In baseball, it’s never good when the opposing pitcher throws a shutout in the first game and gives up only one run in the second. Right? Wrong! Welcome to the world of “Coach Pitch” Dixie Youth baseball.

The Jackson Parish 8U All-Star baseball team ran its postseason record to a perfect 9-0 by winning three straight Pool E contests in the 24-team Dixie Youth State Baseball tournament being played in Metairie, located on the outskirts of New Orleans.

JP8U opened pool play by beating fellow north Louisiana representative Winnsboro by a 5-0 score on Thursday.  They then blew past Girard 7-1 early Friday setting up a climactic 6-4 victory over Franklin that evening , won in the bottom of the fifth inning with a “walk-off” triple.

By winning their pool, JP8U became one of eight teams to qualify for the the second phase of the state tournament, which is a double elimination bracket that will determine the state champion. Additional qualifiers were Ruston American, Rayville, Girard, Miley, Ville Platte-Mamou, Pontiff and Lakeshore. 

Jackson Parish 5 Winnsboro 0: (Thursday) You don’t often see a lot of zeroes on the scoreboard in “Coach Pitch” play where the team gets to hit pitches thrown by their coach. Rest assured he is trying to lay “lollipops” in there on every pitch and the Winnsboro coach was doing his part. So how did JP8U hold Winnsboro scoreless? DEFENSE!

JP8U didn’t commit a single error in the six-inning contest that saw 12 of the 18 outs that Winnsboro was allotted, orchestrated by the JP8U infield. Included was a snag of a line shot by shortstop Asher Norred after a Winnsboro leadoff double in the bottom of the third, followed by a snazzy double play by second baseman Andrew Seymore that ended the inning and preserved a 2-0 Jackson Parish lead.

Another big play came in the bottom of the fourth. Winnsboro loaded the bases and hit a ball that was headed up the middle.  Cruz Nomey, who was manning the pitcher position, fielded the sharp grounder and fired to first to end the inning and squelch the rally attempt. Third baseman, Brock Craighead, and first bagger, Koplen Taylor, got into the act as well in the bottom of the sixth inning. With runners on second and third and only one out, Craighead snatched a line drive out of the air for the second out and Taylor cleanly handled a hard grounder at first to end the contest. In two other innings, when Winnsboro managed to hit a ball out of the infield, short fielder Maddox Graham and left fielder, Kutter Blalock also ran them down for key outs.

“I am proud of the way we fielded the ball. It was the difference in the game,” said head coach Dusty Nomey. “Winnsboro hit some good shots, but our guys have put in a lot of time practicing and it showed today as they played almost flawless on defense.”

Jackson Parish had great team production offensively as well, beginning with singles by Graham, Craighead, and Taylor to put Jp8U on top 1-0 after their first at-bat. Nomey, Wyatt McGrew, and Remington Davis all singled in the second to double the score. JP8U went up 4-0 in the top of the fourth when Taylor led off with a single and scored on a Carter Kelley double to center field, who later scored on an error. Norred scored the final run in the top of the sixth by starting the inning with a single and advancing to second on a groundout setting up an RBI single by Craighead.

Taylor led the 17-hit attack by going 3/3 while Norred, Graham, Craighead, and Davis all got two hits each. Blalock, Nomey, Seymore, and McGrew each got a hit as well. Ridge Lewter and Landry Garrett also contributed by putting balls in play and moving runners over.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Jackson Parish	1	1	0	2	0	1	5	17	0
Winnsboro	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	1

Jackson Parish 7 Girard 1: (Friday) Once again JP8U turned in a sparkling defensive performance to win their second straight Pool E contest holding a hard-hitting Girard squad to just one run. Clutch defensive efforts led to seven Girard runners being stranded and four lead runners being thrown on the base paths.

JP8U ran their unscored upon streak to ten innings before Girard managed to plate their sole run. Highlights included getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the third and forcing consecutive outs at third base in the bottom of the sixth to close out the game after Girard opened with a pair of singles. Asher Norred was a human vacuum at shortstop, accounting for nine outs while Craighead made four put outs at third as Jackson Parish played flawlessly in the field for the second game in a row.

Wyatt McGrew put the locals on top 3-0 in the top of the second with a three-run, inside-the-park homer that scored Carter Kelley and Cruz Nomey who had opened the frame with back-to-back singles. JP8U upped the lead to 5-0 in the top of the fourth when Brock Craighead led off with a single and scored when Nomey’s roped a “two-bagger” down third, who came home on Ridge Lewter’s double to center field. Singles by Kutter Blalock and Koplen Taylor followed by a double by Kelley and Lewter’s second RBI hit of the contest accounted for the final two runs.

Maddox Graham and Nomey led the hit parade with 3/3 efforts while Asher Norred, Kelley, Wyatt McGrew, and Lewter got two hits apiece. Blalock, Brock Craighead, Taylor, Andrew Seymore, Remington Davis, and Landry Garrett also chipped in with a hit each as all twelve batters contributed to the 20-hit attack. McGrew and Lewter both had 3 RBIs with Kelley adding another. Nomey scored twice to lead the locals with Blalock, Craighead, Taylor, Kelley, and McGrew each crossing home plate once.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	6	R	H	E
Jackson Parish	0	3	0	2	0	2	7	20	0
Girard	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	14	0

Jackson Parish 6 Franklin 4: (Friday) Brock Craighead may end up accounting for many great finishes over his baseball career. Only time will tell. One thing for sure is that he will always remember the two-out, “walk-off” triple he hit in the bottom of the sixth inning that secured the Pool E championship for Jackson Parish.

To set the stage for the thrilling finish that catapulted JP8U into the “elite eight” that will determine who will be crowned state champion, Franklin had just taken a 4-3 lead in the top of the fifth after tying the game in the inning prior.

Remington Davis started the decisive frame with a single and went to second on a one-out single by Asher Norred. Maddox Graham followed with the third hit of the inning to score Davis and tie the game. Craighead then blasted a long fly ball over the head of the short fielder in left center field that rolled to the fence sending Norred and Graham scampering home with the winning runs.

It marked the second time that JP8U had rallied from a deficit. Franklin jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first that could have been worse were it not for a several stellar defensive plays. 

Three straight singles loaded the bases but Cruz Nomey, who was manning the pitcher’s position, snagged a grounder and forced a runner out at third. Another single loaded the bases again followed by a shot that went through the infield to plate the second run. Alertly, short fielder Carter Kelley fielded the ball and fired to Brock Craighead at third who tagged out a runner, wheeled, and threw to Norred covering second for the twin killing that ended the inning.

Carrying the momentum into their at-bat, JP8U quickly responded. Norred and Graham led off with singles and scored on Craighead’s first extra-base hit of the game, a “two-bagger” to right. Then with two outs, Kelley hit the first of his pair of doubles in the contest to give Jackson Parish the 3-2 lead.

Norred and Graham each had three hits in three at-bats to pace the 17-hit JP8U attack. Adding to the two extra-base hits by Kelley and Craighead, Wyatt McGrew also had two hits as did Ridge Lewter, which included a triple. Nomey, Andrew Seymore, and Remington Davis added a hit each. Once again, JP8U didn’t make an error in the field.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	5	R	H	E
Franklin	2	0	0	1	1	4	17	0
Jackson Parish	3	0	0	0	3	6	17	0

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