The Benton Tigers and Parkway Panthers opened their second-round playoff series with victories Friday night.
In Class 4A, defending state champion Benton, the No. 4 seed, defeated No. 13 Northwood 11-1 in five innings at Benton. Game 2 of the best-of-3 series was scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Saturday. Game 3, if necessary, will be at 4.
In Class 5A, District 1 champion and No. 3 seed Parkway held off No. 14 Airline 6-4 at Parkway. Game 2 started at noon. Game 3, if necessary, will be played immediately following Game 2.
In another Class 5A second-second series opener, Haughton fell to West Monroe 5-4 in West Monroe. Game 2 was scheduled to start at 1. Game 3, if necessary, will be at 4.
At Benton, Brock Van Hoy pitched a five-inning three-hitter.
Brennan Blaylock went 2-for-3 with two doubles and four RBI. Cole Horton went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI
Cade Scott, Clint Lasiter and Tanner Timms all had two hits. Matthew Gennaro had two RBI.
At Parkway, the Panthers broke a 1-1 tie with four runs in the bottom of the third.
Parkway started the inning with three consecutive walks. Christion Rayner’s sacrifice fly scored Amani Larry. Gabe Larry singled with two outs to load the bases again.
Collier Cloinger’s line drive single to right field cleared them, making it 5-1.
Amani Larry hit a solo home run with one out in the bottom of the fourth to make II 6-1.
The Vikings made things interesting in the top of the sixth. They scored three runs on only one hit, a single by Cole Tabor. Airline took advantage of an error, hit batter and two walks.
Hayden Lope’s sacrifice fly made it 6-4 with two outs and two on. Eric Brown, who had come on in relief, got a strikeout to end the half-inning.
Parkway left the bases loaded in the bottom of the inning, but it didn’t matter. Brown set the Vikings down in order in the top of the seventh, striking out two and inducing a popup to preserve the victory.
Parkway starter Hayden Knotts allowed two hits and two earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. He struck out three and walked four.
At West Monroe, Caleb Green led the Bucs at the plate, going 3-for-4. Carter Griffey went 2-for-3 with a double.
Landon Thompson hit a 3-run homer with two outs in the top of the first. It followed a leadoff double by CJ McWilliams and a Peyton Stovall walk with one out.
West Monroe answered with four in the bottom of the inning on four hits and two walks.
The Bucs tied it in the top of the fourth. Carson Gilmore singled with one out and scored on Griffen’s two-out double.
Green’s double came in the top of the fifth but Haughton couldn’t take advantage. The Rebels took the lead in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk with two away.
The Bucs got a walk and a one-out single by Green in the top of the seventh, but a popup and flyout ended the game.
Dawson Hunt allowed three hits and one earned run in 5 2/3 innings after coming on in relief with no outs in the first.
