Natchez 6-under All-Stars played sound defense and trusted their bats to win the state tournament opener against 18-10 Perry County in Cleveland Friday night.

“Defensively they were phenomenal,” coach Wes Middleton said. “We turned two doubles plays caught a lot of balls in the air. We were sound.”

Offensively, Middleton said his squad was equally effective.

“We started out slow,” coach Wes Middleton said. “We didn’t hit like we were capable of. We only scored six runs in the first inning; we didn’t get our usual seven. We had some first-game jitters.”

Middleton said the traveling has been tough on the youngsters, and the softball facilities hosting the tournament are impressive. He said the team will warm up approximately 30 minutes before the team’s 10:30 a.m. game today to calm his team’s nerves.

“We’ll take a little batting practice in the morning,” Middleton said. “Cleveland has a fabulous facility. It’s phenomenal for a town this size. It’s the hype, the biggest game of their young careers. I think they were a little nervous, but tomorrow they’ll be a different team.”

Concordia 17, Sabine 2

MONROE, La. — Concordia’s Machine-pitch All-Stars kept the momentum moving in their direction with two games Friday. Concordia beat Sabine, 10-0, and Gonzales Americans, 17-2.

Concordia coach Terence Williams said after Thursday night’s game,