The No. 14 seed Minden Crimson Tide advanced to the quarterfinals of the non-select Division II playoffs Saturday.
After Brusly evened the series with a 7-1 victory, Minden bounced back with a resounding 13-2 victory in the decisive Game 3 at Brusly.
The Tide, who won Game 1 4-2 Thursday night, won the series two games to one.
Minden (25-10) will travel to Maurice to face No. 6 North Vermilion in a best-of-3 series with a trip to Sulphur and the state tournament on the line. Game 1 is scheduled for Friday at 6 p.m. Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday at noon. Game 3, if necessary, will follow.
Minden had 10 hits. The Tide also took advantage of some Brusly errors and errant pitches.
Minden’s Jaxon Smith went the distance in Game 3, which ended after six innings. He allowed four hits and walked only one.
Jakobe Jackson went 3-for-5 with a triple, double and two RBI. Bryson Ranger went 2-for-2 and drew two walks.
Smith went 2-for-3. Landyn Huddleston had a three-RBI triple. Zander Rowell had two RBI.
Minden led 3-2 through innings. The Tide put three on the board in the top of the fifth then exploded for seven in the sixth.
In the fifth, Jackson reached on a error with one out. Brody Bower singled with two outs.
Ranger walked to load the bases and Hiddleston cleared them with his triple to left field.
Smith led off the sixth with a single. Rowell’s bunt attempt resulted in an error. Parker Salas’ single loaded the bases.
Jackson then scored two runs with a double. Landon Brewer’s groundout made it 9-2. Jackson then scored on an error off a fly ball hit by Bower.
Hudson Brown and Smith drew back-to-back walks, scoring Bower. Rowell was hit by a pitch, making it 12-2. Courtesy runner Jamall Carrey scored the final run when Rowell drew a walk.
In the first game Saturday, Minden had nine hits but couldn’t capitalize on them. Errors and walks also contributed to the defeat.
Brusly, which closed it season 24-9, scored five runs in the third for a 6-0 lead. The Panthers scored another run in the fourth.
Brown went 2-for-3 with a double. Jackson went 2-for-4. Ranger had a double.