DEMOPOLIS &8212; Stellar defense was the order of the day as Demopolis proved unable to overcome one rough inning, falling to Gilbertown 8-6 Monday in the first day of pool play in the Cal Ripken 8U District 10 Tournament opener.

Demopolis fell behind 1-0 early before rebounding in the home half of the second inning. Davis Petrey started the rally with a base hit before scoring on a T.J. Pittman RBI single. The team also cashed in on an Andy Hoggle single when Wesley Allgood came up with an RBI single.

The Demopolis lead was short lived as Gilbertown rallied to score five runs in the top of the third inning to retake the lead at 6-2. Gilbertown added one more in the fourth to push the lead to 7-2.

That Gilbertown lead held up until the bottom of the fifth when an Allgood single ignited a Demopolis rally. Jacobi Ware scored on a Jeremy Foster RBI single to cut the lead to 7-3. Andrew Patterson and Foster came around to score on a Carson Crawford single before Dylan Crocker scored on a Petrey knock.

Zack Dees&8217; three runs led the way for Gilbertown. Courtlan Frost added two while Keldon Jones, Brennan McIlwain and Dylan Kennett scored one each.

Demopolis will continue pool play throughout the week, facing Butler on the road tonight, playing at Thomas Field in Linden Thursday and hosting Greensboro Friday. If the team fares well, it will likely qualify for the four-team, single-elimination tournament to be held Saturday at the Sports-Plex.