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Concordia 10-and-under All-Star Ethan Keith high-fives his coach Rob Rushing on his way back to the dugout Saturday during a Dixie Youth district tournament in Vidalia. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

Concordia’s George Tucker delivers a pitch during the action. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

Concordia 10-and-under All-Star McCain Rushing yells with enthusiasm Saturday during a Dixie Youth district tournament game in Vidalia. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

Concordia’s Jed Jinks runs to third base during Saturday’s action. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

Concordia’s McCain Rushing runs to third base during Saturday’s action. (Nicole Hester | The Natchez Democrat)

The Concordia Dixie Youth 10-year-old All-Stars watched as East Ouachita North’s score climbed run by run in the top of the sixth inning, wondering just how they would bounce back.

Concordia couldn’t hold on to an early lead Saturday night and allowed 11 runs in the final frame, ultimately falling in its first game of the District 5 tournament, 18-6.

“The wheels fell off,” Concordia coach Rob Rushing said. “The pitcher we were using (when the inning started) we pulled out because we didn’t want to get him to the pitch count. He was at 64, and once you are at 66 you have to have a 48-hour rest before you can pitch again. After that, we put one of our good pitchers in and he just had a bad night. Everybody has it happen to them.”

EON struck first scoring two runs in the top of the first inning, but Rushing’s squad had an answer.

After Concordia’s lead-off batter George Tucker was hit by a pitch, McCain Rushing, Jed Jinks and Ethan Keith all singled to take the lead with three runs.

Trouble began for Concordia in the third, however, when it struggled finding a third out to end the inning.

“That didn’t help anything,” Rushing said. “We have to fix the fielding errors and dropped balls. Those things should be routine.”

Concordia did not register a hit again until the bottom of the fifth inning, but was able to stay within reach thanks to its speed.

Colby Barfoot and Will Wiley each walked and scored on wild pitches in the fourth to tie the game, 5-5.

“We are very aggressive on our base running,” Rushing said. “That is something that we talk about and practice a lot. We were able to stick with them.”

While Rushing said his team could have used a little extra spark on offense, he was still pleased with its hitting.

McCain Rushing led Concordia, batting 2-for-3 with a double and one run scored. Riley Roach nailed a triple down the right field line in the fifth, eventually scoring, Keith added an RBI single and a sacrifice RBI and Jinks also ended with an RBI single.

“Sometimes we were hitting it right to them but we did have a few base hits,” he said. “We have things to work on, but I’m proud of them either way.”

Rushing also said despite its fielding errors, he still believes in his defense.

McCain Rushing completed a double play in the fifth, and Roach dove for a pop-up foul in the third to highlight Concordia’s efforts.

“I saw some promising things in the field with our defense,” Rushing said.

Concordia falls to the loser’s bracket and will face Mangham at 8 p.m. Monday night.

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