Thursday’s cold weather had little effect on Vidalia High’s stifling defense and hot bats, as the Lady Vikings shut out Block High School at home 12-0 in six innings.

As the temperature dropped the bats got hotter for Vidalia, especially in the sixth and final inning of the game, when the Lady Vikings scored six runs to invoke the mercy rule and win the game.

Mallory Guidroz led off the sixth inning with a single and then scored off of Tammy Hutchins’ bunt. Bridget Waller then doubled to score Hutchins before Erika Brown replaced her as a pinch runner. At the next at bat, Eryn Secrest drove in Brown off a single.

After Tori Lemoine loaed the bases with a single in the sixth, Brittany Evans laid down a bunt that scored Secrest, and set up Mary Katherine Golden to drive in Lemoine and Evans for the 12-0 shut out.

“We played much better,” said Lady Viking head coach Jenny Hall. “We needed that win.

Hall said her team committed zero errors in the game, which was something her team did not do in its last outing. She also said this game gave her batters a boost of confidence.

Prior to the sixth inning, the Lady Vikings used stingy defense to pin down the Lady Bears, while consistent hitting and base running helped Vidalia build an early lead.

Brittany Whittington, who pitched the entire game for the Lady Vikings, retired the Lady Bear’s first three batters of the game by striking out two and throwing out the third.

The Lady Viking scored their first two runs in the first inning after Waller doubled to score Hutchins, who replaced shortstop Chelsea McElewee, after McElewee was injured sliding into third base on a steal. Brown later singled to drive in Waller for Vidalia’s second run of the game.

The Lady Vikings tagged on two more runs in the third inning after Ashley Fuqua doubled to score Hutchins and Chelsea Warren, and gave the Lady Vikings a 4-0 lead heading into the fourth inning.

Vidalia did little offensively in the fourth inning, but managed to get their bats going again in the fifth as Warren scored off a Lemoine single and Brown scored off an Evans single to increase the Vidalia lead to 6.

The Lady Vikings then went on to put things out of reach for the Lady Bears in a big fashion in the sixth.

“It’s nice to win at home, and we won with way better defense,” Hall said.