VIDALIA, La. — After falling behind Cathedral 2-0 before even coming to the plate, Vidalia High the Vikings exploded for six runs in the second inning and four in the third to take a 14-3 win Monday over the Green Wave that ended after five innings due to the 10-run rule.

Vidalia got a solid pitching performance from winning pitcher Kevin Laird, who allowed three runs on two hits, struck out eight and walked two.

&uot;I threw two bad pitches, but I was hitting my spots the rest of the time,&uot; Laird said.

Cathedral jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first on a two-run homer by shortstop Stephen Edwards.

&uot;Laird pitched a good game,&uot; said Vidalia High head baseball coach Johnny Lee Hoffpauir. &uot;He made only one mistake on an 0-2 pitch. But Laird was in command.&uot;

Vidalia cut the lead to 2-1 in the bottom of the first when second baseman Adam Probst, who was 3-for-4, scored on a Matt Dillon single.

The Vikings then took the lead for good when they scored six runs in the bottom of the second inning, with the big hit being Probst’s grand slam to give Vidalia a 6-2 lead.

&uot;I knew it was out of the park when I hit,&uot; Probst said.

&uot;The big play was the bunt by Sam Morse in the second inning (with the bases loaded),&uot; Hoffpauir said.

After Cathedral scored another run in the top of the third inning, Vidalia scored four more in the bottom of that inning despite all three hits being singles.

Vidalia then got three more runs in the bottom of the fifth, first on a homer by Rod Donald and then on a two-run blast by Laird to end the game.

&uot;Our guys fought back after being behind early,&uot; coach Hoffpauir said. &uot;This was a good Cathedral team we beat. They will get better as the season goes on.&uot;

Steven Bush suffered the loss for Cathedral. Bush allowed eight runs on six hits, struck out three and walked two. Starting pitcher Christoher Martin allowed six runs on five hits in only 1 1/3 innings.

Vidalia, 5-1, plays Pineville Friday at 5:45 p.m. at the Tioga Tournament.

Cathedral, 2-3, plays against McComb Saturday at Liberty Park.

&uot;Right now we’re struggling in all phases of the game,&uot; said Cathedral coach Ken Beesley. &uot;We just have to work hard on every aspect.&uot;

In the junior varsity game, Vidalia defeated Cathedral 5-3.