WINNSBORO, La. — The Trinity Episcopal Lady Saints almost picked up what easily would have been the biggest upset in the first round of the MAIS Class A South State Tournament Monday morning on the North Field at Franklin Academy.

Trinity had top-ranked and District 8-A champion Union Christian Academy of Farmerville, La., on the ropes with a 3-0 lead after three innings of play. However, the Lady Lions rallied to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth inning and scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the seventh to escape with a 4-3 win over the District 7-A runner-up Lady Saints.

“We played the best team here to a one-run game. That was a great game. I’m proud of them,” Lady Saints head coach Miranda Doughty said. “We didn’t take advantage of having runners on base. Other than that, there was nothing different I would do different coaching this game.”

It also turned out to be quite a pitcher’s duel between Trinity’s Marty Lewis and Union Christian’s Macy Fulton. Both pitchers went the distance, but Fulton struck out 11 batters and that proved to be the difference.

“Eleven strikeouts is a lot. That’s too many,” Doughty said. “Marty pitched a great game. The defense had a great game. We had a couple of diving catches that were great.”

Lewis did what she could to give the Lady Saints an opportunity to pull off the upset and advance in the winners’ bracket. She allowed four runs, all of them earned, on just two hits and walked none. The defense behind had stellar as well as Trinity did not commit a single error.

Fulton gave up three runs, all earned,on five hits and she walked one batter. The defense behind her also had no errors. Lewis, Tali Beard, Mallory Lancaster, Kayla Gilmore and Gabby Knight each had a single off Fulton.

Trinity then held on for a 6-5 win over the District 5-A champion Porter’s Chapel Academy Lady Eagles Monday afternoon in a losers’ bracket game of the double-elimination tournament.

Kailey Hutchins went all six innings and allowed one earned run on five hits and one walk to go with four strikeouts and went 2-for-2 at the plate. Lewis went 2-for-4 with a double, both Kayla Gilmore and Kyler Parks went 2-for-3, and Tali Beard had a double.

But despite having 11 hits in the game, the Lady Saints could just have easily lost the game because of five errors. Porter’s Chapel scored three runs in the bottom of the first inning to take a 3-1 lead, but Trinity responded with one run in the top of the second and four in the top of the fifth to grab a 6-3 lead.

The Lady Eagles’ last and best attempt at a comeback came in the bottom of the fifth when they scored two runs to make it a 6-5 game. But Hutchins got out of that inning with no more runs scored and retired the side in the bottom of the sixth.

Trinity then took on the Franklin Academy in the late afternoon in another elimination game. However, they fell 17-3 to end their season.

ACCS goes 1-1 in Day 1 of Class AA South State Tournament

LIBERTY — Adams County Christian School had its chances to defeat Simpson Academy in the opening round of the MAIS Class AA South State Tournament at Ethel Vance Park, but the District 5-AA runner-up Lady Rebels eventually lost to the District 4-AA runner-up Lady Cougars 5-3 Monday morning.

ACCS had eight hits to Simpson Academy’s six hits and the Lady Rebels committed just one error while the Lady Cougars had two errors. But it was the Lady Rebels’ inability to get the big hit when the bases were loaded that cost them.

“We left the bases loaded twice, first in the (top of) the third and then in the (top of) the sixth,” Lady Rebels head coach Forrest Foster said. “We just didn’t get the timely hit we needed. Once we had them loaded with one out and we popped up to the pitcher and she threw to first for a double play.”

Taylor Perkins pitched a good game for ACCS, giving up four earned runs on six hits with one strikeout and one walk in five innings. Lexie Emanuel went 2-for-3 with a leadoff inside-the-park home run in the top of the third inning.

The Lady Rebels overcame a slow start to defeat the Wayne Academy Lady Jaguars 7-6 in an elimination game Monday afternoon. Foster described the game as “very uneventful.”

“We had a very lackluster performance. They were ahead of us until the last inning,” Foster said. “In the first three innings, we were very unpatient at the plate. After the third inning, they started getting patient at the plate. I made them do that and gave them the take sign.”

Another difference in their comeback win in which they trailing 5-1 after three and a half innings was that the Lady Jaguars’ first baseman never charged on a bunt, allowing ACCS to go to a small-ball style of hitting.

“We started bunting the ball and got them a little out of their game,” Foster said.

The Lady Rebels scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth and three more in the bottom of the fifth. Michaela Ashley and Bailey Boyd each went 2-for-2.

ACCS (15-15) next plays at 10 a.m. today against District 4-A champion Park Place Christian Academy in another elimination game.