Two batters into the bottom of the first inning, there was very little doubt the Vidalia Vikings had their game against Lake Providence well in hand.

After starting pitcher Will Thomas had a three-up, three-down inning in the top of the first, Jordan Brewer led off with a single and Cameron Ainsworth followed with an RBI double to give the Vikings a lead they would never relinquish in a 22-1 win.

Brewer batted 3-for-3 with five RBI and two doubles, Ainsworth was 2-for-4 with three more runs batted in, Trey Brasher was 2-for-3 with two RBI and Shayne Knapp batted 2-for-3 with two RBI as the Vikings (16-9, 2-0 in district play) unloaded on the Panthers (6-11, 1-2) for 15 hits.

Thomas pitched four innings and struck out seven batters while allowing only three hits. Brewer finished out the game in the fifth.

Edward Caldwell took the loss for Lake Providence, pitching two and one-third of an inning before giving way to Greg Jones.

“We hit good today,” Vidalia head coach Johnny Lee Hoffpauir said. “We were patient at the plate. The last time we played these guys we only had seven hits. Even though the game was out of hand pretty early we stayed patient at the plate and kept our focus, for the most part.”

The Vikings scored eight runs in the first, highlighted by a bases-clearing double by Brewer in his second at-bat of the inning.

Any doubt remaining in the game was sealed in the third inning, as the Vikings scored 10 runs while the Panthers committed six errors (including three passed balls) to take a 20-0 lead.

Albert James scored the Panthers’ only run after getting a single in the top of the fourth inning, stealing second and third base and then scoring on a passed ball.

With the playoffs now in their sights, the Vikings, ranked seventh in the LHSAA’s Class 2A in the most recent power rankings, are looking to remain focused.

“What (that ranking) represents is that we’ve played some very good, non-district teams,” Hoffpauir said. “We’ve beat a lot of good teams this year, but we’ve also lost to some teams we shouldn’t have lost to. If our pitching holds on, we should be fine.”

The Vikings will meet Ferriday in another district contest today at 4:30 p.m. in Vidalia.