TROY – Thomas Austin tossed a complete-game jem Saturday as the Selma All-Stars beat Jackson, 5-2, in the second round of the 13-year-olds Dixie Boys All-Star Baseball State Tournament, Saturday at the Troy Sportsplex.

Austin surrendered just three hits to lead Selma in the elimination game.

Selma opened the tournament Friday night with a 9-8 loss to the Dothan All-Stars.

This day, however, belonged to Selma as Austin turned in a

solid performance, striking out 11 opposing batters.

The Selma All-Stars got on the board in the first inning when Edward Lanier singled, stole second and third base, andscored on a passed ball.

Selma’s advantage stretched to 2-0 in the second inning. With two out, Randall Hamilton singled and scored on a triple by Demario Ross.

Jackson cut the deficit in half with a run in the top of the third, but Selma answered in the bottom half when Lanier singled with two out, stole second and scored on a throwing error at second.

In the fifth inning, Jonathan Hurt singled and stole second to lead off the inning. Two outs later, Mark Englett had an RBI single to make it 4-1.

Ross reached base on a dropped third strike to lead off the sixth. After a

Lanier sacrifice, Austin singled, scoring Ross.

A week before the start of the tournament, Selma head coach Bruce Fulmer said an opening-round loss wouldn’t be too disappointing.

After all, a first-game victory would have forced the Selma All-Stars to play six games in order to win the state crown. Meanwhile others, including North Clark would need to play only five games in the nine-team, double-elimination tournament. North Clark received a first-round bye in the state tourney despite two losses to Selma in the District 4 tournament.

Fulmer may have been rethinking his position after watching his Selma squad drop a heart-breaking 9-8 loss to Dothan National in the opening round of the state tournament at the Troy Sportsplex. Selma committed seven errors on Friday, including five in the first two innings as Dothan built a 6-0 lead. The defeat dropped Selma into the losers’ bracket. However, it would need to play just four more games to win the state title.

Fulmer was visibly upset after his team missed scoring opportunities, while Dothan’s leadoff batter scored in each of the first five innings. Selma mounted a late-inning rally, but left the bases loaded in the seventh inning. Fulmer did not comment following the loss. Selma pitcher Braxton Fuller surrendered a walk and a hit in the first inning, but also was the victim of defensive miscues that put Selma into an early hole. Chris Crawford led off the Dothan first with a walk. Parrish Smith followed with a bunt back to the mound. Fuller threw the ball over the head of first baseman Heath Harrelson, allowing Crawford to score and Smith to reach second base. One out later, Brandon Owens singled in Smith. Owens then easily stole second and third base, then scored on a second Selma fielding error to open the Dothan advantage to 3-0.

Neil Searcy led off the Dothan second with a single. Searcy stole second and third base, and scored when Crawford’s fly ball to the outfield was dropped, Selma’s third error of the game. Smith reached base on another Selma fielding error. Both he and Crawford came home on another Selma fielding error.

Meanwhile, Smith was rolling along on the mound for Dothan. The hurler struck out four in the first two innings. He fanned the side in the second inning.

While Smith added three more strikeouts in the third inning, Selma finally roughed him up in the frame. Demario Ross led off the third with a single and went to second on a single by Harrelson. Both runners moved up on a passed ball. Owens retrieved the ball behind the plate and tried to throw out Ross at third base. Instead, his throw sailed into left field, allowing Ross to score. One out later, Jonathan Hurt lined a single to centerfield, scoring Harrelson to bring Selma to within 6-2. Dothan padded its lead in the bottom of the third when Ross Eidson reached base on a dropped third strike to open the frame. Eidson went to second on a balk, stole third base and scored on an infield groundout.

Selma scored again in the fourth off relief pitcher Dusty Harrison. With one out, Mark Englett walked and went to second on a sacrifice by Randall Hamilton. Englett then stole third and scored when Owens’ throw to third went into left field. However, two more Selma errors helped Dothan score again in the bottom of the fourth and extend its lead to 8-3. A four-run fifth inning brought Selma back to within a run at 8-7. The inning was highlighted by a run-scoring triple by Harrelson, an RBI single by Thomas Austin and a sacrifice fly from Hurt. Braxton Fuller singled and also scored in the inning on a Dothan throwing error.

Dothan answered in the bottom half of the inning when Harrison walked to lead off, stole second and third, and scored on an infield single.

Selma added another run in the sixth when Harrelson walked and went to third on Hurt’s cue-shot single down the right field line. Harrelson scored on a Dothan throwing error.

The Selma All-Stars appeared set to either tie the game or take the lead with a seventh-inning rally. With one out, Englett walked and stole second base. One out later, Dylan Shelby was hit by a pitch, then pinch-run for by Ross. Edward Lanier walked to load the bases.

After falling behind 0-2 in the count, Harrelson fouled off two pitches. He then lined an offering to the Dothan shortstop, who snared the shot to end the threat.