Vikings fall one game short
Published 12:00 am Friday, May 14, 2004
Warren Central’s Allen Carlisle dives for an errant throw at second base as Oak Grove’s Blaine English slides in safely. After the ball skipped past Carlisle, WC’s Mark Different (background) tried to throw out English at third. That throw skipped past Josh Gordon allowing English to score a run. (Jon Giffin The Vicksburg)
[5/14/05]The surprise team of the Class 5A state playoffs finally ran out of magic.
Warren Central, a runnerup finisher in its own division, failed to score a run for only the second time this season and fell to Oak Grove, 6-0, in Game 3 of the South State championship series on Thursday night.
The Warriors (28-7) advance to play Northwest Rankin, while the Vikings’ season ends at 24-12.
“We surpassed so many expectations this season,” said pitcher Zach Balthrop, who carried a one-hitter into the fifth inning. “This had been an unbelievable year.”
Balthrop threw three perfect innings before Ryan Norton singled in the fourth. Oak Grove failed to score in that inning, but made up for it one inning later.
Sophomore Hendrick Leverette hit his second home run of the series to right-center field for a 1-0 lead. The Warriors scored twice more in the inning, thanks in part to three WC errors.
“We have a program where you don’t get to see a lot of sophomores play,” said longtime Oak Grove coach Harry Breland of Leverette, the team’s designated hitter. “A lot of people questioned us putting him in there, but he has done a great job not only with his arm, but with his bat.”
After Leverette’s home run, Wayne Smith singled, and pinch-runner Blaine English stole second and scored on on two throwing errors on the same play. Another error allowed the third Warrior run to score.
And that was all Smith needed.
The southpaw threw a complete-game four-hitter and he struck out five. It was the third time he had faced the Vikings this season, and the first time he’s beaten them.
Smith threw in Game 1, but was chased after three innings.
“The first game I had a sinus infection, so this time I had a lot more energy,” Smith said. “I threw the ball well, I guess.”
Smith mixed a blazing fastball with a biting curve to keep WC off-balance all night. Only one WC player reached third base all game.
“He’s faced us three times and we’ve beaten him twice,” Balthrop said. “This is by far the best game he’s thrown against us all year. He kept the ball low in the strike zone and had great movement on his fastball.”
The three-run fifth chased Balthrop and Josh Gordon got through the fifth and sixth before surrendering three more runs in the seventh.
Marshall Greer led off the seventh with a single and eventually scored on a wild pitch. WC catcher John Rice Pettway’s throw to home plate sailed down the first base line allowing Grant Hogue, who had reached on a fielder’s choice, to score for a 5-0 Warriors’ lead.
Oak Grove added one more run on a Kyle Sellers’ RBI single for a 6-0 lead.
Warren Central put runners on first and second in the bottom of the seventh, but Smith got Allen Carlisle to fly out to right field to end the game.
“When you put zeros on the run column, you are not going to win baseball games,” WC coach Randy Broome said. “That’s because of the job Smith did. He hadn’t thrown the ball like that all year, not that I have seen.”
Drew Warnock, Ryan Grey, Pettway and Nick Carson each singled for the Vikings.
“From the seniors down, they gave it all they had all year long,” Broome said. “This team had a great attitude, and that is something that is going to have to carry over.”