FLORIEN, La. — Florien withstood a second-inning rally by Monterey by taking advantage of six errors to take an 8-7 win Friday afternoon in the bi-district round of the Class B State Playoffs.

The Blackcats used a key play by its defense in the top of the seventh inning and then a couple of timely hits in the bottom of the seventh to complete the comeback from a 5-3 deficit.

“We made too many errors to win,” Monterey head coach Eric Richard said. “Usually we’re a good defensive team. We didn’t make some defensive plays that we normally make.”

Monterey had a chance to take an 8-7 lead in the top of the seventh, but the runner was thrown out at home plate. Then just when it appeared that the game was going to go into extra innings, Florien won the game thanks to a base hit, a walk and another base hit.

“It was one of those games where we didn’t play well defensively,” Richard said.

Florien, the No. 12 seed, improved to 16-10 overall and will take on the winner of the Castror-Bethany Christian game next week in the regional round. Monterey, the No. 21 seed, finished with a 10-12 record.

“They’ve been through a lot with the change in coaches. I thought we had a good season,” Richard said. “I am super proud of the boys. They conducted themselves as young men.”

Franklin County 6, Morton 3

MORTON — Blaine Abernathy pitched a two-hitter and Jordan Hunt went 3-for-3 as the Bulldogs swept the Panthers in the second round of the Class 3A South State Playoffs with a win in Game 2 Friday night.

Morton (17-12) scored one run in the bottom of the first inning, but the Panthers wouldn’t score again until the bottom of the sixth thanks to the performance of Abernathy, who had a no-hitter broken up in that same inning.

Franklin County (23-5) scored four runs in the top of the second inning to take the lead for good. The Bulldogs added one run in the top of the third and another in the top of the fourth for a 6-1 lead. Of the team’s 10 hits, four of them went for doubles.

Hunter Hatcher went 3-for-4 with a double and Ryne Tutor was 2-for-3 with a double. Matt Lofton and Robert Wilson each had a double as well.

The Bulldogs will take on the winner of the Carthage-Sumrall series in the third round, which begins next Friday.