[04/27/02]Andrew Simmons came through last time Warren Central was backed against the wall.

The Vikings (24-9) are counting on the junior right-hander to do that again today at Tupelo to keep their season alive after losing the second-round opener 6-1 Friday night.

“I feel good,” said Simmons, who shut out Northwest Rankin for 62/3 innings a week ago in the first-round clincher despite a cyst on the bone of his throwing shoulder. “I’m ready to go.”

He’ll have to be after the Golden Wave (26-10) went through WC’s top two pitchers, Carl Upton and Brian Pettway, in Game 1 of the best-of-three second-round series.

The Vikings’ pitching predicament has Tupelo coach Larry Harmon ready to concentrate on groundskeeping after rain saturated Golden Wave Field up through Friday night.

“Oh, we’re going to play (today), I guarantee you,” Harmon said with a big grin. “I don’t care if it’s at 4, 5, 6 or 8, we’re going to play.”

Sparky Smith (8-1) shut down WC to avenge his only loss of last year and bounce back from his worst outing of this year, an 11-1 setback to Olive Branch in Game 2 of the first-round series.

“I worked hard in the bullpen after that,” said Smith, who was 11-1 in 2001 and pitched against WC over the summer. “I just wasn’t locating. I knew the heart of their order was tough. I just wanted to throw curves.”

Smith’s defense didn’t have much trouble locating the ball either. Third baseman Kevin Caldwell made rally-killing catches in the second and fifth innings as WC’s lethal lineup managed only six hits.

“We just had a bad day,” said Pettway, who accounted for three of Smith’s four walks. “We had some calls that didn’t go our way, but we can’t blame that. We’ve got to hit better in big situations.”

Sophomore shortstop Jared Koon hit a two-out, two-run homer his first homer and second hit of the season in the fifth inning to put Tupelo up 6-0.

“That’s how our luck was tonight,” WC coach Randy Broome said. “It was just one of those days.”

It was an unusual day for WC fans, who saw Upton (8-5) walk two, hit two and allow two hits in 12/3 innings. Pettway then struck out four, walked one, hit one and gave up five hits in 31/3 before Steven McDevitt came on and struck out three, walked one and allowed two hits in two innings.

The Vikings went through the playoffs unscathed en route to last year’s state championship.

John Morgan Mims’ RBI double in the fifth inning put WC on the board, but Caldwell’s back-handed stab on Joey Lieberman’s shot up the line with runners on second and third ended the rally. Smith also got two strikeouts to end the fourth after WC loaded the bases with one out. The game ended with runners at second and third after Pettway singled and Lieberman doubled.

Will Kline went 2-for-4 with an RBI double, Kyle Mills went 2-for-4 and O’Brien Hadley had an RBI single for Tupelo, which cranked out nine hits and got seven free passes.

“Steven did a good job. He gave us a chance,” Broome said, adding that he knows his seniors, Upton or Pettway, would like to get another shot.

Game 3, if necessary, will be at WC Monday at 5:30 p.m. Kline (8-3), who hasn’t lost at home, will pitch for Tupelo today.

“We have a lot of confidence,” said Harmon, whose team scored a total of six runs in its three games in the first round. “But we know they aren’t going to lay down.”

The game started with controversy. After Kevin Caldwell led off with a double, then went to third on a passed ball, it appeared that Upton would get out of the inning with a double play. Instead, Caldwell scored on Kline’s fielder’s choice to Pettway at third. Broome wanted a runner interference call on Mitchell Jenkins, who was running for catcher Bo Baxter.

In the second, after Hadley led off with a walk and Caldwell was hit, Mills hit an RBI single and Caldwell scored when the ball was overrun in center field to make it 3-0.

In the sixth, after Jeff Mitchell went to third on a three-base error in left field with two outs, Mark Different was robbed by Kline at second to save another run. Broome and assistant Jeff Wood argued that Different was safe and the run should have counted.

“Some things didn’t go our way,” Broome said.

Still, he has confidence going on the road in a win-or-end situation.

“These guys always have heart and desire,” he said. “They never quit. They went down stroking tonight.

“All year long, we’ve bounced back. We don’t want to stop here.”