Warren Central revs up to blank Natchez High

Published 12:00 am Thursday, March 30, 2006

VICKSBURG &8212; For three innings, the visiting Natchez Bulldogs were out-hitting Warren Central 2-1 while locked in a scoreless duel at Viking Field.

Then the Vikings&8217; Eric Douglas got warmed up and the Bulldogs were left looking on the wrong end of a 10-0 defeat Tuesday night.

Douglas&8217; solo home run to lead off the bottom of the fourth keyed a six-run rally. He followed it up with a leadoff triple in the fifth to ignite a four-run outburst which ended the game after five innings via the run rule.

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&8220;I saw the ball pretty well and I just tried to stay low and work it out,&8221; said Douglas who also had a first-inning single to finish 3-for-3. The home run was his fourth of the season.

&8220;I&8217;ve got four, Nick&8217;s (Carson) got four and Josh (Gordon) has four,&8221; added Douglas of the Vikings&8217; home run tallies. &8220;I think the one Nick hit (tonight) went farther.&8221;

Carson&8217;s team-tying fourth bomb came with two-out in the fourth and accounted for three runs and a 6-0 Viking lead.

&8220;They just out-hit us,&8221; said Natchez coach Charlie Williams. &8220;Our pitcher was doing a good job and even took the ball to the outside, but they were hitting that too.&8221;

Natchez High&8217;s Thomas Hughes had kept the Vikings off the board through three innings, getting a little help from WC (9-3) who had two runners thrown out in the first inning.

&8220;I was afraid we might be a little off having practiced before the game, but it was necessary to get the rust bugs off from being out a couple of days with spring break and then having it rain on Monday,&8221; WC coach Randy Broome said.

Natchez (4-5) had a chance to grab the lead in the second when Hughes doubled but he was picked off third base by WC starter Jeff Ward.

The Bulldogs had another chance in the third with two on, but an infield pop-up that fell, resulted in two outs.