JONESVILLE, La. &045; Ask anyone involved with coach-pitch baseball, and they’d likely agree on one thing.

Nothing is worse than holding a slim lead with the other team in its last at-bat.

Absolutely nothing.

The players, however, may be nowhere near the bundle of nerves of the parents and coaches in those situations. Vidalia’s All-Stars proved they were steady enough for 7- and 8-year-olds Thursday to hold on for a 9-6 win over Catahoula at the sub-district tournament.

The win puts Vidalia into the championship round since it had no bye in the bracket and the two remaining teams &045; South Franklin and Winnsboro &045; each have drawn byes. Winnsboro beat South Franklin 20-4 Thursday, and the two teams will play each other again today.

&uot;I told them we had to play five innings, and we played three,&uot; Vidalia head coach Whest Shirley said. &uot;But we played zero the other night. You never know what a 7- or 8-year-old is thinking when they get the ball. We’re just kind of helpless. My old coach would say, ‘The hay’s in the barn. It’s too late to be coaching now.’

&uot;There’s never a dull moment. I’ve coached minors, majors, high school and softball. Coach-pitch is probably the most entertaining. You never know what they’re going to say, and you never know what they’re going to do.&uot;

Catahoula made things interesting as it could for all the adults in attendance by trailing by three runs and putting its first two batters of the inning on base with the top of the lineup coming to the plate.

Catahoula brought leadoff hitter Cameron Spinks up with one out, but his short pop-up fell into the hands of a diving Christopher White in foul ground near third base for the second out.

Catahoula’s next batter went down swinging to end the game with slugger Charlie Man Smith sitting on deck.

&uot;They made some very good plays,&uot; Catahoula head coach Eric Richard said. &uot;They’ve got a good club. They got off to a very fast start and kind of put us behind the 8-ball. I felt like if we had (Smith) up in the last inning we had a chance to tie the ball game.&uot;

It was White’s catch that may have ultimately sealed Catahoula’s fate with the heart of their order waiting for a shot to change the complexion of the game. The play was the biggest boost possible for a Vidalia team since White joined the team as a late addition when catcher Dakota Nations became ill.

And White doesn’t normally play third base.

&uot;You won’t see that (play) in high school,&uot; Shirley said. &uot;You know what made it so good? That was our little sub. He did a great job at third. We made the swap, and it worked out well. My assistant coaches talked me into making that move. You’ve got to give them credit for that because I don’t like change.&uot;

Credit Catahoula for storming back to make things interesting after falling behind 9-1 heading into its half of the third. Catahoula got a run in the fourth when Wesley Doughty singled in Quan O’Steen with two outs.

That run came on the heels of a four-run fourth that seemed as if the momentum was beginning to shift. Josh Cassels singled in Spinks and Jacob Cater to finish the rally and put the deficit at 9-5.

But Catahoula couldn’t cash in on a golden opportunity just before Cassels’ hit when Smith came up with the bases loaded and sent the first pitch he saw off the shin of Vidalia pitcher Pate Shirley for what amounted to an infield single that scored only Ross Wiggington.

&uot;That’s the breaks,&uot; Richard said. &uot;But our kids never quit and showed a lot of character for 7- and 8-year-olds. I thought they did a tremendous job, and our fans were great the whole tournament. I was really proud of the character of the kids and the effort they gave throughout the year. And I really appreciate the support of the parents and fans.&uot;

Pate Shirley took one of the team on that shot, and it came up big since Vidalia came up empty at the plate its next two innings. The team put five runs on the board in the first and four in the third to blow it open.

&uot;He’s got a big ol’ knot,&uot; Shirley said of his son. &uot;It should have been caught, but we’ll let it go. We dodged a big bullet. We knew what (Smith) was going to do. (Taking the early lead) is half the battle. We played them the other night and scored five runs in the first inning. This age, they get down easy. It’s a lot of mental ball in coach-pitch.&uot;

Dakota Hunt, Taylor Nunnery and Dylan Parnham singled in runs in the first, while Chandler Grayson’s double scored Drew McGivaren. In the third, Nunnery, Austin Moore and Parnham drove in runs.