FERRIDAY — After giving up eight runs in the top of the first inning, Huntington could have folded the tent and let Tallulah Academy run away with the MPSA District 6-A opener for both teams Friday night.

But the Hounds would not let that happen on their home field. After chipping away at the lead in the first four innings, they took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to defeat the Trojans 15-11.

“I’m very proud of them. They came a long way tonight,” Huntington head coach Leo Eliser said. “They fought back and scored two and three. We came alive hitting the ball tonight.”

Huntington (1-2, 1-0) had 15 hits in the game. Joey Roberts went 4-for-5 with a double, and Jordan Wilson was 3-for-4 with a double. Tallulah Academy was led by David Duncan, who was 2-for-4 with a double.

Jess Dossett was the starting pitcher for Huntington and had a poor first inning. He hit the leadoff hitter, walked a total of five batters and gave up several base hits. But Huntington started its rally by scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. That was something Eliser said the team needed to gain some confidence.

Dossett settled down in the second inning as he gave up just one run.

Huntington scored three runs in the bottom of the second to make it a 9-7 ball game.

“I brought Josh Lee in, and he gave up one run in the third inning. Then I brought Jordan in. He played really well, got out of a few jams, threw hard and threw strikes,” Eliser said.

Natchez High 14, Jim Hill 7

NATCHEZ — Melvin Davis went 4-for-4 with a double and a triple as Natchez High overcame a rough start by scoring four runs in the bottom of the third inning and defeated Jim Hill Friday night in Division 6-5A action.

Jim Hill scored three runs each in the top of the first and second innings en route to a 6-3 lead. But Natchez High responded with its rally in the bottom of the third inning to take the lead for good. The Bulldogs then scored seven runs over the next three innings, including four in the bottom of the fourth while holding the Tigers to just one run.

Javon Washington had a double, and Alfred Banks went 3-for-3 for Natchez High, which improved to 5-3-1 overall and 3-1 in division play.

Block 12, Monterey 1

MONTEREY — Ethan Trisler and Curdarius Johnson combined for six hits as the Block Bears jumped out to a big lead to defeat of the host Monterey Wolves in five innings Friday night at the Monterey Baseball Tripleheader.

Trisler went 3-for-4 with a triple, while Johnson was 3-for-4 with a double to lead Block’s 13-hit attack. Monterey, on the other hand, had its share of problems with the Bears’ duo of Chase Duncan and Justin Winborne. Duncan pitched two scoreless innings and Winborne struck out six of the eight batters he faced.

Block (3-2) scored five runs in the top of the first inning and four more in the top of the second. By the time Monterey (1-4) scored its only run of the game in the bottom of the third, the Wolves were already trailing 10-0. The Bears added two more runs in the top of the fourth and shut out the Wolves in the bottom of the fourth and fifth innings to end the game early.

Cathedral 13, Salem 1

TYLERTOWN — After being held scoreless in the first two innings, Cathedral exploded for six runs in the top of the third inning and never looked back as the Green Wave routed the Salem Wildcats at Dexter High School Friday night to remain undefeated in Division 7-1A.

With the win, Cathedral improved to 8-0 overall and 6-0 in division play. In the six division games the Green Wave have played so far, they have outscored their opponents by a combined score of 84-3. However, they have yet to play a seven-inning division game.

The Green Wave scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning and five in the top of the fifth.

Centreville 29, WCCA 8

WOODVILLE — Daniel Perkins went 3-for-3 with a double and winning pitcher Chase Wilkins had a double as Centreville used two big innings to annihilate WCCA Friday night.

Centreville (5-2), ranked No. 4 in Class AA, scored 10 runs in the top of the first inning and 12 more runs in the top of the third inning to take a commanding 21-1 led. The Tigers had 14 hits and took advantage of 11 WCCA errors.

WCCA (3-5) scored seven runs in the bottom of the third, but that was not nearly enough. The Tigers added another six runs in the top of the fifth.

Blake Babel had a triple and Hunter Travis went 2-fo-3 for the Tigers. Hayden Whetstone had a triple and Corey Smith was 2-for-3 with a double.