By Brad Greer
Another summer baseball season at J. P. Hudson Park came to a close as the Dizzy Dean 10 year-old North State tournament over the weekend concluded.
The Batesville All-Stars gave a strong showing in the 10-team field by going 2-2 with a third place finish.
Batesville got off to a strong start with an 18-2 rout of Tate County in the opening round Thursday.
After spotting the visitors a 2-0 lead, Batesville scored all of their runs as they batted around three times in the second inning. Baylor Pierce and Austin Alexander keyed the inning with a pair of two-run singles.
Clayton Hentz, Keyshawn Washington and Kason Dettor provided RBI singles. Jay Havens and Cam Moore also added RBI doubles. Caden Land contributed with a triple while Alex Jackson crossed the plate three times.
Hentz, Jackson and Havens all pitched for Batesville.
Batesville 8, Horn Lake 7
Friday’s second round contest proved to be a lot tougher for the home team as the lead changed hands three times over five innings.
Batesville grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first as Washington led off with a single then scored on Land’s triple into right field. Land later raced home on a wild pitch.
Horn Lake responded with four runs in the second before Batesville answered with two runs in the bottom half of the frame to tie the score at 4-4.
Batesville took the lead for good with three runs in the third, this after Horn Lake surged ahead 6-4. Cam Moore gave Batesville an insurance run in the fourth at 8-4 as he walked to lead off the inning and later scored on a throwing error.
Horn Lake added a third and final run in the fifth but could not get any closer as Hentz slammed the door with a strikeout to end the game.
Land paced Batesville with a double and single to go along with three runs driven in. Havens also provided a double and single with two runs scored. Jackson, Caleb Walls and Washington contributed with singles.
Horn Lake 11, Batesville 9
After dropping into the losers’ bracket with an 11-6 loss to Marshall County National Saturday, Batesville squared off against Horn Lake yet again Sunday with the winner moving on to the championship game against Marshall County.
Batesville took a commanding 7-0 lead in the second inning before Horn Lake began to chip away at the deficit with three runs in the second and three more in the third thanks to a three-run home run to make the score 8-6.
Horn Lake added five runs in the bottom of the fifth for the winning margin. Batesville missed chances to add to their lead after leaving the bases loaded with one out in the fifth.
Moore, Jackson, Washington and Pierce provided singles for Batesville while Dettor and Havens each doubled.