In the quarterfinal round of the Dixie Youth 9-10 AAA/Taco Bell State Tournament, Hattiesburg continued its winning ways as they defeated East Central 14-2.

In the only other game of the night, Carthage manhandled Philadelphia, defeating them 16-0. Hattiesburg jumped on East Central pitching early in the game, as they had an 8-0 lead by the end of the first inning.

&uot;I’ve been coaching for 15 years, and I’ve never had a team as good as the one I’m coaching this year,&uot;&160;Hattiesburg head coach Tommy Kitrell said.

Hattiesburg appeared to be ready to up the score in the second inning, but ended up leaving the bases loaded.

After Hattiesburg took a 10-0 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, East Central plated two runs of its own on a Hattiesburg error, a walk and another error that allowed both runs to score.

Hattiesburg finished East Central off in the top of the fifth as they score four runs on three hits.

Jonathan Magee had a home run for Hattiesburg and also had a double.

&uot;I feel like if we play defense the way I&160;know we can, we’ll be alright,&uot;&160;Kitrell said.

In the early game, Trent Travis threw a two-hit shutout to earn the victory for Carthage over Philadelphia, who with the loss was eliminated from further play.

Carthage will take on East Central tonight at 6 p.m. and Hattiesburg will face Franklin County at 8 p.m.