NATCHEZ — Timely hitting lifted the Natchez 11-year-old All-Stars past McComb 6-3 Saturday night.

Despite a slow start, Natchez was able to battle back from an early deficit.

“The key is going through the lineup and knowing whoever is up, you’ve got a chance of hitting the ball,” Natchez coach Billy Ray Farmer said. “It’s a bad feeling when you’ve got a lineup with a lot of iffy kids. Any of these kids are capable of getting a good hit — not just putting the ball in play, but hitting the ball with authority.”

In the fourth inning, down 3-0, Christian Jenkins got the Natchez bats going. He led-off the inning with a scorching single down the third base line.

Following a Trey Fleming single, Alex Weadock scored Jenkins on a single up the middle, plating Natchez’ first run.

After catcher/closer Thomas Garrity walked, Cameron Farmer swatted a ball through the right side of the infield, scoring Fleming.

Quinn Logan’s single in the next at-bat tied the game at three.

Ben Hewitt followed Logan’s lead and hit a ball to right field, scoring Farmer as the go-ahead run, giving Natchez a decisive 4-3 lead.

“We got some hits and guys that were down with two strikes on them right off the bat come back (and get a hit),” Farmer said. “We had three or four real good at-bats in a row, and that’s what you’ve got to have.”

In the bottom of the fifth, an RBI-single and solo-home run back-to-back put Natchez up 6-3.

McComb’s Jonathan Turner gave his team a premature 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning when he grooved the second pitch he saw from Logan over the right field wall.

In the top of the fourth inning McComb pitcher Logan Yawn extended his team’s lead to 3-0 with a solo-home run of his own.

On the pitchers mound, Logan and Garrity were effective.

Despite giving up an early two-run home run, Logan settled down after the first.

The Natchez starting pitcher struck out six batters in four innings, while allowing two walks and four hits.

Garrity came into the game in relief in the fifth inning and allowed just two base runners, striking out two in the process.

For McComb, Yawn was dominant early in the contest, allowing just two hits through the first three innings. He finished the game with five strikeouts, walking two.

The Natchez 11’s will play in the south state tournament in MaGee next.