NATCHEZ — The Natchez 7-year-old all-star team rallied back from a seven-run deficit in the first inning of its elimination game against the Lincoln Americans, but fell just short of advancing in an 8-6 loss Saturday.

“I kind of thought we might win (when we started to come back),” player Luke Hargis said. “I didn’t think we would win (at first).”

After Natchez left the bases loaded in the first inning, Lincoln scored the maximum seven runs in the bottom of the inning.

“That’s a hard one to overcome,” coach Blaine Burgess said. “You have hitters you think are going to be clutch, and you realize, it’s baseball, it’s going to happen.”

Natchez’s defense held the Lincoln bats to just one run for the remaining four innings. The host team outscored Lincoln 6-1.

With Lincoln runners in scoring position in an 8-4 game, catcher Reagan Prather caught pop-ups on back-to-back at bats to record the second and final outs of the inning.

In the bottom of the third inning, EJ Hutchins fielded two sharp ground balls at third base and made two strong throws across the diamond to record the first and second out and hold Lincoln’s lead to 8-5.

“(My favorite part of the all-star tournament was) making the throws to first and second,” Hutchins said.

Natchez mounted its comeback in the fifth inning with the top of the batting order leading off.

CJ Ferguson led off with at deep fly ball to center field for a base hit. Caden Kossum roped a seeing-eye single to bring up the tying run, and Bubba Harris hit an RBI fielder’s choice to put the tying run in scoring position with two outs.

Prather kept the game alive with a two-strike single, but the run never came around to score.

The loss wraps up the season Natchez all-stars, but Burgess said his squad would be back on the field to practice for the fall in the near future.

“A lot of these boys are on a fall ball team, and we’ll be back together for two or three weeks,” Burgess said. “Just seeing them getting better is what it’s all about. At least we (coaches) feel like we’re doing something.”

Pike Nationals 13, Natchez 3

Natchez couldn’t overcome Pike’s seven-run third inning and lost the first game of the district tournament 13-3 to move into the loser bracket.

“We barreled it up and hit the ball well from the second inning on,” Pike coach Brian Reeves said. “(Staying in the winner’s bracket) is very good. You get a space in there, and you get to rest your boys and focus on the next game.”

The rally was sparked by a leadoff double from Slade Steele and ended on an inside-the-park homer off the bat of Gunner Buckley.

“It was one inning, that’s all it was,” Natchez coach Blaine Burgess said. “(Pike) hit the ball hard. You find the holes you win the game.”

Pike County’s defense never allowed more than one run in any of the four innings.

Natchez loaded the bases with none out in the bottoms of the fourth. Pike recorded a double play off a pop-up, and Natchez managed to scratch across just one run in the inning.