LBWCC scored six runs in the first inning and held off late-surging Wallace State-Hanceville in a 10-6 victory Tuesday at the ACCC State Tournament in Ozark.

The Saint’s win was payback after losing the teams’ first matchup 8-7 in 11 innings. That loss moved them to the loser’s bracket.

“It was a big win when they beat us the other day in the extra-inning game,” LBWCC coach Steve Helms said. “We scored six in the first and held on.”

Johnny Eaton went 3-for-4 with three RBIs to lead the Saints. Brandon Pugh went 1-for-2 with three RBIs.

Trevor Maxey, Charlie Spencer, Ryan Barnes, Conner Smith and Conner Pinegar all had one hit each.

After the first inning, LBWCC led 6-1. The Lions scored one run in the second inning and added four runs to cut the Saints’ lead to 8-6. Fortunately, LBWCC added two runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull away for the win.

“We put some pressure on them,” Helms said. “They made a couple of errors in the first inning and gave us a chance.

“We just competed and played real well with that,” he said.

The Saints will play Wallace State-Dothan today at 4 p.m. in the bracket semifinals. If they win, the Saints play again at 7:30 in the loser’s bracket finals.