Despite being out-hit 11-4, the Vicksburg Red Sox found other ways to get on base, taking advantage of six walks and seven Meridian errors to earn a 10-7 win on the opening night of the 15th annual Governor’s Cup.

The Red Sox (1-0) will face the Trace City Chiefs today at 11:30 a.m. in their second pool play game in the 10-team, 9-year-olds’ division.

&#8220We took advantage of a lot of errors by Meridian and our pitching came through,” Red Sox coach Bo Magoun said. &#8220Ben Welp had a good ballgame on the mound. We had a good outing from our center fielder (Joshua Daffron).”

And they also got a key defensive play by third baseman Drake Dorbeck in the fifth inning to stop a potential tying rally by Meridian.

A base hit by Meridian’s Chris Waldon put the tying run on in a 9-7 game in the top of the fifth. With runners on third and second, Walker Hyche lined a ball hard to third base, but Dorbeck was there for a scooping catch. He then trotted over to third, doubling off Ian Perry, who had broke in on contact.

&#8220That was a fantastic catch by Drake at third base. That play pretty much sealed it,” Magoun said.

The Red Sox were able to take their 9-7 lead into the bottom half of the fifth. Austin Magoun added an insurance run off a pair of Meridian errors – the sixth and seventh of the game. The game was called because of time-limit after the run scored.

Meridian hit the ball well throughout the game and built a 5-0 lead off six hits through two innings before the Red Sox mounted a comeback.

George Tzotzolas led the Red Sox with two infield hits and two RBI. Hunter Lyons and Brock Barnes scored twice. Meridian had four players led by Waldon and Ryan Jackson with a single and a double each. Cole Gray had two hits and drove in two while Corey Robinson knocked in one off two hits.

Welp went three innings to grab the win despite giving up seven hits. Daffron went the final two innings, allowing just one run to nail down the save.

8-year-olds.

Lane Hynum went 3-for-3 with three singles, three stolen bases, and scored three runs to lead the Venom to an opening round win at the Cal Ripken 8-year-olds’ Southwest Regional Tournament in Van Buren, Ark.

Tyler Smith added a single, double and three RBIs, and Brayden Stokes had two hits, an RBI and scored two runs.

The Venom used a five-run second inning for a substantial cushion.

Matthew Register threw out two runners at second base from his catcher’s spot. During league and state tournament play, the 8-year-olds played with a no stealing rule. This was the first game where stealing was allowed.

11-year-olds.

The Vicksburg-based Mississippi Mudcats were eliminated from the Cal Ripken Southwest Regional Tournament on Friday with two close losses.

The Mudcats lost Friday morning to Abbeville, La., 3-2, then were beaten later in the day by Baton Rouge, 3-2. Both losses came in the final inning.

In the Abbeville loss, Cameron Upton and Reed Evans each had two hits.

In the Baton Rouge loss, Upton, Zach Boyd and Richie Bufkin each had two hits.

In the second game, the Venom out-hit host Van Buren 11-2 to take a 7-0 victory.

Dale Griffith had a triple and three RBIs and Brooks Boolos went 2-for-2 with an RBI for the Venom. Tyler Smith had two hits, while Liam Hopson doubled and Lee Simpson had two RBIs.

The team is scheduled to play three games today and one more on Sunday in pool play.