NATCHEZ &045; The East Central All-Stars got a little practice in Thursday night against Copiah in preparation for their district tournament, which begins Saturday in Vidalia.

East Central won 10-7 after leading 10-0 heading into the fourth and final inning of a time-limited game.

East Central jumped out early, scoring three runs in the first inning, highlighted by a Graham Roberts single that scored Brett Hinson. Roberts came in on Reid Simpson’s single and Simpson scored on a double steal to put East Central up 3-0.

East Central continued the onslaught in the second as the first six batters all reached base successfully and scored. Chris Ensminger’s bases-clearing triple crowned the inning in which East Central took a 9-0 lead.

East Central added a run in the fourth when Tony Godbold singled, stole second and third and scored on Ensminger’s single.

Copiah staged a comeback that almost put them in reach of winning the game. In the fourth inning, Copiah’s David Brunt doubled and Jed Stevens walked. Both scored when Wilson Bennett reached on an error.

Jake Guess and Justin Merchant got consecutive walks and Bennett scored when Jake Smith reached on an error. Guess scored on Brock Campbell’s single and Campbell scored on Daniel Sims’ walk. Sims scored on David Brunt’s single, but Steven’s flew out on his second appearance of the inning, ending the game.

&uot;We got a little sloppy there at the end,&uot; East Central head coach Leo Eliser said. &uot;We threw some guys that we’re going to need down the line. They needed work and I think they did a pretty good job. Matt (Shively) did a good job until he got a little tired there. Ples (Arthur) came in and threw strikes and let his defense get the job done.&uot;

Copiah finished off its summer league schedule with a 6-4 record, including two losses to Adams County.

&uot;These guys have had a huge change of attitude this summer. They’ve turned around completely,&uot; Copiah head coach Keith Kline said. &uot;Now we just need to work on every aspect of baseball &045; our hitting, pitching, fielding.&uot;

Adams County 7, Copiah 4

NATCHEZ &045; Adams County got two home runs from David Alton New to lead the way to a victory over Copiah in the final summer league game of the year for both teams.

New hit a three-run home run in his first at-bat and a two-run homer in his second, accounting for five of his team’s seven runs in the game. New also pitched the fourth inning.

&uot;We had a good summer, all things considered,&uot; Rushing said. &uot;I have a good idea now of what we can do with some guys, where we need to play them.&uot;

Adams County came out swinging. Luke Brumfield reached on an error and Timmy Foster was hit by a pitch, setting up New’s first home run. Matt Barnes singled and scored on

Brian Sanderson pitched the first three innings, allowing just three hits and no runs while striking out four.

&uot;We’ve gotten some really good pitching, especially from the sophomore class,&uot; Rushing said. &uot;We’re going to be looking to some of those guys in the spring.&uot;