SHREVEPORT, La. — Even though there was a little rain late Sunday afternoon, it wasn’t enough keep the Vidalia 9-10-year-old All-Stars from taking on host Shreveport at the Louisiana Little League State Tournament.

However, Vidalia had a hard time putting the ball in play as it lost to Shreveport 10-0 in four innings. With the loss, the Vidalia 9-10-year-old All-Stars were eliminated from the state tournament after a tough 15-14 loss to Blanchard on Friday night.

“We pitched well. We just couldn’t hit the ball,” Vidalia coach Wesley McCarver said. “We tried hard. Played the best game we could. I’m proud of them for making it this far. There were five teams there and we were one of them.”

Vidalia and Shreveport were scheduled to play Saturday night, but it was pushed back to Sunday due to inclement weather.

McCarver added that this was a great learning experience for him as well as the players and that he is looking forward to next year.

Vidalia 11-12s eliminated

LAKE CHARLES, La. — The Vidalia 11-12-year-old All-Stars saw their season come to an end in improbable fashion Sunday night as Blanchard rallied in the bottom of the sixth inning for a 13-12 win.

Blanchard had just three hits in the game and trailed Vidalia 12-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth. But pitching and especially defense turned out to be what hurt Vidalia in the end as Blanchard scored nine runs to keep its season alive.

Each team scored one run in the first inning. Vidalia then scored two runs in the top of the second inning and one run in the top of the third inning for a 4-1 lead. Blanchard tied the game at 4-4 thanks to a three-run rally in the bottom of the fourth.

It looked for sure that Vidalia was going to be the team that would continue on in the state tournament after scoring three runs in the top of the fifth and five in the top of the sixth to go up 12-4.

That was until Blanchard grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat.

Kayla Gimore went 2-for-2 with a double while Katelynn Bertelsen and Jewel Thompson each went 2-for-4 with a double to lead Vidalia, which had 12 hits in the ball game.

Vidalia ended up falling to the loser’s bracket after a 17-16 loss to Jackson Parish Saturday night in a game that went seven innings and didn’t get finished until nearly midnight.

Jackson Parish led Vidalia 12-4 after just two innings of play. Then Vidalia used an eight-run rally in the top of the third inning to tie the score at 12-12. Both teams scored one run in both the fourth and fifth innings to send the game into extra innings tied at 14-14.

Vidalia scored two runs in the top of the seventh, but Jackson Parish won the game by scoring three runs in the bottom of the seventh.

Bertelsen went 2-for-4 with a double, Tiffany Weeks had a double and Gilmore went 2-for-2.