Hendrix tosses gem in shutout of Rebels

Vicksburg’s Sean McGowan cruises into third with a stolen base as Forest Hill’s Shane Burt waits for the throw. (C. Todd Sherman The VIcksburg Post)

[4/2/03]After a couple of early missteps, the Vicksburg Gators found their focus and found themselves back in the playoffs.

Steven Price and Sean McGowan each had two hits and two RBIs, and John Hendrix threw a one-hitter Tuesday night as Vicksburg beat Forest Hill 10-0. The win, coupled with Warren Central’s loss to Clinton, clinched a playoff spot for Vicksburg and set up a showdown for the division title on Tuesday.

“We don’t want to stop at just clinching a spot. We want to ease on in there and try to win this thing,” Vicksburg coach Jamie Creel said. “I feel like we’re playing well enough to win a state championship. I absolutely do.

“We could falter somewhere down the line, but if we keep developing ourselves and keep playing with the confidence we’re playing with, I think we’ve got a good shot. As good as anybody else.”

Against Forest Hill (7-12, 0-6), the Gators took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first with a pair of unearned runs, but also committed two errors of their own in the first two innings and had a runner thrown out while trying to steal second.

The mistakes were quickly forgotten in the third inning, though, when Vicksburg exploded for five runs to blow the game open.

Price’s two-out, two-run single to right field with the bases loaded made it 4-0 and provided the spark the Gators needed. James Jackson, who had walked and gone to third on Price’s single, scored on a wild pitch, and McGowan capped the inning with a two-run single to left to make it 7-0.

The Gators added a run in the fourth inning as Justin Henry caught Forest Hill napping and scored from second on Paul Gorney’s groundout. They then finished off the Rebels with a pair of runs in the fifth.

Price led off with a single and scored from second on a wild pitch. After Casey Trest delivered a pinch-hit double, Hampton Calvin hit a grounder that went through the legs of Forest Hill shortstop Brandon Walker for Forest Hill’s fourth error of the game. Trest trotted home to make it 10-0 and end the game by the mercy rule.

“We can’t make routine plays, we can’t swing the bats very well, and we didn’t get good pitching,” Forest Hill coach Tommy Groves said in summing up his team’s effort. “Basically, we didn’t play and they did. That’s all it is.”