VIDALIA — It should have taken the Vidalia Little League 13- and 14-year-old All-Stars just one game to win the state tournament championship against Blanchard Monday night at the Concordia Recreation District 3 Complex. Instead, it took two games.

In the first game, Vidalia had what appeared to be a comfortable 6-0 lead after four innings of play. However, Blanchard rallied in the final two innings for a stunning 7-6 victory.

“My assistant coach came over (after the first game) and said they used up all their energy,” Vidalia 13-14s head coach Wesley McCarver said. “We didn’t use all our energy. We were flat.”

In the second and deciding game, the Vidalia 13s and 14s made sure that there would be no comeback attempt as they hammered Blanchard 23-8 in five innings to win the state title. Daley Jordan was the winning pitcher.
“We jumped on them in the first inning with six runs. Then we scored in the mid-teens in the second inning,” McCarver said. “Everybody hit the ball. The pitching was good. We came out and went up 23-0.”

Despite the effort of Blanchard to get back in the game, it was not nearly enough.

Next up for the Vidalia 13s and 14s is the Southwestern Little League Regional Tournament in Santa Fe, N.M., which starts on Aug. 1.

Evangeline Parish 19, Vidalia 11-12s 0

JONESBORO, La. — The Vidalia Little League 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars were held to just two hits and ended up finishing in third place at the state tournament after falling to the Evangeline Parish All-

Stars in three innings late Monday afternoon.

Haley Sharp was charged with the loss after lasting just one inning on the mound. Caroline Cotten and Sydney Watts had the only base hits for the Vidalia 11s and 12s.

“What happened was we walked a lot of batters. They’re a good team. They’re a well-coached team,” Vidalia 11-12s head coach Leigh Anne Mason said. “They’ve been playing Little League for a long time.”

And while the Vidalia 11s and 12s came up short of their goal of winning the state title, Mason said she was pleased with how the team came back after losing its first game of the tournament.

“I thought they fought hard. When you lose your first game, you have to play it from game to game,” Mason said. “We played on artificial turf, which we’ve never played on. That was one thing we had to overcome. Our team grew from game to game. I was especially pleased with Caroline, who was 8-for-10 in the tournament. She had some key hits with runners on base.”

Avoyelles Parish 21, Vidalia 9-10s 6

VIDALIA — Allie Feltus went 2-for-2 with a double and a triple, but the Vidalia 9- and 10-year-old All-Stars couldn’t get going as the lost the Avoyelles Parish All-Stars Monday night at the state tournament at the Concordia Recreation District 3 Complex.

The Vidalia 9-10s will take on Bossier Parish today at 6 p.m.