HATTIESBURG — For the second game in a row the Natchez 14-year-old Dixie Boys were on the loser’s end of a 2-run game in the state tournament, losing to Columbia 18-16 in a slugfest Sunday afternoon.

“We ran the bases well today, and hit the ball a little better than we did yesterday — but they also hit the ball well,” Natchez coach Paul Fenn said.

The game was back and forth between the two teams for much of the contest.

In the fifth inning, Chance Fenn’s three-run home run tied the game at 16, but Columbia plated two runs in the sixth to take the decisive 18-16 lead.

“We told the boys after the game we thought they represented Natchez well,” Paul Fenn said. “You couldn’t ask for a better group of kids to represent the city.”

Columbia used five pitchers in the game. The loss eliminates Natchez from the tournament. They lost to Kosciusko 6-4 Saturday night.

CLEVELAND DEFEATS NATCHEZ 13s

CLEVELAND — Although the Natchez 13-year-olds retired Cleveland’s first three batters in order, Natchez couldn’t silence Cleveland’s bats for long and were eventually defeated 11-0 in the state tournament.

“We played a lot better than we did yesterday,” Natchez coach Chris Lowe said. “We just didn’t have the team to compete with the teams up here.

“To me it was disappointing because I thought we would win at least a few games.”

Lowe feels his team was at an automatic disadvantage compared to their opponents because they had received an automatic bid to the state tournament and had not faced an opposing team in a sanctioned game.

“That’s the biggest problem, because you could tell a big difference from last night’s game to today’s game,” Lowe said. “Last night’s game we were just out of sync, nervous and did not know what to expect.

“Today we were ready in the first inning.”

With the loss Natchez was eliminated from the tournament. They lost to Magee 19-1 Saturday night.