When the Dixie Boys Braves and Reds met at Sam Kitchens Field Thursday night they had a combined record of 11-3 on the season with the Braves holding on to a slim one game lead in the standings.

By the end of the night the Reds claimed a share of the top spot with a 13-0 win over the Braves.

“We played very well all the way around,” said Reds head coach Eric Ernsberger. “We hit the ball great.”

Javon Christian pitched a complete game shutout for the Reds, striking out 11 batters in five innings.

“He looked great all the way around,” Ernsberger said. “He was hitting his spots and that is such a big lift to a team.”

“I had fun,” Christian said. “My teammates stayed up with me and watched when I was on the mound. They really helped me out.”

As a team the Reds hit a total of four homeruns including three straight in the fifth inning.

“We have the potential to put everything together like we did,” Ernsberger said. “It was really good to see.

Both Christian and Braves starter Jackson Blair had it working early. Both pitchers combined to pitch shutouts during the game’s first three innings. Blair lasted four and a third innings in his outing and allowed for runs. Blair had five strikeouts in the game’s first three innings.

The Reds flexed their muscles a bit in the fourth innings when they scored the game’s first runs. In all they sent 14 batters to the plate and scored eight runs. John Baxley Sanders belted a grand slam, Logan Johnson, Marx Copeland, Nate Grantham, Coby Johnson and Holt Steed all had hits in the inning for the Reds. Walks also hurt the Braves in the inning. The Reds had a total of five walks in the fourth inning.

The Reds tacked on five more runs in the fifth inning when Christian blasted a homerun over the wall in center field that landed on top of the batting cages. Ty Singleton and Logan Johnson made it a trifecta when they followed up with homeruns of their own.

The Reds finished with 10 hits during the game led by Sanders who finished with three. The Braves finished with one hit by Davis Allen on a drag bunt in the first inning.

The Braves will be back in action on May 31 when the take on the Marlins at 7:45 p.m. while the Reds will take on the Marlins in their next contest on June 1 at 5:45 p.m.