SUMMIT &045; As rain showers wiped away what was a sunny day at the ball park, with it went the all-star seasons of the Natchez Americans and Nationals.

Both teams were eliminated in the District 6 Dixie Youth Coach pitch tournament Saturday at Summit as the McComb Americans sent both teams exiting the tournament. McComb edged the Americans, 8-7, after it knocked out the Nationals, 12-7, to advance in the tournament.

The Americans edged Franklin County, 3-2, prior to the loss for their only win of the tournament.

&uot;We never got it together,&uot; Americans head coach Billy Ray Farmer said. &uot;We edged by Franklin County, and that could have gone either way. It was a back-and-forth game. This (McComb) game was a close game, but we never hit the ball like we normally hit. I don’t know if it was being in Summit and not in Natchez or what.&uot;

The Natchez Americans were in a close one against McComb with the score tied heading into the bottom of the fifth inning. The Americans scored three in the top of the fifth to tie it up thanks to a Zach Ray single that scored Darren Coleman, a John Gray single that scored Ray and a Turner Janette single that scored Kaleb Watts to tie the score at 7-7.

McComb then answered in the fifth when Austin Smith led off with a double and scored on Connor Burns groundout. In the sixth the Americans’ first three batters were retired to end the game.

&uot;I don’t know what it was, but we had a lot of fun,&uot; Farmer said. &uot;It’s always fun when you win, but at least we didn’t play two games and out. They’ve got some good teams here. It’s just one of those things &045; that’s all you can say. But we played much better (last week) in Natchez.&uot;

The Americans scored three in the first and one in the second as Gray, Donovan Logan, Cody Rhinehart and Austin Walker scored, but McComb’s four runs in the second tied the game up.

McComb sent 10 batters to the plate in the second, and most of the damage came on singles. In the third McComb tacked on another run, and it scored two in the fourth as Zak McDaniel went to third on a bunt and scored on a Drew Brown single for a 6-4 lead.

Brown scored on another bunt later for the 7-4 lead.

McComb Americans 12, Natchez Nationals 7

McComb took a lead late in the game after the two teams battled to a 3-3 tie heading into the fifth inning. McComb scored five in the fifth and four in the sixth for a 12-3 lead heading into the Nationals’ last at-bat.

But they didn’t go quietly.

Tyler Duncan’s three-run homer to score Kyle Bradley and Caleb Cross kept things interesting in the Nationals’ last at-bat, and Tyler Buckles followed with a triple before scoring on a groundout by Chapman Sharp for the second out of the inning.

The next batter was retired to end the game.

Natchez Americans 4, Franklin County 3

In one of the tightest games of the day, both teams battled to the last inning with the Americans holding a 3-2 lead until Franklin County scored to tie it up. Javy Watts led off with a single and scored on Hayden Thornton’s groundout to tie the score at 3-3.

In the bottom half, however, the Americans used the bottom of their lineup to create a spark.

Zach Ray reached base on a fielder’s choice when Kaleb Watts was forced out for the second out of the inning. John Gray singled Ray to third, and Turner Janette’s single scored Ray to give the Americans the win.

Franklin County took a 1-0 lead in the first when Thornton scored, but the Americans scored two in the second when Garrett Rehms and Cody Rhinehart scored for a 2-1 lead.

The Americans scored in the third when Ray crossed the palte for a 3-1 lead.