The Benton Tigers advanced to the quarterfinals of the non-select Division I playoffs Saturday and the Parkway Panthers’ season came to an end.
Benton, the No. 13 seed, completed a two-game sweep against No. 4 Dutchtown with a 3-0 victory at Dutchtown. The Tigers won Game 1 of the best-of-3 second-round series 2-1 Friday night
Benton (29-9) will play the winner between No. 5 St. Amant and No. 12 Covington on the road with a trip to Sulphur and the state tournament on the line.
Benton is in the quarterfinals for the first time since moving up to Class 5A. The Tigers’ first season in 5A in 2020 was cut short by COVID-19. Benton fell to Dutchtown in the second round in 2021, Ponchatoula in the first round in 2022 and Sam Houston in the second round last year.
Parkway, the No. 11 seed, fell to No. 6 Live Oak 10-3 in Watson. The Eagles, who won Game 1 8-4 Friday night, took the series two games to none.
Parkway closed its first season under Head Coach Aaron Wicklund 24-10.
At Dutchtown, Benton got a stellar pitching performance for the second straight day.
Thomas Allen pitched a three-hitter. He struck out nine and walked two.
After three scoreless innings, Benton, the designated home team, put two on the board in the bottom of the fourth.
Caleb Frey singled with one out and moved to second on a passed ball. Griffin Sibley singled, putting runners at the corners.
Frey scored on a groundout by Malachi Zeigler. Kannon Greer drew a walk to lad the bases. Hayden Millen was hit by a pitch.
The Tigers scored their final run in the fifth.
Leadoff batter Hudson Brignac was hit by a pitch. Bryson Pierce and Kade Bryant then had back-to-back singles.
Dutchtown threatened in the top of the sixth, loading the bases with one out on back-to-back singles and a walk. But Allen got a strikeout and then induced a pop up.
He struck out the side in the seventh.
Dutchtown closed its season 22-12.
At Live Oak, Parkway, the designated home team, scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead.
It was still 3-2 after five. But the Eagles (25-11) scored four in sixth and four in the seventh.
Abel Thetford had two of Parkway’s four hits, including a double. Jax Thomson had an RBI.
Live Oak had six hits, including a two-run home run by Dehkota Jones with one out in the sixth. The Eagles had three doubles in the frame before Jones’ homer.