Malakoff's Alan Benhardt waits for a pitch against Woodville in a regional semifinal game Thursday night in Nacogdoches.

NACOGDOCHES — Malakoff scored three runs in the first inning, and Alan Benhardt handled the rest on the mound.

Benhardt threw a three-hit shutout with 10 strikeouts as the No. 3-ranked Tigers opened their Class 3A Region III series with a 4-0 win over Woodville on Thursday night at Dragon Field.

“Pretty much everything was working,” Benhardt said. “It was one of those special nights where I had all four pitches working. It just felt great dealing out there.”

And when Woodville did make contact, the Malakoff defense was there to make the play, including a diving catch in center field by Riggin Smith for the final out of the game.

“I love playing for this team because I know we have the best defense in the state of Texas,” Benhardt said. “They keep the energy up. They make the big plays when they need to. I just love playing for them.”

Bryson Adair, a Sam Houston State signee, singled with one out in the bottom of the first. He then stole second base. After Incarnate Word signee Cole Gaddis walked, Adair and Gaddis pulled off a double steal. Brandon Nations, also an Incarnate Word pledge, singled to score Adair for the game’s first run. Jake Davis followed with a single that scored Gaddis, and an errant throw during the play allowed Nations to score to give the Tigers a 3-0 lead.

“Having an inning like that, that’s just what I was telling the kids, getting three or four runs in the first inning, it can set the tone for the whole ball game,” said Malakoff head coach John Adair, who recently picked up career win No. 600 and is set to retire at the end of the season.

Malakoff got another run in the third inning with an RBI single by Davis to score Nations, who had a two-out double.

Benhardt led off the game with two strikeouts before a single by Connor Risinger. That was the last baserunner for the Eagles until a two-out single by Calan Wainwright in the fifth inning. Benhardt retired 12 straight, including striking out the side in the third inning.

“He’s just been getting better and better,” Adair said. “We didn’t have him until the next to last district game, so he’s a pretty fresh arm. Every outing, he’s getting a little stronger. It’s exciting and good to see.”

Woodville (28-7-1) got one final hit as Lane Ferguson singled with two outs in the seventh, but Benhardt got Trotter Moses to hit one to center, where Smith made the grab.

Woodville starting pitcher Risinger settled down after the first inning. He finished with four runs allowed on six hits with seven strikeouts in six innings.

Nations and Davis led Malakoff (33-6) with two hits each.

Game 2 of the series will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at Nacogdoches. A third game will follow, if needed.

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