The way they went about it was different but the results were the same as Jackson Parish won both of their first two games at the Dixie Youth 10U state tournament being played in Metairie, LA.

In the tourney opener, Jackson Parish jumped out to an early lead by exploding for 11 runs in the first three innings, including scoring six in the opening frame to drop Franklington 11 – 3. That set up a second-round matchup in the ten-team, modified double elimination tournament against Winnsboro, which saw the locals fall behind by a 7-3 score after one inning of play, only to come roaring back to take a 13-10 victory. 

Jackson Parish 11 Franklinton 3: A tide-turning double play in the first inning executed by Asher Cooper, Carter Kelley, and Cruz Nomey after Franklinton had taken an early 1-0 lead led to an offensive explosion by Jackson Parish in the tourney opener.

Franklinton opened the contest by coaxing a walk and hitting a double, but Jackson Parish quickly doused the uprising when Cooper fielded a grounder at shortstop, fired to Kelley at first, who then threw across the diamond to third base, where Nomey applied the tag on the Franklinton runner for the “twin killing.”

Strengthened by the twin killing, Jackson Parish struck back in force to score six runs as 8 of the first 9 batters reached base.  Clay Burton got the fireworks started by stroking a single to open the frame, followed by Nomey getting a one-out hit. Walks to Kelley and Sutton Vail followed, setting up singles by Hunter Williams and Grant Williams that loaded the bases and gave JP10U a 3-1 lead. Walks to Landry Garrett and Ryder Gray and a steal of home plated three more runs to give JP10U the insurmountable 6-1 lead.

Jackson Parish upped the lead to 10-1 the next inning by sandwiching Hunter Williams’ second single in as many innings around six free passes with two outs. Showing a keen eye were Nomey, Kelley, Vail, Grant Williams, Garrett, and Gray. Clay Burton scored the final run of the contest for the locals in the bottom of the third when he smashed a drive to right field and circled the bases for an inside-the-park home run. 

Jackson Parish 13 Winnsboro 10: JP10U scored three runs each in the first three innings and then added four more runs late to break a 10-10 tie in the contest  that saw the locals rally from an early 7-3 deficit. 

JP10U scored three in their first at bat when Sutton Vail and Hunter Williams broke out the “big sticks” with a two-out double and a triple, respectively, after Andrew Seymore had singled and Carter Kelley got hit by a pitch. 

Facing elimination after losing their first-round game, Winnsboro refused to exit the tourney quietly and rallied to score seven runs in their half of the inning. Undaunted, Jackson Parish narrowed the deficit to just one run in the top of the second when Railey Garrett and Asher Cooper reached base via a single and a walk, setting up Clay Burton’s second inside-the-park home run in as many games.

The local tied it up at 9 – 9 the following frame with yet another three-run outburst when Hunter and Grant Williams blasted back-to-back doubles after Nomey and Vail had reached with a single and a walk. 

Franklinton would take the lead back in the bottom of the third, but once again the “Cardiac Kids,” as the local contingent has been dubbed for their continued resistance after falling behind, rallied to tie the score again at 10 each when Seymore doubled in Burton, who had walked.  

From there, Kelley took control on the mound to quiet the Winnsboro bats the rest of the way, allowing Jackson Parish to take control as Nomey, Kelley, and Hunter Williams added the final three-run burst in the top of the fifth inning for the winning margin.

The thrilling contest saw five lead changes with both teams rapping out 12 hits each, including seven that went for extra bases for Jackson Parish, led by Hunter Williams, whose double and triple were part of a perfect 3/3 and 4 RBI effort at the plate. Grant Williams also came up big with a pair of doubles that included two RBI while Clay Burton added 2 RBI and 2 runs scored that included his “round tripper.” Andew Seymore (RBI, RS) and Sutton Vail (2 RBI, 2 RS) also slapped doubles with Cruz Nomey (2 RS),  Carter Kelley (2 RS), and Ryder Gray (RS) adding a hit each. Nash Moak also added an RBI, and Asher Cooper coaxed two walks and scored a run.