VIDALIA, La. &045; Sixteen runs and the Vidalia Lady Vikings were ordered to the batting cage.

That’s because their 16-0 pounding of Rayville lasted just three innings Thursday. The Lady Vikings had just eight hits to show for those 16 runs along with four walks, three errors and three hit batsmen.

But needless to say they exited the dugout for the cage while Rayville packed up on left after the contest that was over in less than an hour.

&uot;It helps us pitching-wise, going 2-0 in district and feeling good about ourselves,&uot; Vidalia head coach Gary Paul Parnham said. &uot;In all honesty, it didn’t help us a bit with what we’re used to facing and what we need to face. That’s why I send them to the cage. I don’t want to take anything away from Rayville. They’re down a little bit.&uot;

Work in the cage will help for Saturday’s tournament, a six-team field that will include Warren Central, a 5A school out of Vicksburg. But give the Lady Vikings credit for piling up 12 runs in the third inning on five hits.

The Lady Hornets (1-13, 0-1) pulled starting pitcher Sarah Green after the second, and relievers Emily Lynn and Jada Freeland struggled in the third.

&uot;Our No. 1 pitcher had ACL surgery, and our No. 2 pitcher (Green) has a shoulder problem,&uot; Rayville head coach Judy Edington said. &uot;She can’t pitch more than two innings. Another starting outfielder got hurt and has been out two weeks with an ankle. We’ve just been kind of hampered all year long with injuries and adversity. We’re young. I have one senior and one junior, and the rest are freshmen and sophomores.&uot;

The Lady Vikings had a string of 12 straight batters reach base in the third, and Ashley Prince had the first big shot with a triple that scored Jaci DeWeese and Christy Corley for a 6-0 lead. Heather Miller came later with a two-run single, and DeWeese and Corley each later walked with the bases loaded for an 12-0 lead.

Prince followed with a double to score two more runs, and she later scored on an error before umpires called the game.

&uot;She did pretty well,&uot; Parnham said. &uot;The pitching wasn’t the caliber, but she got a couple key hits. Our next district game is a big one. If we can beat Crowville here, we’ve got it pretty much wrapped up.

&uot;We’ve got a pretty good tournament coming in here Saturday. The Warren Central team is pretty tough. From what I hear, they’ve got a real good pitcher.&uot;

Jenny Watson tossed all three innings for the Lady Vikings and allowed just one hit, a single from Ashley Absher in the second inning. She finished the game with five strikeouts and didn’t walk a batter in the three innings.

&uot;We haven’t dealt with our adversity very well,&uot; Edington said. &uot;Yeah, our pitching is struggling, but I can’t seem to get good efforts out of nine people at the same time. The young people on the team, I have not motivated them to do their best. I keep hoping, praying and wishing we will get better, but I haven’t seen it yet. You’ve got to have effort to get better.&uot;

The Lady Vikings scored one in the first and three in the third, but their biggest loss may have been Miranda Doughty, who left the field with her left hand wrapped in ice after she was hit by a pitch to start the third inning.

Doughty is one of the team’s top pitchers, and she will undergo X-rays to determine the damage.

&uot;The ball was running in on her, and she tried to slap it away to keep it from hitting her,&uot; Parnham said. &uot;Hopefully it’s just a bruise.&uot;