ELLISVILLE — The offense came alive for the Natchez-Adams Girls Softball 6-and-under Coach Pitch All-Stars as they defeated St. Martin 18-9 Saturday afternoon in an elimination game at the state tournament.

Olivia Hutchinson and Kolemyn Grace Fisher each had a triple to lead Natchez at the plate.

“Everybody got a hit today. We had only three strikeouts,” Natchez 6-and-under coach Brian Fisher said.

But it was an unexpected and amazing game-ending defensive gem that was the play of the game.

“Penny Starr made a triple play to end the game in the bottom of the fifth inning,” Fisher said.

And it was not the typical 5-4-3 or 6-4-3 triple play that one would see in a college or Major League Baseball game, either.

St. Martin had runners on first and second with nobody out and a good chance to cut into Natchez’s nine-run lead. Instead, Starr caught a pop-up in the air, tagged the runner at first and had the presence of mind to tag the runner at second for a unassisted triple play.

“The fans went crazy. The players went crazy,” Fisher said. “That just doesn’t happen very often in this league. That was a phenomenal play.”

The Natchez 6-and-under All-Stars will look to stay alive in the state tournament when it takes on the winner of the Carthage/Magee game at 2:30 p.m. today.

Natchez 11-12 All-Stars 5,

Copiah County All-Stars 1

ELLISVILLE — The Natchez-Adams Girls Softball 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars had just three hits, but they took advantage of several walks and errors by the Copiah County All-Stars in a 5-1 win Saturday afternoon to advance to the finals of the Mississippi Dixie Softball Ponytail Traditional State Tournament.

Carleigh Sproulls got the start and did not allow any batter to reach base to go with one strikeout in two innings. Drue Boyd was the second pitcher of the game for Natchez and Copiah County cut Natchez’s 2-0 lead in half thanks to a walk, two hits and another walk in the top of the third inning.

However, Boyd got out of that jam and held Copiah County scoreless in the top of the fourth. She allowed four hits and two walks and struck out four in two innings. Za’Nya Lyles gave up two hits and struck out three in the final two innings.

Natchez scored one run in the bottom of the first and second innings and then plated another run in the bottom of the fourth to go up 3-1. Then in the bottom of the fifth and runners on first and second, Ashley Frye laid down a good sacrifice bunt to move the runners over into scoring position. Those two runners would end up scoring to give Natchez a 5-1 advantage.

Boyd, Destinee Green, and Asya Terrell were the only Natchez 11-12 players to record a base hit.

The Natchez 11- and 12-year-old All-Stars will take on Sebastopol at 1 p.m. today in the championship game.

Vidalia 13-14 All-Stars 14, Bossier All-Stars 2

VIDALIA — Led by the pitching of Emily Rasco and the hitting of Alyssa Howard, the Vidalia 13- and 14-year-old All-Stars took care of the Bossier All-Stars 14-2 in five innings Saturday night at the Louisiana Little League Junior State Tournament at the Concordia Parish Recreation District 3 Complex.

Rasco pitched all five innings for her second complete game in as many nights. She allowed two runs on two hits and four walks, while striking out seven batters. And she got plenty of run support.

“When Emily was on, she was on,” Vidalia 13-14s assistant coach Jackie Johnston said. “We only had one error in the game. Everybody played solid. Everybody played their positions. The ball came to them, and they made the play.”

The biggest hit of the game occurred in the bottom of the fourth inning. With two strikes, Howard hit a fly ball deep in the outfield and motored her way for an inside-the-park home. That was the start of a six-run frame that gave Vidalia a 14-2 lead and the game ended after the top of the fifth on the 10-run mercy rule. Howard also had a double.

Vidalia scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, two in the bottom of the second and two more in the bottom of the third. Madison Johnston and Shauniesha Crumpton each had a double among their two hits.

The Vidalia 13- and 14-year-old All-Stars next play at 7 p.m. Monday in the championship game against the winner of the Bossier/Blanchard game.

Natchez 9-10 All-Stars game vs. Bay St. Louis postponed

MAGEE — A surprise downpour forced the postponement of Saturday afternoon’s Natchez-Adams Girls Softball 9- and 10-year-olds All-Stars’ game against the Bay St. Louis All-Stars.

David Brown said that the Natchez/Bay St. Louis game will now take place at 11 a.m. today. If the Natchez 9-10 All-Stars win that game, they will take on the loser of the Columbia/Magee game at 8 p.m. today.

Natchez 7-8 All-Stars 16, Indianola All-Stars 6; Natchez 7-8 All-Stars eliminated by Mendenhall All-Stars

ELLISVILLE — The Natchez-Adams Girls Softball 7- and 8-year-old All-Stars defeated the Indianola All-Stars 16-6 in five innings Saturday morning before bowing out of the Mississippi Dixie Softball Darlings State Tournament after losing to the Mendenhall All-Stars 13-6 Saturday afternoon.

In the first game of the day, Natchez had seven hits that went for extra bases. Christian Jones had two triples, Kay-Lee Ashley had a triple, Skylar Hughes had two doubles, Camren Strittman had a double, and Saniyah Malone had a double.

“The first game, they came out and performed well,” Natchez 7-8s head coach Eric Jackson said. “They played a pretty good defensive game.”

Natchez scored seven runs in the first inning, five in the third inning and four in the fourth. Hughes went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and two runs batted in. Ashley was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and four RBIs. Strittman was 3-for-3 with three runs scored and one RBI.

As for the second game, Jackson described it this way, “They went back to their rooms and got some sleep. When they came back, it looked like a different team.”

And Mendenhall took advantage, scoring seven runs in the second inning and then answered every attempted rally by Natchez afterward.

Hughes was 2-for-2 with a double and one run scored while Addison Jackson was 1-for-2 with a triple, one run scored and one RBI. Gracie Lee was 1-for-2 with one run scored and Maci Jones went 1-for-2 with two RBIs.

“Just couldn’t get it going with the bats. Just a slow start and a bad second inning,” coach Jackson said. “Just a tough day at the ball park.”