{04/08/03}It’s championship week for Warren County’s high school baseball teams.

Vicksburg High and St. Aloysius have both clinched playoff spots already, but will play what amounts to a one-game playoff for their division championships this week.

“It’s something we’ve never done since I’ve been here, so it would be a big deal if we can pull it off and win it,” Vicksburg coach Jamie Creel said.

Creel will lead his Gators into Clinton Thursday night at 7 p.m. The game was scheduled for tonight, but rain washed it out. VHS and Clinton split their first two meetings this season, and are tied for first place in Division 4-5A with identical 6-1 records. Both teams have already clinched playoff berths, and will match up against Starkville or Tupelo in the opening round of the playoffs.

Each team won on its homefield, with Clinton taking an 11-10 victory in the first meeting and Vicksburg winning 7-5 at Bazinsky Field.

“If there’s an edge, I would say it’s the homefield advantage since we both won on our home field,” Creel said, adding that the Gators have been playing well enough to win either another slugfest or a pitching duel between expected starters James Jackson of VHS and Mike Cashion of Clinton. “The way we’ve been swinging the bats, I think we have a real good chance. If it’s a low-scoring game, I think we have a chance. We’re going to keep playing hard and see what happens.”

Also on Thursday, St. Aloysius will host archrival Natchez Cathedral to decide the Division 7-1A championship. The game at Bazinsky Field is scheduled to begin at 5 p.m.

St. Al (10-5, 6-1) has already clinched a playoff berth, and can win the division by beating Cathedral by two or more runs. Cathedral beat St. Al 11-10 in Natchez on March 7 in the second game of the season.

St. Al has won eight of its last 10 games, and scored at least nine runs in seven of the eight wins.

While Vicksburg and St. Al try to put their name on championship trophies, Porters Chapel Academy still has some work to do.

The Eagles are undefeated in Conference 5-A but still have five conference games remaining, including matchups against contenders Deer Creek, Humphreys, and Franklin.

The Eagles game scheduled for today against Deer Creek will be played on Thursday.

“We’re undefeated. We’re 9-0. The problem is, we’ve got 14 district games,” PCA coach Randy Wright said. “We’re doing what we need to do so far.”

PCA (19-2, 9-0) plays at Deer Creek tonight at 6, and hosts Humphreys on Friday at 6 p.m., then faces Briarfield, Tallulah, and Franklin next week.

The Eagles won their first meeting against Briarfield and Tallulah by a combined score of 21-1, and can clinch their third straight conference championship by winning the next four games. That would make the season-ending meeting next Friday against Franklin meaningless for PCA.