BUDE — The Natchez Dixie Youth 12-year-old All-Stars needed to defeat the Franklin County 12-year-old All-Stars twice Friday to win the north sub-district tournament and advance to the district tournament.

Franklin County went into the championship round undefeated and needed just one victory to move on. Natchez, on the other hand, had one loss – and that was to the tournament’s host team on Wednesday.

In what turned out to be the first game of the day, which was played in the late afternoon, Natchez escaped with a 5-4 win over Franklin County. That forced a second and deciding game to decide which team would be sub-district champion and which team would be headed home for rest of the summer.

And in that game, Sam Parker and Gabe Smith combined to pitch a three-hitter with 11 strikeouts as Natchez defeated Franklin County 6-1 to win the championship.

“They believed the whole tournament they were going to win and that’s the mark of a true champion,” Natchez coach Gary Farmer said. “That’s one thing I can say about them. Their spirits were up. Their heads were up. They were ready to play.”

In Game 1, both teams were ready to play. And Franklin County was the visiting team in this one and took a quick 1-0 lead before Brock Farmer hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to give Natchez a 2-1 lead.

“The first game the momentum started with the home run by Brock. That set the tempo for the game,” coach Farmer said. “That was against their No. 1 pitcher.”

After both teams failed to score in the second inning, Franklin County scored twice in the top of the third to go up 3-2. And after scoring another run in the top of the fifth to go ahead 4-2, it looked like Franklin County was on the verge of wrapping up the sub-district title.

But something happened along the way — Natchez’s bats woke up at just the right time. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Christian Day led off with a single, but was caught stealing. Cooper Murray walked, Cole Mosby reached on an error and Phillip Roberts walked to load the bases. Then Reed White stepped up and delivered a single that scored three runs to give Natchez a 5-4 lead. Natchez then kept Franklin County off the scoreboard in the top of the sixth.

“It was a hard-fought ball game. Franklin County stayed in it the whole ball game. It was a great baseball game,” Farmer said.

Farmer also credited starter Jace Calcote for a strong performance on the mound in Game 1.

“He pitched a fine game through five innings with a nasty curveball to keep Franklin County off balance, and that was a key to our victory,” Farmer said.

In the second game, Natchez broke a scoreless game with two runs in the top of the third game. Both teams scored one run in the fourth before Natchez broke the game open in the top of the sixth thanks to a solo home run by Reed White and a two-run home run from Gage Dossett.

“The second game was really a pitchers’ duel for the first two innings. Then we scored in the third inning. After winning the first game, we kept the momentum going,” Farmer said.

Farmer added that what Parker and Smith did on the mound was the tone-setter in Game 2. Parker, who was the winning pitcher for Natchez in both games, allowed just one hit and struck out five in three innings. Smith gave up two hits and struck out six in three innings.

“We’re talking about a great hitting team in Franklin County that averages three home runs a game and we shut them down,” Farmer said. “All the offense had to do was give them a lead and they were able to do that.”

White ended up going 3-for-3 with a double to go with his homer and Dalvion Jackson had a double.

Natchez will take on south sub-district champion Pine Hills in a best-of-three district championship series. Game 1 will be in Gloster at 7 p.m. Thursday. Game 2 will be in Natchez at 7 p.m. Friday. Game 3, if necessary, will take place in Natchez next Saturday.