Entering Friday, Selma was in the driver’s seat in 11-and 12-year-old district baseball tournament. Not only were there two Selma teams playing, but the four-team tournament is also taking place at the Dallas County Sportsplex.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan. Both Selma teams lost their opening games of the district tournament Friday night, putting themselves against one another in an elimination game Saturday.

Selma Red couldn’t overcome a shaky start against Monroe and fell 14-4 in a game that was shortened to five innings. Selma Blue didn’t fare much better despite taking an early lead against Thomasville, who roared back for a 14-8 win.

“We had a bad first inning,” said Selma Red head coach Nathan Ellis. “Our pitching was not on, our starting pitching and all of our pitching. We struggled pitching tonight.”

Monroe jumped out to a 5-0 lead by hitting four singles off Cade Whitaker in the first inning.  Whitaker was pulled between innings for Darrius Ellis, who also struggled to keep Monroe off the board.

Selma’s Chris Gardner scored on a passed ball in the second inning to cut the deficit to 5-1. The All-Stars moved closer again in the third when Tyreshon Freeman grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored Tristen Marshall.

Even as rain poured onto the field, Monroe managed to stay in control.

Ellis walked the bases loaded in the bottom of the third to set up a big inning for Monroe. Brodie Byrd, Zacharia Hixon and Jordan Witherington scored on passed balls to make it 8-2 Monroe.

Selma added two runs in the fourth to pull within 8-4 on a single by Marshall, but couldn’t get any closer despite having the bases loaded.

“We weren’t being patient at the plate,” coach Ellis said. “We weren’t being disciplined at the plate and if we had been disciplined and patient at the plate maybe the outcome would’ve been different, but that’s the way baseball is.”

Monroe put it away in the bottom of the fifth with six more runs to reach the 10-run mercy rule.

The night for Selma Blue didn’t go much better.

The Blue All-Stars jumped out to an early lead, but Thomasville hit multiple home runs to storm back for a six-run victory.

“We hit the ball all game. I don’t think we struck out but twice all game, and we put the ball in play,” said Selma Blue coach Scott Etheridge. “We just hit the ball right at people the entire game.”

The losses by both Selma teams means one of their seasons will come to an end Saturday when they play in an elimination game at 6:30 p.m. at the Sportsplex.

Selma Red defeated Selma Blue 18-3 Tuesday in the subdistrict championship, which was the last meeting between the teams.

“It’s an uphill battle from here,” Etheridge said. “It’s gut check time. We know what they’ve got and they know what we’ve got. Like I said before, we are going to have to play a perfect game to beat them.”