NATCHEZ — Natchez High School baseball coach Dan Smith said it was pivotal for his team to get off to a strong start in Region 6-5A play.

Mission accomplished.

Natchez won the opener 11-1 and erased an early 3-0 deficit in Game 2 to come back to win 13-3 over Provine High School, completing a doubleheader sweep Tuesday.

“This is very big to start off with,” Smith said.

In Game 2, Natchez scored two runs in the bottom of the second inning and added a single run in the third to tie the game, 3-3.

The Bulldogs (6-4, 2-0) then took the lead with a three-run fourth and backed it up with two runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth.

Perhaps the highlight of the game came in Natchez’s fourth-inning rally as Travez Lyles and Ernest Woods stole home on back-to-back pitches.

“We practice that a lot,” Smith said. “I was kind of scared to do it at first, but I was proud of them, because they didn’t hesitate.”

Natchez starting pitcher Chris Scott struggled through the first inning and leadoff batter into the second, forcing Smith to make a change. Jatavis Melton entered and went on toss five shutout relief innings and struck out six batters.

“Melton just picked up where his teammate left off,” Smith said. “Not everybody is going to have it every night. It was cold (Tuesday), and he came in and threw strikes.”

Lyles ended the game in the bottom of the sixth after he smacked a two-run double to right to run-rule the Rams (4-6).

“We hit the ball pretty well from top to bottom,” Smith said. “We played baseball. We bunted when we needed to and moved runners over. We played complete baseball.”

Natchez 11, Provine 1

In the first game, Natchez scored six runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back as it raced to an 11-1 win in five innings.

The Bulldogs received strong contributions throughout the lineup, particularly from lead-off batter Shavoké Herrington who drove in four runs with a pair of a doubles.

“I was kind of shaky at first — I struck out my first at-bat,” Herrington said. “It’s all good, and I’m just doing it for the team.”

The sophomore standout also proved his worth on the mound as he tossed a complete game while striking out 10 batters.

“He pitched like he is — my ace,” Smith said.

“That’s why we went with him the first (region) game. He filled the zone with strikes, and we played defense.”

Provine’s lone run came in the fifth after two errors by the Bulldogs defense set up the score.

Herrington, however, got his revenge in the bottom of the frame, roping a two-run double and later scoring the Bulldogs 11th, game-ending run.

“This is big for us, because we’re trying to finish high up in the (region),” Herrington said. “This is a great start.”

Natchez will attempt to sustain the momentum Thursday when it travels to Provine.

“Hopefully we go down there and able to play the same way,” Smith said.