The Canton Eagles found themselves in a rare position last week, opening the playoffs against a higher seeded opponent after finishing fourth overall in District 14- 4A play.

Canton would take care of business despite those challenges, fending off the Nevada Community Braves in three games to advance to the Area round.

Canton put together a solid effort from start to finish in game one of the series, keeping the Braves at bay throughout the night on their way to a 5-3 win.

Peyton Stewart helped to set the tone in the game, allowing two earned runs over six innings of work. Kaden Smith picked up the save in relief by pitching a scoreless seventh inning.

Reed Vannorsdel and Ace Reese combined to lead the way offensively, going 4/4 with 4 RBI, two stolen bases and two runs scored.

Other offensive standouts for Canton included EJ Dyke going 1/1 with a run scored and Peyton Stewart going 1/2.

Nevada Community used two big innings to level the series May 7, plating three runs in the first and six more in the third on their way to a 9-6 win over the Eagles.

Layne Etheridge got the start, grinding out six innings while allowing 11 hits and four earned runs.

EJ Dyke went 3/4 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored, Ace Reese went 2/3 with a double, 2 RBI and a run scored, Layne Etheridge went 2/3 and Colton Whitehead went 2/4 with an RBI.

Other players registering hits included Reed Vannorsdel going 1/2, Jaxon Rhyne going 1/4 and Creede Herchman going 1/3 with a double and a run scored.

Canton would get the better of Nevada Community in the final game of the series, rallying back from deficits of 3-0 and 5-1 to score a 7-5 win over the Braves.

Reed Vannorsdel picked up the series-clinching win, allowing six hits and three earned runs in a complete game effort.

Ace Reese went 2/2 with two triples, 3 RBI and a run scored, Kaden Smith went 2/4 with a run scored and Reed Vannorsdel went 1/3 with a run scored.

With their win over Nevada Community, the Eagles advance to the Area round where they will take on the Bullard Panthers.

Game one in the best-of-three series will be tonight (May 12) at Mike Carter Field in Tyler beginning at 7 p.m. Game two will be played in Tyler beginning at 7 p.m. May 13 and game three, if necessary, will begin at 8 p.m. May 14 at the same venue.

The winner of the Canton-Bullard series will take on either Brownsboro or Liberty-Eylau in the Regional Quarterfinal round.