runs by the fourth and shut them out and that’s what we did.&uot;

Madison was eliminated from the tournament with the loss. Catahoula will face Vidalia at 6 p.m. today. Ferriday will face Winnsboro, who beat South Franklin 20-10 in the second game Sunday night, at 8 p.m. today.

Madison head coach Steve Lewis said his team also suffered from the rain Saturday night and the long drive down Sunday afternoon, though he was pleased with his team’s effort in the tournament.

&uot;We’ve come along way this season,&uot; Lewis said. &uot;I think we played the best we could given the situation. I think we all had fun and that’s what it’s all about.&uot;

Catahoula pitchers Kailyn Curry and Will Hawthorne each pitched two innings to combine for a no-hitter. Madison’s Keith Miller, who walked to lead off the game, was the only baserunner for his team in the entire game.

In contrast, Madison pitchers struggled just to find the plate, hitting three batters, walking five and throwing seven passed balls that allowed runners to move up or score. Catahoula scored its 10 runs on just five hits, using those passed balls and three Madison errors to its advantage.

But Catahoula did a good job putting the ball in play and scoring, managing at least two runs in every inning.

&uot;This is a good little team that can hit the ball,&uot; Humphries said. &uot;We just have to keep putting the ball in play like we did today.&uot;

In the first, Curry reached on an error and Curt McGuffee was hit by a pitch. Curry eventually came in to score on another error and McGuffee scored on a passed ball to put Catahoula up 2-0.

In the second, Catahoula added four more runs. Matthew Humphries led off with a single, stole second and moved to third on a passed ball. Jeffery Spann walked and moved to third on a passed ball that scored Humphries. Trevor Vault was hit by a pitch and stole second before moving up to third on a passed ball that scored Spann. Austin Marceaux was hit by a pitch but was later tagged out coming home on a passed ball on which Vault scored. Ashton Holland doubled and eventually stole home.

After getting two quick outs, Catahoula scored two more runs in the third. Curry singled and moved to second on a throwing error. McGuffee was hit by a pitch for the second time in the game and both moved up on a passed ball. Hawthorne’s single scored Curry and McGuffee.

Coming into the fourth inning, Catahoula needed two more runs to get the 10-run advantage needed to end the game early, and they wasted little time getting them. Spann walked and moved to second on a passed ball. Vault walked to put men on at first and second, for Holland, who singled both in to end the game with his second hit of the night. Holland was in to pinch hit for Austin Marceaux.

Lewis said his team struggled with a lack of experience in the tournament due to its youth.

&uot;We have a small league in Madison and almost all of these kids are 9-year-olds,&uot; Lewis said. &uot;This is the first year they’ve seen pitching other than from a pitching machine.