OSTERLAND, La. — The Concordia Dixie Youth 10-year-old All-Stars started off well with three hits and five runs in the first inning.

But after that, they had just one hit the rest of the game.

That, along with several walks in the fourth and fifth innings, proved to be costly as the Monroe Americans rallied for an 11-5 win Wednesday afternoon in an elimination game at the district tournament.

Concordia 10-year-old All-Stars coach George Cupit said an early pitching change by the Monroe Americans in the bottom of the first inning when their starting pitcher struggled was the difference.

Lee Lancaster singled, Cameron King doubled, Reid Richard walked, J.R. Davis got hit by a pitch, Christian Fort walked and Trey Buckles doubled. Add in a couple of errant throws by the Monroe Americans, and a 3-0 deficit turned into a 5-3 lead.

“They swapped pitchers out. That had a lot to do with it,” Cupit said. “Their first pitcher didn’t make it through the first inning. Then they put in someone else.”

After the first pitching change, the Monroe Americans made another change which paid dividends. Battleford (no first name given) pitched the final three innings and gave up just one hit — a double by Richard — Battleford struck out seven batters and walked three.

“He dominated the final three innings,” Cupit said of Battleford, who helped his own cause by going 2-for-3 at the plate.

The Monroe Americans took the lead for good in the top of the fourth inning when they scored four runs to go up 7-5. They added four more runs an inning later to put the game out of reach.

“They just had more walks than we did,” Cupit said.

King was saddled with the loss as he allowed seven runs on just three hits, but he also walked four batters.

“I was real proud of them. We really matured, but our weaknesses crept up. We went two steps forward and one step back,” Cupit said. “The competition improves when you go up to district from sub-district. We played three really good teams in Rayville and both Monroe teams.”

Cupit added that the best team in the tournament is the Monroe Americans, even though they lost their first game of the tournament. He said he would not be surprised if they win the tournament.

“But you never know. Rayville had good pitching. When we went up to district, the pitching got a lot better,” Cupit said.

Concordia 12s 10,

Winnsboro 0

MANGHAM, La. — It was impossible to figure out which one or two players on the Concordia Dixie Youth 12-year-old All-Stars team stepped up in its 10-0 win over Winnsboro in four innings Wednesday afternoon at the district tournament.

That’s because several players did in eliminating Winnsboro from the tournament. Kade Passman and Cole Cangemi combined to pitch a one-hitter with eight total strikeouts and just two walks.

Chandler Grayson hit a three-run home run to get things going for Concordia offensively in the bottom of the first inning. Tyler Cothern and Jake Barlow went a combined 5-for-6 at the plate and their singles set up Grayson’s home run. Cangemi and Passman each had RBI doubles in the bottom of the third inning to give the Concordia 12s a commanding 8-0 lead.

Concordia added two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to end the game early by way of the 10-run rule.

Cothern went 3-for-3, Grayson was 2-for-2, and Barlow and Passman each went 2-for-3 as Concordia finished with 11 hits in the game and took advantage of five Winnsboro errors.

“We finally hit the ball like I hoped we would,” Concordia 12-year-old All-Star coach Whest Shirley said. “That’s the best we’ve hit the ball since we started. Chandler’s home run was big. After that we never looked back.”

Passman was the winning pitcher as he pitched the first two innings. He walked the first batter he faced before striking out the side in the top of the first inning. He then pitched a 1-2-3 top of the second inning in which he struck out one batter.

Cangemi came on to pitch what turned out to be the final two innings. Just like Passman, he walked the first batter he faced before retiring the side. He gave up a single up the middle in the top of the fourth inning to Winnsboro’s Brandon Chapman, who stole second base before being stranded there. And just like Passman, Cangemi struck out four batters.

“They looked like Siamese twins tonight,” Shirley said. “We just told them not to over-pitch. They had the fastball working and they threw in a changeup. That had them off-balanced. They worked the corners real well.”

And the defense behind both pitchers was outstanding. The Concordia 12-year-old All-Stars committed no errors, which surprised and pleased Shirley.

The Concordia 12s will take on the loser of the Morehouse-Monroe Nationals game today at 6 p.m.