The Jackson Parish 10U boys All-Star baseball team went 2-2 to finish in third place at the Dixie Youth North Regional State Tournament that was placed July 6-8 at the Johnny Downs Sports Complex in Alexandria.
The 12 member team, under the direction of head coach Dusty Tolar and assistants Lance Seymore and Ronny Savage, qualified for the eight-team tournament by coming in second place in the District 8 tourney played in Jena on June 21-23.
As previously reported, Jackson Parish opened the northern regional competition by beating Mamou Gold 7-6 this past Saturday before falling to Ruston 10-0 later that night. That set up and elimination bracket contest on Sunday where JP10U beat Rayville 9-4 setting up a consolation final game against Girard who won 18-8, giving Jackson Parish the third place finish.
“I am so proud of the guys for the way they competed,” said Tolar. “Naturally we would have liked to have been in the top two so we could have played the two teams from the south regional at the state tourney but we got close and they gave it all they had.”
Tolar was also very appreciative of the support his team received.
“I speak for our coaching staff when I say I want thank you the parents and those who supported us throughout the entire All-Star season,” said Tolar. “We couldn’t have done as well as we did were it not for there commitment to make sure the guys were there for all the practices and games.”
JP10U team members included: Kutter Blalock, Braddock Chandler, Brock Craighead, Eli Jones, Asher Norred, Ryder Pardue, Caleb Robinson, Thatcher Savage, Andrew Seymore, Koplen Taylor, Jase Tinsley, Mason Tolar and Bentley Ponder.
Jackson Parish 9 Rayville 4: After spotting Rayville a four run lead in their initial at bat, JP10U scored in four of the next five innings to rally for the victory. While a collective team offensive effort played a big role, the pitching of Brock Craighead and Thatcher Savage that shut down the Rayville offense over the last five innings was also huge.
JP10U immediately responded to cut the lead to 4-2 in the top of the second when Braddock Chandler and Koplen Taylor got hits and scored when Asher Norred smashed a clutch, two out, triple to right center field.
The locals took their first lead at 5-4 in the top of the fourth when Savage and Kutter Blalock hit singles to sandwich a double by Craighead that was followed by an infield hit by Chandler.
Jackson Parish added another run to the lead in the next inning when Jase Tinsley reached base on a fielders choice took second on a infield hit by Ryder Pardue, stole third and scored on another two-out hit, this time by Mason Tolar.
The final three runs that gave JP10U their final advantage came in their final at bat when Craighead and Taylor hit singles and scored on a triple by Caleb Robinson. Norred then drove in the final run with his second hit of the game.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | R | H | E |
| Jackson Parish | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 14 | 0 |
| Rayville | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
2B – Craighead
3B – Norred, Robinson
Runs – Craighead 2, Taylor 2, Savage, Blalock, Chandler, Robinson, Tinsley
Girard 18 Jackson Parish 8: The locals scored four runs in both the top of the fourth and fifth innings but it wasn’t enough to erase a 10 run lead that eventual tournament champion Girard had mounted over the first three innings.
“I don’t know if I have ever been prouder of a team than in this game,” said Tolar. “Even though we were so far behind so early in the game, the guys kept fighting. Girard was easily the best team we played and a lot of kids would have just given up but the boys kept plugging. It says a lot about their character.”
Down 10-0, Jackson Parish showed their determination to make their presence felt by getting the first eight batters on base to narrow the deficit to 10-4. Ryder Pardue, Mason Tolar, Brock Craighead, Braddock Chandler and Koplen Taylor all drew walks while Bentley Ponder and Thatcher Savage singled and Kutter Blalock supplied the big blow with a two run triple.
Girard stretched the lead to 13-4 but once again JP10U came storming back to add another four runs in the top of the fifth innings. Again it was a keen eye and patience at the plate along with a couple of timely hits that did the damage. Jase Tinsley, Pardue, Ponder and Craighead drew walks and then with two outs, Savage smoked a double to right field and Blalock singled to close the gap to 13-8. Unfortunately, Girard scored five in the bottom of the frame to close out the game by virtue of the “ten run” rule.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E |
| Jackson Parish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 7 | 1 |
| Girard | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 9 | 0 |
2B – Savage
3B – Blalock
RB I – Savage 4, Blalock 3, Norred
Runs – Ponder 2, Tolar 2, Craighead 2, Savage, Blalock
Steals – Blalock, Chandler, Ponder
All-Star Season Recap
Jackson Parish finished their All-Star campaign with a 6-4 overall record, having went 4-2 in the Dixie Youth District 8 tournament and 2-2 in Northern Regional competition. As a team JP10U batted .335 with 17 extra base hits (9 doubles, 8 triples) and scored 59 runs while stealing 26 bases.
JP10U had five players hit over .400 during play with Bentley Ponder, who was added to the team for the regional tournament leading the way with a .714 batting average. Koplen Taylor, Brock Craighead and Thatcher Savage all hit .429 and Jase Tinsley checked in with a .417 average.
Savage had the most hits with 9 and was tied for the team lead in extra base hits with Braddock Chandler, both smashing two doubles and two triples. Tinsley (2 – 2B) and Ryder Pardue (2B, 3B) were next with two extra base hits. had a pair of doubles. Chandler had 6 RBI followed closely by Asher Norred with five while Caleb Robinson led the team with 9 runs scored and Koplen Taylor crossed home plate 7 times. Robinson also paced JP10U with 7 steals with Blalock having 5 stolen bases.
NOTE: Statistics do not include the Rayville contest.