[2/20/04]For years, Jordan Henry has lived in the shadow of his older brother Justin.

They both played shortstop for Vicksburg High, and Jordan has been stuck behind Justin on the depth chart since junior varsity.

Now with the elder Henry at Ole Miss, the younger finally gets his chance.

“I know people think that I should be playing good because of my brother, but I don’t really look at it like that,” Jordan Henry said. “He always told me what I was doing wrong, but this year I’m sort of just playing it by myself. It feels a little weird, but it’s not that bad.”

Henry is one of four new players in the infield for the Gators, who graduated starters at first base, second base, third base and shortstop.

“We’ve just got that infield to fill with all our seniors gone, but they taught a lot of us that were here last year all the basics,” said Henry, who will start the season at leadoff. “We’ve got a lot of good, young kids that have the potential. I think we’ll step it up.”

VHS coach Jamie Creel expects Henry and Tyler Wells to fill the holes up the middle, but he may platoon several players at the corners.

Until Sean Gibbs returns from ankle surgery, Sean McGowan and James Jackson will split time at first base. At third base, Creel will mix in Heath Daigre, Paul Rohrer and Hampton Calvin.

“The middle infield played together all summer, so that should help us out there,” Creel said. “As far as the infield meshing as a whole, it’s going to take a while. It may be 10 to 15 games before they settle in.”

Jackson, who led the team in innings pitched (36 1/3) and strikeouts (51) a year ago, said he’s confident the fielding will be just fine.

“If we get any kind of pitcher up there and he’s throwing strikes, I believe our fielders can field it,” he said. “We’ll be all right.”

While the infield is an area of concern for the Gators, pitching certainly isn’t. Vicksburg is loaded with strong, left-handed hurlers that will carry the team.

Jackson, John Hendrix, Adam Logue and Steven Price have more than 100 innings of experience from last year among them. Sophomore Blake Tidwell and senior Drew Smith also will see time on the hill.

“We’re going to have a lot of quality arms that we can run out there with some experience,” Creel said. “That is the positive thing about the upcoming season.”

Another possible question mark for the Gators is hitting.

Price was fourth on the team in batting average (.390) and first in home runs (4) last season. But he’s the only returning player from the top six hitters.

“We really don’t have the big hitters that we’ve had in the past,” Creel said. “We’ve got some double guys, and we ought to be able to run a little bit like we have in the past. We just don’t have that guy that’s going to step up to the plate and scare you.”

The schedule is no cupcake either.

VHS will take to the road on Saturday to open the season with a doubleheader against Starkville and Kosciusko. The Gators follow that with later games against strong teams such as Ouachita (La.), top-ranked Northwest Rankin, Oak Grove and Madison Central.

“We’ve just got to keep our composure,” Jackson said. “We’re going to make a lot of mistakes early, but if we keep our composure, we’re going to come out good.”