Troy rolls in Junior Dixie Boys World Series opener

ENTERPRISE — Troy manager Sam Kitchens looked at Blake Craft during a lightning delay and asked, “Why couldn’t you have hit the ball a little farther?”

He was joking. Craft ripped a hit off the center field fence just moments before the lightning forced teams off the field. Troy was one run away from winning on the mercy rule, leading Arkansas 13-4 in its opener at the Junior Dixie Boys World Series at the Enterprise Recreational Complex.

When play resumed nearly an hour later, the game ended on the first pitch. Deion Byrd, the third Arkansas pitcher, threw a wild pitch and Nathan Fox scored the run that gave Troy a 14-4 victory.

Troy overcame a shaky second inning to take command of the game. Arkansas stranded nine baserunners in the first five innings. The team from Searcy scored four runs on four hits in the second inning, chasing Troy starting pitcher Chandler Avant, who left after 42 pitches.

Reliever Tripp Blackmon did a fine job getting out of the inning, which featured an unusual force play for the second out. Arkansas’ Brady Anderson lined an apparent single to center, but the ball hung up long enough for the baserunners to guard against a catch. Center fielder Craft fired a strike to the plate to force out Austin Calhoun.

“Tripp did a great job getting us out of trouble there and held them through the fifth,” Kitchens said. “That was huge.”

It gave Troy time to regroup. After scoring twice in the bottom of the first, Troy tied it with two more runs in the third. Blackmon hit a one-out double and Myles Loving reached on a fielder’s choice. A balk called against Arkansas starter Brandon Zomant and a wild pitch allowed the Alabama state champions to tie the game.

“They kept their poise,” Kitchens said of his players. “We got a lot of key hits to keep innings going.”

They also took advantage of nearly every Arkansas mistake. Troy blew it open with seven unearned runs in the fifth inning. John Johnson and Chase Smartt got on base via errors to start the inning.

Blackmon walked to load the bases. Loving then broke the tie with a two-run single to center. Craft and Smartt later added two-run singles and Brian Adams, who had walked, scored on an error.

Troy was much more opportunistic than the team from Searcy. Through five innings, both had eight hits. But Arkansas committed four of its six errors in Troy’s seven-run fifth inning.

Arkansas got a double by Jeffrey Oest and Devon Van Winkle reached on an error to start its four-run second. A bloop single by Jordan Jones, an infield single by Deion Byrd and a solid liner to right-center by Kane Malnar added to the rally before Blackmon relieved Avant.
Blackmon injured the little finger on his left (throwing) hand sliding head-first into first base to end the fifth inning. Brian Adams pitched the sixth for Troy.

Troy plays Louisiana tonight at 7 p.m.

In the other early games, Georgia edged Tennessee 3-2 and Louisiana beat Mississippi 6-3. The early games were already delayed by two hours due to afternoon storms that pounded Enterprise.

Georgia 3, Tennessee 2: Georgia finished just before the lightning delay. The team from Troup County scored all of its runs in the fifth inning.
Jaylen Colton ripped a double and, with two outs, Dustin Vaught singled, Clayton Vaught reached on an error and Dre Leonard hit a double.

Georgia starter Matt Morton didn’t allow a hit through 77 pitches and five innings. Reliever Dustin Vaught pitched the final two innings.

Tennessee’s only hits came in the seventh, when James Naifeh and Clayton Addison hit back-to-back singles. Lucas Riddick reached on an error to pull Tennessee within 3-2, but Vaught closed out the win.

The team from Dyersburg took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fifth when Garrett Goodlett walked and came around on passed balls.

Georgia’s Leonard made the defensive play of the game with an over-the-shoulder catch in deep center field in the top of the fourth inning.

Georgia plays the North Carolina-Virginia winner tonight at 7. Tennessee plays the loser of that game at 4 p.m. in an elimination game.

Louisiana 6, Mississippi 3: In another close game, Louisiana edged Mississippi 6-3 when three errors in the bottom of the sixth inning of a tie game led to three unearned runs for the winners from Monroe.

Mississippi, from Laurel, led 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning. Louisiana’s Thomas Nickelson hit a leadoff home run that tied the game.

Will Watson then walked, Leonidas Varytimidis singled and Patrick Whipple reached on an error to give Louisiana a 3-2 lead.

Mississippi answered with a run by Jaylan Keys, who scored on a suicide squeeze bunt by Josh Sullivan.

Mississippi broke a 1-1 tie in the top of the fifth. Eric Surrett reached on an error and Blake Shows ripped a two-out double.

Trenton Stringer reached on a fielder’s choice and eventually scored on a passed ball for Mississippi in the first.

Louisiana tied it in the bottom of the second, getting singles from Whipple, Nathan Navarro and Clint Daniels.

Mississippi plays Arkansas in an elimination game today at 4 p.m.

Three Junior Dixie Boys World Series games were in progress at press time on Saturday night due to weather delays earlier in the day.

Texas didn’t waste much time asserting itself. The team from Texarkana, which won the “O” Zone World Series last year, scored eight runs on eight hits in the second inning to lead host-team Enterprise 8-0.

Taylor Jones singled and scored two runs and Rashaan Donelson hit two singles — the second of which drove in two runs — in Texas’ big inning.

Enterprise starter Seth McWaters was relieved after 43 pitches by left-hander Keenan Rachel with Texas up 6-0.

Texas starter Alec Campanini gave up a first-inning walk to Sid Thompson and balked him to second, but got out of the inning.

In the other games, Virginia led North Carolina 2-1 after two innings. Florida and South Carolina were scoreless in the fifth inning. Check for final scores at http://www.dixie.org.