It took six innings, but the Natchez Wallace League All-Star team finally put away the Franklin County All-Star with an 11-run sixth inning for a 26-9 win Wednesday night at Carroll-Jones Field to win the 2001 Dixie Youth 11- and 12-year-olds West Sub-District Tournament championship.

The Natchez Wallace All-Stars got 18 hits in the ball game, including a three-hit performance from Stevan Ridley and two-hit games from Parker Brumfield, Brian Sanderson, Dustin Carroll, John Carl Johnson and James Logan.

&uot;I don’t know what to say, except we hammered the ball,&uot; Natchez Wallace head coach Brad Fondren said. &uot;We hit the ball.&uot;

Austin Weeks was the winning pitcher, giving up one run on two hits and one walk. He struck out two in two innings.

Natchez Wallace scored six runs to start the game on four hits and two errors, including two-run doubles by Ridley and Johnson and an RBI single by Sanderson.

Franklin County scored one run in the bottom of the first on an RBI single by Preston Griffith, but left the bases loaded.

Natchez Wallace then pushed its lead to 10-1 thanks to a four-run second inning, only to see Franklin County jump on Ridley in the bottom of the third for five runs on two hits, including Dane Hodges’s bases-clearing triple, and two errors.

&uot;We struggled a bit in the third inning,&uot; Fondren said. &uot;We were lucky enough to have good pitching depth.&uot;

Carroll came on in relief and pitched three and two-thirds solid innings as he gave up three runs on three hits while walking four and striking out five.

Natchez Wallace answered Franklin County’s big inning with five runs of its own in the top of the fourth, which included RBI doubles by Sanderson and Ridley.

&uot;I hit the ball well tonight,&uot; said Ridley, who went 3-for-3 with six runs batted in. &uot;Our team hit the ball. We didn’t looking for walks. We have nothing but heart.&uot;

Natchez Wallace put the game away with its 11 runs in the top of the sixth, which included Ridley’s bases-clearing double and Johnson’s second two-run double of the game, for a 26-8 lead.

&uot;I felt good. I just come out here to play and have a good time,&uot; said Johnson, who went 2-for-4 with four RBIs. &uot;My last hit I thought it was gone and it landed in front of the fence.&uot;

The Natchez Wallace All-Stars will next play in the district tournament beginning next Monday at Summit.