[07/23/01] Jimmie Elliott had a pair of hits, but the Vicksburg Hurricanes fell 10-6 to Sylvan Hills, the Arkansas state champs, in the losers’ bracket of the Babe Ruth 9-year-olds’ Southwest Regional at Berryville, Ark.

Darrick White and Pierson Waring each added a single, but a three-run third inning and a two-run fourth by Sylvan Hills erased an early deficit.

The Hurricanes finished the regional 1-2.

“Of the teams here, there wasn’t one we couldn’t have beaten,” Hurricanes assistant coach Darrell Evans said. “I don’t think we were quite prepared for the hoopla that surrounds a regional, but we definitely learned a lot.”

The Hurricanes took a 4-3 lead after the first inning, but managed just one run in the fourth and fifth innings.

Cobras take second in state tournament

The Vicksburg Cobras 13-year-olds’ tournament team took second in the state tournament in Meridian.

After losing the first game to Gulfport, the Cobras beat Leakesville, 22-9, Corinth, 6-0, and then battled to beat Gulfport, 8-6.

In the Gulfport game, Dan Ivey pitched a complete game, allowing one earned run and four hits. He struck out five.

Fred Denton had a game-winning two-RBI single, then Andre Thomas secured the win with a circus catch in deep center field with the bases loaded.

In the championship, Meridian, which had mercy-ruled every team it played, blanked the Cobras, 9-0.

Avery Mathes pitched a complete game in the loss, but only allowed two earned runs.

Vicksburg Juniors finish third at state

Sean Gibbs earned the sportsmanship award as the Vicksburg 14-year-olds’ took third place in the state tournament in Jackson.

The Juniors scored 73 runs and had 80 hits in the weeklong tournament.