Cathedral High School freshman Ben White entered the game to pick up his teammate, Vidalia High School’s Dylan Lowery, in the second inning of Thursday’s Miss-Lou Dixie baseball game between Delta Bank and Home Bank.

The Home Bank relief pitcher said he doesn’t care if he has to enter the game early or leave late, he’s happy to get the innings. White threw 5.2 innings of relief and allowed two unearned runs with five strikeouts and left nine on base in his first outing on the mound in the Vidalia-based summer league.

“He’s a young kid with a lot of potential in the future,” Home Back coach Greg Naquin said.

Delta Bank loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second inning, when White fielded a weak groundball and threw back to his catcher Cameron Rodgers for the force out at home. White struck out the next batter to get out of the jam.

“I mixed my fastball and curveball well,” White said. “They were a good duo.”

Delta took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth on a one-out double from Cooper Murray. Murray scored on a misplayed fly ball to centerfield two batters later.

Home’s Drake Smith reached base on a one-out single and scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth. John Alex McReady and Nicholas Melton advanced to second and third on the wild pitch and scored on an error in center in the following at bat.

Delta responded in the top of the fifth when Cameron King doubled to right and made it home on a throwing error from the cutoff man, who threw to third trying to prevent a triple. But Delta couldn’t scratch across any more runs. Drake Smith got the save with a strikeout in the bottom of the second.

“I keep telling them one bad inning kills us,” Delta coach Sessions Vestal said. “The only had three runs, all on errors. It’s something we can definitely fix.”

Naquin coaches Home Bank and is also the commissioner of the league. He said the Dixie Baseball summer league provides a “laid back” way for players to stay loose and get playing time during the offseason.

“It’s about getting the cuts and and playing good defense,” Naquin said. “We don’t play but a month, but it still helps them get work in.”