Natchez 12s start tournament with blowout win
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, June 29, 2010
NATCHEZ — Natchez Dixie Youth fans usually don’t hesitate to break out the fireworks if the team wins the sub-district championship.
But on Monday, in Natchez’s first game of the tournament, all of the fireworks were provided by the players.
Natchez had eight extra base hits, including three home runs over the fence in a 17-0 victory over Magnolia.
With the win, Natchez moves into the winners’ bracket and will next play at 8 p.m. Wednesday against the winner of Tuesday’s contest between Franklin County and Pine Hills.
“We played really well,” Natchez coach Terry Moffett said. “We really swung the bats well. It’s always good to get off to a good start and we did that.”
Natchez wasted no time putting runs on the board, as they struck for five runs in the bottom of the first inning.
Edwin Byrne drove in the first run with a single and Christopher White knocked in the second with an RBI groundout.
Bradley Jones then put a surge into the crowd when he smashed the ball deep over the right-centerfield fence for a two-run homer that made the score 4-0.
Not to be outdone, Will Moffett hit his own home run later in the inning to put Natchez up 5-0.
“The boys have worked hard in practice the last two weeks and it showed,” Moffett said. “We did what we needed to do.”
Natchez scored five more times in the bottom of the second inning, as Byrne had a two-run double to get the scoring started.
Andrew Beesley and Byrne both scored on wild pitches and then Christopher White hit a single and came all the way around to score when the throw in from the outfield got away and went into the dugout.
Natchez kept piling it on in the third inning, scoring seven more times.
Tyler Wilson had a two-run double and then scored himself on an error to make the score 13-0.
Landon Seyfarth then hit Natchez’s third homer of the night, over the scoreboard in right field.
Natchez’s final three runs came on a two-run double by Byrne and a run-scoring single by Jones.
Not to be outdone by the Natchez offensive attack, the Natchez pitching staff also did an outstanding job, as the trio of Wilson, Byrne and Seyfarth combined for a one-hit shutout.
“They really hit their spots well tonight,” Moffett said. “We’re in good shape pitching wise.”
But Natchez won’t get a chance to ride the momentum from Monday’s victory into Tuesday, as they will have to wait until Wednesday to play their next game.
“It is what it is,” Moffett said. “We’ve got our bye (today) and we’ll take time to have a short, crisp practice and get ready for Wednesday.”