[3/30/03]Greg Carroll gave Warren Central what it needed the most on Saturday afternoon a victory.

The senior scattered three hits over 5 2/3 innings and allowed one run in the sixth inning as the Vikings (8-11) knocked off No. 2 Terry 3-1 on a chilly, windy afternoon at Viking Field.

“This is a confidence booster for us,” said Carroll, who allowed one hit in the first inning and two in the sixth before being relieved by Daryl Harper. “We’re trying to get ready for the district games against Clinton and Vicksburg.

“I was throwing a bunch of off-speed stuff and they were way out in front.”

Carroll struck out five and coaxed 10 groundball outs, and the Vikings’ defense did not commit an error all game.

“Any time you can go out and not commit any errors, you have a chance to beat anybody,” WC coach Randy Broome said. “We did a good job on defense today.”

Warren Central led 3-0 going into the sixth inning, but a pair of one-out walks and an RBI single by Bronson Durr cut the lead to 3-1. Another single loaded the bases and chased Carroll.

Harper came on and got a ground ball out on the first pitch he threw to end Terry’s threat and preserve WC’s two-run lead. Harper pitched a scoreless seventh inning to earn the save.

“We were out in front all day,” said Terry coach Jerry Gibson, whose team has lost three straight games. “We ain’t hitting squat right now. We didn’t hit last night and we didn’t hit today. We may not win another ballgame unless we start hitting.”

Warren Central had seven hits off Durr and figured out the slow-throwing sidearmer in the fifth inning. Carroll started a two-run rally with a one-out double in the bottom of the fifth. He scored on Allen Carlisle’s double to give WC a 2-0 lead. Tom Corbin’s RBI groundout scored Carlisle. Jake Turner also doubled in the inning, but was stranded at second base. Carlisle had a pair of hits for the Vikings.

“Hopefully this will keep our confidence up, but you’re never satisfied,” Broome said. “Next week is another huge week for us in district and I hope to get a little confidence coming into it.

“I’d still like to see a little more excitement about playing the game of baseball. We got the number two team in the state down 3-1 in the seventh inning and it’s like we got 10 more innings to play. We’ll try to work on that part of the game.”

Southaven 6, WC 4

Southaven scored two unearned runs in the top of the seventh inning to steal a win from Warren Central. WC had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the inning, but hit into a game-ending double play with the bases loaded.

Greg Carroll had three hits for WC, while John Rice Pettway had two and Tom Corbin had a double.