NATCHEZ &045; The way things are going, Natchez head coach Charlie Williams might be pressed into pitching himself.

Natchez High’s chronically thin pitching staff did its best, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Warren Central bats from exploding for 15 hits in a 15-3 romp over the Bulldogs in six innings.

One night after playing a makeup game against Vicksburg, the Bulldogs were forced to use three pitchers against Warren Central.

Natchez starter C.J. Wright came out of the game in the fourth after complaining of pain in his throwing arm. Freshman Travis Isaac entered in relief, and Johnny Williams finished up the game in the sixth.

&uot;We had to make those changes,&uot; Williams said. &uot;C.J. (Wright) said his arm hurt, so we sent the ninth-grader in. I’m real proud of him. He’s made a lot of progress. If we make a couple plays behind him, we’re not so far behind.&uot;

And the Bulldogs’ pitching shortage isn’t likely to improve soon. With two games Thursday and two Saturday, it won’t be easy keeping arms from tiring out.

Against Warren Central, Natchez’s problems started early. Wright looked strong early in the game, but he got no help from his offense in the first three innings as Vikings pitcher Nick Carson mystified the Natchez bats by striking out eight batters in the first three innings.

&uot;It was Nick’s first start, and he threw 60-something pitches,&uot; Warren Central head coach Randy Broom said. &uot;He looked good until he got a little tired.&uot;

Warren Central built a 5-0 lead over that stretch. In the first, Ben Koestler scored on Josh Gordon’s double. In the second, Ryan Grey led off with a double, moved to third on an error and scored on Cody Ferguson’s sacrifice fly.

Then in the third inning, the Vikings got things going again. Carson led with a single and stole second. Koestler Zach Balthrop walked to load the bases for Gordon, who drove them all home with a single.

Natchez had its chance to make things interesting. Trailing 5-0 going into the fourth, the Natchez bats finally woke up, in part thanks to a loss of control by Carson.

Charles Cothern, the only senior on the field for Natchez, was instrumental in all the Bulldogs’ scoring. In the fourth inning, Cothern knocked in Wright, who had led off with a single, and moved over Cameron Logan. Johnny Williams walked to load the bases.

Kendall Logan struck out for Natchez, bringing Jeremy Ellis to the plate with one out. Ellis bunted successfully to bring Cameron Logan home on a squeeze play Charlie Williams had called.

&uot;Jeremy did a good job bunting the ball down the line for that run,&uot; the coach said. &uot;I’ve told them they have to forget about themselves and make plays for the team.&uot;

Edward Johnson came up with runners on second and third with the Bulldogs down 5-2, but Carson struck him out to end the inning and Natchez’s chances of making the game close.

Still, things weren’t that bad for the Bulldogs. Natchez trailed 7-2 going into the sixth inning. Then things took a turn for the worse.

Warren Central sent 12 batters to the plate in the top of the sixth and scored eight runs, including a bases-clearing triple for Gordon, who knocked in seven runs in the game.

&uot;We have to learn how to finish the game,&uot; Williams said. &uot;They hit the ball real well. They did a good job hitting and we didn’t. It’s that simple.&uot;

In the bottom of the inning, Cothern struck again for the Bulldogs. Leading off with a triple and scoring on a ground ball from Johnny Williams.