The Benton Tigers took sole possession of the District 1-5A lead with a 12-0 victory over the Haughton Bucs Saturday afternoon at Benton.
Benton, which has won 10 in a row, improved to 21-1 overall and 7-0 in district. Haughton, which had a 12-game winning streak snapped, dropped to 17-4 and 6-1.
The teams are scheduled to complete the two-game series Tuesday at 6 at Haughton.
Elsewhere in 1-5A, Airline defeated Byrd 5-2 at Airline and Parkway downed Evangel Christian 3-0 at Parkway.
At Benton, the Tigers scored one in the first then put eight on the board in second. They added three more in the fourth and the game ended after five.
Benton had seven hits in the second inning. Colton Birdsong led off with a double. Brody Turnipseed and Rydon McCormack followed with singles. A sacrifice fly by Hayden Millen made it 5-0.
Jackson Jones’ triple with the bases loaded made it 8-0. Griffin Sibley’s RBI-single closed the scoring.
Sibley and Birdsong both went 2-for-3. Kade Bryant had a double. Turnipseed had two RBI.
Bryant started on the mound and went 3 2/3 innings. He allowed four hits, struck out three and walked three. Bryson Gates and Jones also pitched. Jones struck out the side in the top of the fifth.
Haughton’s Justin Adkison went 2-for-3.
At Airline, the Vikings led 2-0 through four innings. Byrd tied it in the top of the fifth. Airline scored three in the bottom of the sixth.
Max Fisher had a two-RBI single in the sixth. Marshall Beaver’s double scored the final run.
Jack Henry Smith went 2-for-3. Crew Chandler had an RBI-double in the second.
Brock Jordan led off the first with a triple. Ayden Hawn brought him home with a sacrifice fly.
Starter Silas Endris went five innings. He allowed three hits, struck out five and walked two. Drew Robinson gave up just one hit in two innings of relief. He struck out three with no walks.
Airline (13-8, 7-2) and Byrd (9-15, 4-5) are scheduled to complete the series Tuesday at Byrd’s LSUS field at 6.
At Parkway, the Panthers scored one run in the first then added two in fifth.
Kamron Blackshire brought home the first run with a double.
Colby Donaldson led off the fifth with a single and Blackshire drew a walk. Corey Paeth, running for Donaldson, scored the first run on a wild pitch. Jax Thomson had an RBI-single with two outs.
Abel Thetford got the win. He allowed four hits, struck out eight and walked none in five innings. Donaldson allowed one hit in the final two innings.
Parkway (6-12, 1-6) and Evangel (7-13, 0-7) are scheduled to complete the series Tuesday at 6 at Evangel.
Parkway picked up a non-district win Friday night, defeating North DeSoto 9-3 in Stonewall.
Thetford went 3-for-4. Maddox Cockerham went 3-for-5 with a double. Blackshire went 2-for-2.
Dakota Armour had a double and two RBI. Dallas Loche had a double.
Blackshire went four innings for the win. Cockerham pitched the final three.