NATCHEZ &045; The Trinity Saints started their own tournament off with a loss but looked strong against Huntington.

The Saints, composed primarily of players from Trinity Episcopal School, swung the bats better than in their last game, Trinity head coach Matt Mason said.

&uot;I was pleased with our aggressiveness at the bat,&uot; he said. &uot;They were really going after pitches.&uot;

Huntington got a 6-5 win in five innings of a time-limited game Friday night in the opening game of the Trinity Episcopal Tournament.

Huntington, composed of players from three different schools, is just out there to have fun this summer, head coach Leo Eliser said.

&uot;We had a number of kids who said they wanted to play together, so we got seven of them out and picked up some kids from here and there,&uot; Eliser said. &uot;As long as they’re having fun out here, we’re doing a good job.&uot;

The Hounds certainly had some fun Friday, beating the Saints in only their second outing of the summer.

The Saints got off to a fast start, scoring two runs in the first inning. Clint Easom singled to right and scored on Parker Brumfield’s double to center. After two outs, Brumfield scored on Matthew Freeman’s double to put Natchez up 2-0.

Huntington struck back in the second inning, when pitcher Trey Brasher got a bloop single over the second baseman. Matt Shively and Gary Evans singled to load the bases for Richard Steele, who drew a walk to scored Brasher.

After Dude Hammill struck out, Layton Strebeck laid down a bunt to score Shively on a squeeze play. Trey Corbett doubled to score Evans and Steele and put the Hounds up 4-2.

Trinity scored two runs in the third inning as Parker Brumfield reached base on an error. Stevan Ridley knocked in Brumfield and himself with a home run to left field that tied the game at 4-4.

Huntington broke the tie in the third, when Ples Arthur walked, stole second and went to third on an error. He scored on a groundout by Trey Brasher.

With runners on second and third and no outs in the fourth inning, Trinity’s Kolby Godfrey bunted a third strike foul for an out, a play Mason said could have changed the outcome of the game.

&uot;A couple things didn’t go our way that needed to,&uot; Mason said. &uot;We couldn’t get a bunt down with runners on base and had a couple errors that cost us.&uot;

Huntington added an insurance run in the fourth, when Evans led off with a walk and moved up to third on two passed balls, then scored when Steele reached on a Trinity error.

The Saints scored one run in the fifth, as Ridley was hit by a pitch and stole second and third. He came home when Freeman reached on an error, but Trinity couldn’t get another run to tie the game.

Trinity did have some success on the basepaths, getting two steals and utilizing a several passed balls to move runners up.

&uot;We’ve got a little team speed,&uot; Mason said. &uot;We can put some pressure on people by running the bases.&uot;

Huntington features seven players who attend Huntington school, three from Monterey High School and one, C.J. Wright, from Natchez High.

The Huntington members are mostly young players.

&uot;We’re young, but we have a lot of kids coming back,&uot; Eliser said. &uot;We only have two who are going to be seniors, so this group needs to play together.&uot;

Eliser said the team will try to get in about 10 games this summer.

The Hounds are loaded with pitchers and used three of them &045; Brasher, Shively and Huston Eliser &045; Friday.

&uot;With this heat, we wanted to just work each pitcher 30-35 pitches, so we’ll have something left for the late game tomorrow,&uot; Eliser said.

Huntington plays Franklin Academy at noon and Trinity at 8 p.m. today, so the Hounds will likely need that pitching today.

Trinity will play Oak Forest at 4 p.m. today before the rematch with Huntington at 8 p.m.