MCCOMB — After a tough loss to Summit Friday night in the opening round of the sub-district tournament, the Natchez 7-year-old All-Stars found themselves in the loser’s bracket.

Against Magnolia on Saturday afternoon, Natchez endured a one-hour rain delay and played much better than it did against Summit with a convincing 17-4 win on a different field then the one the teams were supposed to play at.

“The field we played on is smaller than Sprague-Gousset and Carroll-Jones. It’s smaller than Ballew-Bowlin,” Natchez coach Justin Robinson said.

Robinson noted that in the loss to Summit, the defense was the determining factor.

But against Magnolia, Natchez’s defense turned two double plays.

Natchez had 11 players with at least two hits and six doubles in the game – one each by Drake Davis, Alyssa Edens, Hunter Carroll, Sawyer Allen, Andrew Merritt and Matthew Carey.

The Natchez 7-year-olds then had to defeat Wesson Saturday night to once again stave off elimination.

Unfortunately, that would not be the case as Wesson held on for an 11-10 win.

The keys to Wesson’s win were a five-run rally in the bottom of the fourth inning and a defensive gem by its right centerfielder in the top of the sixth that kept the score tied at 10-10.

“We had a couple of outs and they scored five runs in the fourth,” Robinson said.

Wesson scored the game-winning run in the bottom of the sixth to keep its season going after getting hammered by McComb earlier in the day.

“It was a heartbreaking loss,” Robinson said. “They played their hearts out.”