EARLY – The May Tigers became the lone Brown County team standing in the Texas Teen-Age Baseball 8U Machine Pitch State Tournament thanks to Thursday’s 14-6 triumph over the Early Red Sox.

May outlasted Early, the Bangs Legends – who the Tigers also ousted – as well as the Brownwood Blue Jays and Brownwood Tigers.

However, May was denied a day-four appearance by the Coleman Bluecats, who earned a 6 p.m. Thursday rematch with the Comanche Pirates for the right to face Buffalo Payne in the 8 p.m. Thursday state championship game.

In the Tigers’ victory over Early, Cooper Dail led the way with four hits – including three home runs – and seven RBI. Ryder Perry contributed three hits – with a pair of home runs – and four RBI. Branson Behler also added three hits and two drove in one, while Bently Berrera and Chase Woods tallied two hits apiece. Hayden Seider added one hit and one RBI, while Kenna Psnick, Ben Rinella and Otto Varney also reached base.

For Early, Hagan Rasberry led the charge with three hits and a pair of RBI. Logan Ingram and Benson Brush both finished with two hits and one RBI while Brayden Ivey and Braxden Moya both collected one hit and one RBI. Cash Clark added two hits to Early’s team tally while Kannon Matthews chipped in one.

May grabbed a 3-0 lead in the top of the first as Perry led off with a home run, then Behler singled ahead of Dail’s first home run.

Early closed the gap to 3-2 in the bottom of the first as Matthews led off with a single and scored on Ivey’s RBI double. Rasberry later followed with an RBI base hit.

The Tigers scored the max seven runs in the top of the second to seize control, 10-2.

Seider and Rinella singled ahead of Perry’s one-out three-run homer. Berrera then singled and Behler doubled prior to a three-run blast by Dail. Woods later singled and came home on an RBI sacrifice by Seider.

The Red Sox tacked on a run in the bottom of the second on a solo home run by Brush, but still faced a 10-3 deficit.

May pushed the advantage to 14-3 in the third on singles by Perry and Berrera, an RBI infield hit by Behler and a two-run homer from Dail.

Early added another run in the bottom of the third on a solo home run by Ingram.

Trailing 14-4, the Red Sox notched the final two runs of the game, which ended after five innings due to the run rule.

With two outs in the bottom of the fifth, Ingram tripled, Rasberry followed with an RBI triple and Moya contributed an RBI double before the final out was recorded.

Coleman Bluecats 12, May Tigers 10

Playing their second consecutive game of the day, the May Tigers were unable to climb out of an early seven-run hole in a season-ending 12-10 loss to the Coleman Bluecats.

For the May offense, Dail finished with four hits and three RBI while Perry chipped in four hits and one RBI. Seider tallied two hits with a pair knocked in, and Behler and Woods both recorded two hits and one RBI. Berrera added one hit and one RBI, while Cole Harvey also reached base on a single.

Coleman was sparked by Rowdy Miller’s three hits and three RBI, three hits and two RBI each from Kyler Slayton and Breckin Fullbright, and a trio of hits and one RBI by both L.J. Clark and Colter Adams. Hadden Edington and Jason Fenton both contributed two hits with one RBI and Rhyder Fikes drove in one and collected one hit.

Perry again led off the game with a solo home run for May, but that was the only run the Tigers mustered in the first.

Coleman answered with two runs on RBI singles by Slayton and Fullbright, as the Bluecats grabbed an early 2-1 lead they never relinquished.

Following a scoreless top of the second inning for May, Coleman responded with a six-spot for an 8-1 advantage.

Clark, Slayton and Edington tallied RBI singles, Fullbright added an RBI triple and Miller drove home two with a home run.

May fired back with the next six runs to creep within 8-7.

The Tigers scored four in the third on a two-run home run by Berrera and a two-run double by Seider. In the fourth inning, Dail’s two-RBI double reduced Coleman’s lead to a single run.

The Bluecats bounced back with four runs over the next two innings – three in the bottom of the fourth on RBI doubles by Adams and Fikes and an RBI ground out by Fenton, along with one in the fifth on an RBI single by Miller, which followed an Edington triple.

May went scoreless in the fifth inning and faced a 12-7 deficit heading to the top of the sixth.

There, in the Tigers’ last at-bat, Perry led off with a double and scored on Behler’s one-out RBI double. An RBI infield single by Dail then plated Behler. Woods then followed with an RBI single that drove home Dail.

Coleman, however, was able to retire the next two May batters to end the Tigers’ season.

In other TTAB State Tournament action Wednesday night:

* The Brownwood Pirates are the lone Brown County team still alive in TTAB action thanks to Wednesday night’s 10-9 victory over Buffalo Grissett at the 12U Open Base state tournament in Franklin. With the win, the Pirates draw the Belton Cardinals at noon Thursday.

Brownwood needs to win games at noon, 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Thursday to advance to Friday’s 10 a.m. state championship game.

The Rogers Ballers and Groesbeck Jones are the two teams that remain in the winners bracket, while the Rusk Scrappers and Belton Dodgers join Brownwood and the Belton Cardinals in the elimination bracket.

UPDATED TTAB 8U MACHINE PITCH STATE TOURNAMENT BRACKET

(at Early City Park)

Game 1: Brownwood Tigers 21, Bangs Legends 5

Game 2: Buffalo Payne 24, May Tigers 4

Game 3: Early Red Sox 16, Brownwood Blue Jays 5

Game 4: Comanche Pirates 13, Coleman Bluecats 6

Game 5: May Tigers 12, Bangs Legends 10

Game 6: Coleman Bluecats 17, Brownwood Blue Jays 2

Game 7: Buffalo Payne 21, Brownwood Tigers 3

Game 8: Comanche Pirates 14, Early Red Sox 2

Game 9: Coleman Bluecats 13, Brownwood Tigers 11

Game 10: May Tigers 14, Early Red Sox 6

Game 11: Buffalo Payne 20, Comanche Pirates 3

Game 12: Coleman Bluecats 12, May Tigers 10

Game 13: Comanche Pirates vs. Coleman Bluecats, 6 p.m. Thursday

Game 14 (CHAMPIONSHIP): Buffalo Payne vs. Game 13 winner, 8 p.m. Thursday

Game 15 (IF NEEDED): Game 14 winner vs. Game 14 loser, 6 p.m. Friday