Mineola raced to a 6-0 lead in the first four innings before Quitman’s youthful Bulldogs came back in the final inning to score three runs to make the game interesting before falling 6-3.

The Jackets had 10 hits for the game while Quitman had seven. Noah Sneed was big on the mound for Mineola striking out 14 Bulldogs to earn the win. A.J. Dunn pitched well for five innings striking out six batters in the loss for Quitman.

Sneed also had three hits for the Jackets while teammate Seth Hudgins had two hits. For Quitman, Dunn and Ben Burroughs each went 2-3 in the game. Riley Flanagan added a double and scored a run to spark the seventh-inning rally which fell short.

The Mineola defense was solid with just one error while Quitman’s defense improved from previous games with just two errors in the contest.

Quitman Coach Hayland Hardy was proud of the Bulldog’s effort. “I am very proud of these young men and the way they played hard for seven innings,” Hardy noted. “We played tough against a good senior-heavy Mineola team. What is important is we never quit.”

On Friday, the Mineola Yellowjackets held state-ranked Edgewood at bay leading 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth inning when the Bulldogs pushed across three runs and held on for a 4-2 district win.

Brayden Stehman locked into a pitchers’ battle with Edgewood’s Turner Bannister. Each team had four hits while Stehman had six strikeouts and Bannister recorded eight fanned batters. Aaron Stanford had two hits for Mineola while Stehman and Noah Sneed added a hit each. Stehman added an RBI with one of his hits.

The loss dropped Mineola to 1-2 in district competition with games at home against Grand Saline Tuesday and on the road at Alba-Golden Friday. Edgewood and Eustace top the district at 3-0 with Grand Saline at 2-1, Mineola 1-2 and Quitman and Alba-Golden each at 0-3.

The Jackets took a break Saturday from district play and it was no April Fool’s joke for Mineola bats as they pounded out an 18-3 victory over Gladewater in a five-inning contest.

A big 10-run second inning was all Mineola needed to nail down the win. Aaron Stanford, Cody Ford and Cameron Davis each had two hits in the 11-hit Mineola attack. Davis and Stanford each tossed just over two innings with a total of four strikeouts (two each).

Davis had four RBI while teammates D.J. Hartley and Seth Hudgins added two RBI apiece in the romp over the Bears.