The Vicksburg Missy Gators softball team has made strides this season, but they still face a big hill in becoming competitive against a team like top-ranked Madison Central.

The Lady Jaguars (14-1-1, 1-0) won their Division 3-5A opener, pounding the Missy Gators (4-8, 1-1) 14-0 Tuesday night at Bazinsky Park.

Madison Central ripped 14 hits, made use of four VHS errors, and also got a two-hit shutout from pitcher Danielle Ryan.

&#8220We’re playing pretty good and the hits are coming around for us,” Madison Central coach Ashleigh Hicks said. &#8220We have a lot of confidence in our pitchers. It was good to get off to a good start in the division because we’ve had a lot of rainouts.”

Vicksburg High coach Kori Crutchfield says her team still needs to bring a confident attitude when playing the state’s better teams.

&#8220It’s a mind thing with us,” Crutchfield said. &#8220We were able to hold them close for a while and then we made some errors that cost us.

&#8220But it’s on defense where we’ve made the most improvements. We’ve got Holly Head at shortstop and that’s allowed me to move Heather (Shelby) and Kaci (Flaharty) to the outfield. Both of them have made some good catches out there.”

Shelby and Flaharty each had a good catch in the first inning as Madison Central was limited to just one run off a base hit by Ryan, who finished 3-for-3.

The Lady Jaguars plated four in the second, the last two coming in off a two-run double by Emily Younger.

Two dropped pop-ups allowed Madison to grab another run in the third for a 6-0 lead. Ryan, meanwhile, retired the first nine batters she faced, including five on strikeouts.

In the fourth, Ryan doubled in Britnee Hobson and later scored on Rachel Morris’ single for a 9-0 lead.

Vicksburg got its first hit off Ryan in the bottom of the fourth when Shelby went to right field.

Madison came back with five runs in the fifth. Jamie Myrick had the big blow with a two-run double to make it 14-0.

St. Andrew’s 8, St. Aloysius 6.

Errors cost St. Al dearly in a non-division loss to visiting St. Andrew’s Tuesday at Bazinsky Park.

The Lady Saints (15-6) scored four runs off three St. Aloysius errors in the fifth inning to take a 6-1 lead. A dropped pop fly with two outs, followed later by an errant throw from shorts set up the rally.

The Lady Flashes (11-5) came back with three in the bottom half of the fifth to close to within 6-4. Sarah Kerut, who had three hits, knocked in two runs on a double.