By Brad Greer

Baseball can be a cruel and unforgiving game at times.

Hours after shutting out Center Hill 11-0 to open the Oxford High School Spring Break tournament, South Panola found themselves on the short end of the stick with a 13-2 loss to New Albany Monday night to earn a split on the day.

New Albany grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third inning before exploding for 11 runs on seven hits in the fourth. The only bright spot for the Tigers came in the fourth inning as Chance Whitten blasted a solo homerun to right center. Chris Townsend accounted for the other South Panola run with a RBI single in the third to score Blake Darby.

Tays Hardy also singled in the game.

Andrew Horne (1-2) took the loss on the mound while Darby pitched 1.2 innings in relief.

In the first game of the tournament, Whitten and Taylor Karr combined on a no-hitter as the Tigers blasted the Mustangs in five innings.

Whitten helped his own cause at the plate with two doubles and three RBI’s. Townsend added a pair of singles and scored three runs with three stolen bases. Dashawn Lindsay, Adam Cook and Bobby Epps registered doubles as South Panola scored five runs in the first two innings before putting the game away with a six-run fourth inning.

Andrew Horne contributed with two singles while Hardy and Taylor Meek drove in runs with one single each.