NATCHEZ &045; Pass the Advil. Please.

Things couldn’t be any tougher for a Natchez High team that’s struggling to compete at the 5A level, but they certainly were Tuesday night. The Bulldogs let a three-run lead slip away in the final inning and loaded the bases in their last at-bat, trailing by one before having a runner picked off third base to end the game.

To say Forest Hill escaped with an 8-7 win would be an understatement. The Bulldogs played perhaps their best game all season up until the last inning when the wheels came off just a tiny, tiny bit.

Even a tiny bit was too much.

&uot;We just made a couple of bad decisions,&uot; Natchez High head coach Charlie Williams said. &uot;The kids played their hearts out. I’m proud of them for this game &045; more proud this game than the lopsided losses. They hung in there. Being young, we’re still learning how to win. We’ve got to learn how to win.&uot;

The Rebels put the four runs on the board in the top of the seventh to take the one-run lead when the pitching went awry, but credit the Bulldogs (0-3, 8-13) for at least coming back and putting the pressure on the Rebels. Forest Hill came in with its ace hurler in Carlos Moncrief to shut the door, but he walked the bases loaded with one out.

That sent up the top of the order, but Moncrief got a strikeout for the second out of the inning on the winning run still in scoring position. He ran the count full on Desmond Smoot, but catcher Michael Spann fired to third to pick off Johnny Williams for the third out to end the game in gut-wrenching fashion.

&uot;My catcher has had problems throwing all year, and when he threw it my assistant coach said, ‘No,’&uot; Forest Hill head coach Tommy Groves said. &uot;But when he tagged him out, I said, ‘Yes.’ He’s got a great arm, and he’s going to get better.

&uot;That was just a reaction play. They had been getting a lead and coming down that line all night long. We should have been doing that earlier.&uot;

Watching the game unravel was sort of like having teeth pulled awfully quick since the Bulldogs came to life in the middle innings and played perhaps their best game all season. The pickoff throw happened so quickly from Spann and was on the money to Warren Mason at third.

All the Bulldogs needed was one ball from Moncrief that would have tied the score.

&uot;At that particular point I told him to walk up &045; I tell them (that) every pitch,&uot; Charlie Williams said. &uot;If it’s a miss, I want him to be in a position to score. He just took his time getting back. I’m not mad at him. He just got thrown out. Baseball is a crazy game. Things like that happen.&uot;

Things indeed got crazy in the top half for the Bulldogs when C.J. Wright fell out of rhythm and struggled throwing strikes after throwing six solid innings. He walked the first three batters he faced with the Bulldogs holding a 7-4 lead before leaving for reliever Brandon Smith.

Anthony Triplett reached on an infield error to score Jamal Nails, and Moncrief scored the second run when a wild pitch went to the backstop. Then cleanup hitter Lanford Porter blooped one just inside the line in left to score Bradford Wilson and Triplett for the 8-7 lead.

&uot;I was proud of my team in the seventh,&uot; Groves said. &uot;We found a way to get baserunners and got the hits. We didn’t play dead. As a coach, you never know. But Natchez did a good job. They made some plays out there. They were really playing well defensively. We hit some balls hard, and they made some great plays.&uot;

The decision to keep Wright in, meanwhile, was one Charlie Williams may second-guess himself over but won’t regret. The junior right-hander allowed only four hits through six and really settled down after a shaky first two innings.

The Bulldogs made some plays behind him &045; including a diving stop from Jeremy Ellis in the fourth to rob Nails of a single. They brought in Cameron Logan to get the final two outs in the inning.

&uot;I might take some of the blame for letting him stay that seventh inning, but he looked strong,&uot; Charlie Williams said. &uot;You have to go with what got you there. That’s my philosophy. I just snapped him (in the seventh). He wasn’t wild all night and had good command of his pitches. Brandon made a couple of good pitches, too, but we had an error.&uot;

The Bulldogs put up four runs in the fourth and two in the fifth. Ellis put down a squeeze bunt to score Smith, and Edward Johnson doubled in Smith.

In the fifth Johnny Williams singled in Wright and Charles Cothern.