The No. 14 seed Minden Crimson Tide defeated No. 19 Beau Chene 4-2 in Game 1 of their best-of-3 series in the first round of the non-select Division II playoffs Thursday at Griffith Stadium.
Game 2 is scheduled for Friday at 4 p.m. Game 3, if necessary, will immediately follow.
Minden’s Brody Bower pitched a complete game. He allowed five hits, struck out nine and walked three.
Beau Chene got on the board first with two runs in the top of the fourth.
The Tide answered in the bottom of the inning.
Landon Brewer led off with a single. He advanced to second and third on an error off a grounder by Bower, who reached second.
Brewer scored on a passed ball and Jamall Carey, running for Bower, moved to third. Landyn Huddleston drew a walk to load the bases. The Gators turned a double play but Carey scored to tie the game at 2.
Minden broke the tie in the sixth.
Ranger singled with one out and advanced to third on a double by Huddleston. Hudson Brown then brought both home with a single to center field.
Bower struck out the first two batters in the bottom of the second. After a single, he got another strikeout to end the game.
Beau Chene pitcher Aiden Thibodeaux allowed five hits in six innings. He struck out four and walked four.
Minden improved to 22-8. Beau Chene dropped to 18-15.
Elsewhere, No. 24 North Webster (16-15) is scheduled to open its non-select Division III first-round series Friday at No. 9 Loreauville at 6. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at 11 a.m. Game 3, if necessary, is scheduled for 2.
Doyline (13-13), the No. 12 seed, hosts No. 21 Ebarb (9-14) in a non-select Division V first-round game Friday at 5:30. Teams play single games in Divisions IV and V throughout the playoffs.
Lakeside (15-14) is the No. 5 seed in non-select Division IV. The Warriors will host the winner between No. 12 Logansport (12-13) and No. 21 LaSalle (9-12) in the second round next week.
Glenbrook (13-10), the No. 11 seed, will travel to Plaquemine to face No. 6 St. John (22-10) Thursday, April 25, at 5 in the second round of the select Division IV playoffs. Both teams received first-round byes.