By Staff
STRETCHING OUT District Six's Trey Jones makes a leaping dive to make a catch on a line drive hit between second and third by a District One batter. Photo by Paula Merritt/The Meridian Star
By Marty Stamper / sports editor
June 30, 2003
Joe Scalzo's two-out double to right-center in the bottom of the sixth inning snapped a 1-1 tie as District Six won the gold medal in the 2003 State Games baseball tournament Sunday afternoon at Meridian Community College's Scaggs Field with a 2-1 victory over District One.
Scalzo, who plays at Northwest Rankin, was 0-for-2 prior to his game-winning hit.
District Six successfully defended its 2002 State Games championship, going 4-0 in this year's tournament. The same districts have met for the gold medal each of the last three years.
Since the tournament expanded from four teams to eight in 1998, District Six (Jackson area) has won gold medals in 1998, 2002, and 2003, and took silver medals in 1999 and 2001.
District One, which finished 4-2 after dropping its first game on Thursday, has reached the gold medal game each of the last four years, winning gold in 2000 and 2001 and taking silver medals in 2002 and 2003.
District Six took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first as leadoff batter Nick Hardy of Madison Central ripped a homer to left field.
District One (Tupelo area) drew even in the top of the second as Luke Adkins of Nettleton singled and crossed the plate on a one-out double by Charlie Williams of Saltillo.
Williams had a single and a double for District One. Clay Weatherford of Itawamba AHS had a pair of singles out of his team's six hits.
Winning pitcher Chad Crosswhite of Madison-Ridgeland Academy went six innings, allowing one run and five hits to go with five strikeouts. Jonathan Johnston of Northwest Rankin threw the top of the seventh for the save.
Jared Wesson of Tupelo was the hard-luck loser, giving up both runs in 5 2/3 innings. He allowed just three hits and struck out five.
District One 6
District Four 0
Jared Koon of Tupelo threw a two-hit complete game as District Four advanced to the gold medal game with Sunday morning's win over District Four (Starkville-Columbus area).
Koon struck out eight. He also had a triple out of District One's seven hits. Teammate Brian Dozier of Itawamba AHS had a pair of singles and three RBIs. Mitch Moreland of Amory added an RBI-single.
District Four's only two hits were singles by Starkville's Antonio McCoy and Neshoba Central's Jason Petty.
Brandon Dotson of Louisville got the loss. In six innings, he struck out eight.