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Vidalia hit the ball, threw the ball, caught the ball well in a 22-6 victory over Delhi Charter in Vidalia Thursday night.

Vikings Head Coach Nicholas Kennedy said it was one of the few complete games his team has played. Typically, the team struggles in at least one inning, but they did not have a lapse in this game, he said. The way Vidalia won while not embarrassing the other team was to keep respect, he said.

“In baseball, it is all about respect,” Kennedy said. “Respect is given. Respect is earned. That is a great ball club over there. Nothing against them, we just came out and hit the baseball.”

In their 16 run win, the Vikings showed respect by not bunting, or stealing when up by a certain amount of runs, he said. Delhi had nine players when the game began, and Delhi had to finish with eight players after one of their batters took a foul ball to the face.

The Vikings have games against Harrisonburg and Monterey this Saturday before they play six straight district games to close out the season, he said. After starting the season 0-6, the Vikings have given themselves a chance to win district.

“We are still holding the key to our destiny,” Kennedy said. “We are going to make the playoffs. We have to keep grinding it out. Every game that we have now, we must compete and we must win.”

Vidalia will play Mangham and Beekman Charter in six games. Vidalia hosts three of the six games. Those home games are on April 13, 17 and 20.

Kennedy said it is different that power points determine Louisiana playoff ranking. These points are given for a team’s strength of schedule, wins and runs the team scored.

He said it is a weird system because, in Mississippi, where he played high school baseball. The record determined the playoffs. It has been an adjustment, he said.

At the start of the season, Vidalia played some great ball teams, he said. He told the team they would compete in district, and that is what they have done, he said. Tyrin Jordan said the Vikings have grown since those early defeats. 

“We have stopped playing selfishly,” Jordan said. “We don’t play like we are scared. We go out there and do what we got to do. We have been coming together slowly. We are going to get there before the season is over.”

Those six straight defeats taught Jordan and the team not to underestimate a team because anyone can win. He said they were able to take care of business against Delhi Charter.

He said the mood in the Viking’s dugout changed. He said the mood has changed from being quiet after giving up runs, to keeping a consistent level of energy throughout the game. Keeping the momentum up helps the team a lot, he said. 

He said the team is pretty loose with each other. He had told his teammates he could do a cartwheel and then a backflip after the game.

“We are like brothers. We joke around a lot. There is never a dull moment in here,” Jordan said. He clarified he could not do a cartwheel and then a backflip. “I was lying to them. They believed me, but I can’t. I would probably break my neck.”