The Benton Tigers rallied for a 7-3 non-district baseball victory over Captain Shreve on a chilly Saturday afternoon at Benton.
It was the District 1-4A champion Tigers’ 12th straight victory.
Benton finished the regular season 28-6 and should be the top seed in the Class 4A playoffs. Final power rankings and playoff pairings are scheduled to be announced Sunday.
Benton trailed 3-2 after four innings, but the Tigers took the lead for good with two in the bottom of the fifth and then added three more in the sixth.
Five Tigers had multiple hits. Cole Horton went 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Kade Scott went 2-for-2 with a two RBI. Coleman Nerren, Garrett Hable and Connor Jack Smith had two hits apiece.
Benton starter Cameron Ross allowed three hits and one earned run in 4 2/3 innings. Turner Toms allowed one hit and no runs in 1 1/3 innings. Andrew McPherson struck out two in the seventh and didn’t allow a hit.
The only negative for Benton was the Tigers committed five errors.
Scott and Smith led off the fifth with back-to-back singles. Courtesy runner J.T. Brice scored the tying run on Cody Norris’ groundout to short. Horton’s double scored Smith with the go-ahead run.
Captain Shreve closed its season 12-22.
District 1-5A champion Airline (21-12), Haughton (16-18) and Parkway (18-14) will all be going to the playoffs. Airline was No. 12 in the latest 5A power rankings on the Louisiana Sportsline website and will host a first-round game.
Parkway was No. 25 and Haughton No. 31. Both will be on the road in the first round. If the power rankings don’t change, Haughton will visit three-time defending state champion Barbe.
— Russell Hedges, rhedges@bossierpress.com
