The Minden Crimson Tide came one victory short of earning a spot in the state tournament Saturday.
Minden, the No. 14 seed, evened its best-of-3 series against No. 6 North Vermilion in the quarterfinals of the non-select Division II playoffs with a 2-0 victory in Game 2 in Abbeville.
But the Patriots took Game 3 and the series 7-1.
Minden closed its second season under Head Coach Cody Davis 26-12. The Tide won eight more games than they did in 2023 and advanced to the quarterfinals of the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
The Tide hosted a playoff series for the first time in school history and won it. The Tide defeated No. 3 seed Brusly on the road in the second round.
“I am so proud of every one of these guys and really was just honored to be a part of this team,” Davis wrote in a Facebook post. “To our 4 seniors, I am grateful I got to be a small part of your journey. I challenged you guys and the team in the summer “What kind of legacy do you want to leave?”. … I am so proud of this team, and I truly believe they put Minden High Baseball back on the map!”
Minden’s Jaxon Smith pitched a complete game in Game 2.
Minden, the designated home team, scored runs in the first and sixth innings.
In the first, Jakobe Jackson led off with a single, moved to second on an error and scored on Landyn Huddleston’s one-out single.
Landon Brewer led off the sixth with a single. Brody Bower drew a walk. Both runners advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Huddleston. Brewer scored on a sacrifice fly by Hudson Brown.
The Patriots put runners on base in the every inning but one. The Tide kept them scoreless with outstanding defense and some clutch pitching.
Bower went 3-for-3 in Game 3 with two doubles. Jakobe Jackson had a double.
North Vermilion took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second. Minden tied it in the top of the third on a two-out double by Bower.
The Patriots regained the lead with a run in the bottom of the frame. The score remained 2-1 until North Vermilion put five on the board in the fifth, taking advantage of three singles, a hit-by-pitch and an error.