[04/05/01] Warren Central (9-5, 2-4 Division 3-5A) bounced back from its loss to Madison Central Tuesday, fighting through a muggy, mosquito-infested night for an 8-1 win over archrival Vicksburg

Katie Barnett had three singles to lead the Lady Vikes’ 12-hit attack and eighth-grade pitcher Lauren Anderson scattered three hits and struck out eight Missy Gators (3-10, 0-3).

“(Warren Central) had a lot more to gain today because last year we swept them,” Vicksburg coach Josh Harper said. “They came in with a lot more passion and more to work for. We didn’t have anything to work for.”

Anna Mitchell had a single, double and an RBI, while Rebecca Chick had two singles and an RBI, Hayley Martin had two hits and Ashley Chaney had a pair of hits for WC, which also took advantage of three Vicksburg errors.

Dana Daigre, LaToya Trunell and Krystal Lofton had a single each for the Missy Gators’ only offense. Lofton’s single in the third scored Emily Mathes, who took the loss, for the lone VHS run.

“We had pictures today at 2:30, then had practice to try to get focused after last night,” WC coach Lucy Young said. “We wanted to take a win in both of these games. After losing to Madison Central, our playoff hopes are out the window, so now we are playing for the best possible record we can have.”

After a quiet first inning, WC broke the game open in the top of the second with four runs, but it could have been worse.

Cookie Johnson led off with a double, followed by a walk to Chaney, then three singles in a row. A pair of Viola Howard strikes to Lofton from center field nailed two Lady Vikes’ runners at home plate.

Marilyn Landers also had a single in the inning, but was thrown out trying to reach third on a throw home.

The four runs were all Anderson needed.

“I was really proud of the way we came out and played real tight defense and hit the ball,” Young said. “That’s something we’ve struggled with all year long.”

The Missy Gators had runners on second and third in the bottom of the second with just one out, but Anderson coaxed a pair of weak infield fly balls to keep Vicksburg off the scoreboard.

Only two runners Mathes, who scored in the third, and Trunell in the sixth reached second off of Anderson.

Barnett upped the WC lead to 5-0 in the top of the third after scoring on a wild pitch. WC added three insurance runs on a Mitchell RBI double and a Keisha Blue RBI groundout for the 8-1 advantage.

“They played better games than we did this year,” Harper said. “They were just better tonight.”