Lady Vikes top MC Marilyn Landers (9) of Warren Central is called out at third after getting tagged by Madison Central’s Nicole Fullilove in the first inning. The Lady Vikes won, 8-4. (The Vicksburg Post/ C. TODD SHERMAN)

[08/24/01] Warren Central took out some frustration and prepared for a big weekend with a win over Madison Central on Thursday.

WC, which hosts division rivals Natchez and Vicksburg and three other schools in the Lady Vike Invitational on Saturday, jumped out to a 6-0 lead and rode a dominating pitching performance by Hayley Martin to an 8-4 win.

Ashley Chaney had an RBI double that gave WC a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first while Cookie Johnson went 2-for-3 with two singles and three RBIs, and reached base on an error in the first inning that brought in a run and made it 3-0.

“We played a much, much better game. And if we had played as well on Tuesday, we could have given that other team a better game,” said WC coach Lucy Young, whose team lost to Northwest Rankin 10-0 on Tuesday.

Martin, who also went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles, scattered seven hits four of them in a four-run fourth inning by Madison and struck out four. She needed only three pitches to get out of the first inning and retired nine of the first 11 batters she faced.

“Hayley pitched a good game, and she pulled herself out of some tight spots,” Young said.

The test from Madison was a preview of this weekend, Young said. The Lady Vikes will play in a pool with Forest Hill and Hollandale Simmons, with Vicksburg, Natchez and Yazoo City in the other pool.

“There’s no state champions in the six, but every one are good, sound programs,” Young said. “It should be great competition.”

WC opens the tournament at 8:30 a.m. against Hollandale Simmons. The title game is at 4:15 p.m.

“The more we play, the better we’ll get, I figure. So getting to play three on Saturday is our goal. And in order to get to that third game, you have to best everybody in your first two games,” Young said.

The Lady Vikes extended their lead to 6-0 in the third with three straight walks, a sacrifice fly by Anna Mitchell, and Johnson’s two-run single.

MC coach Derek Topic and the home plate umpire had a running argument over ball-and-strike calls.

“The field umpire did a great job,” Topic said. “No comment on the plate umpire.”

Madison finally got to Martin in the fourth, scoring three runs on a double by shortstop Megan Millsaps and a throwing error. Millsaps then scored on a single by Lindsay Tatum to cut it to 6-4, but Martin got the next two batters out and the Lady Vikes tacked on two insurance runs in the fifth.

Madison threatened in the seventh, loading the bases with one out, but could only manage one run on an RBI single by Nicole Fullilove.

River Oaks 4, PCA 3

Amy Rutledge had two singles, while Ashley Brown had a single and a double, but River Oaks scored twice in the seventh inning to upend Porters Chapel Academy (1-1). Betsy Bryan scattered nine hits and struck out two in the loss.

“We really didn’t hit well. They were throwing harder than we’ve seen,” PCA coach Liz Gullett said.

PCA hosts Manchester on Monday at the Culkin Complex at 5 p.m.