After playing into the wee hours of the morning, the Vicksburg Gators showed no ill effects Sunday afternoon against the crosstown rival Vicksburg Thunder.

The Gators put together a flawless defensive game to back up pitcher Ryan Ferrington and beat the Thunder 4-1 in an elimination game in the 16-year-olds’ Babe Ruth Southwest Regional at Bazinksy Field.

The Gators’ win came just over 12 hours after they beat Central Mississippi in a 3-hour marathon. A rain delay backed up the schedule Saturday, causing that game to start at 10:30 p.m. and finish around 1:30 Sunday morning.

The Gators blew a 6-2 lead against Central Mississippi before scoring three runs in both the third and fourth innings to take the lead for good.

&#8220We had nowhere to go but up after last night,” said Gator outfielder Brian Fitzgerald, who walked four times and scored four runs against Central Mississippi. &#8220The defense was a lot better. We knew we had to play better if we want to continue on in the tournament.”

The Gators turned two double plays and made three line drive catches to keep the Thunder from coming back.

&#8220We had seven or eight balls hit right at people, including that screamer to left that (De Kelley) caught on a slide. Credit their defense,” Thunder coach Trey Clark said of the Gators.

&#8220The whole key for us was to play defense,” added Gators coach Jamie Creel. &#8220I was real proud that we hit the ball better than we had the first two days. Ryan (Ferrington) came out and gobbled up seven innings for us on the mound and we made some good plays behind him.”

Ferrington scattered six hits over seven innings of work. The lone Thunder run came in the fourth when Justin Rushing battled off five foul balls before sending an RBI hit to right to score Pierson Waring and make it 4-1.

Kelley’s sliding grab of a low line drive by Jimmy Elliott kept the Thunder from scoring a second run. Only one other Thunder runner reached third base in the team’s final three at-bats.

The Gators took a 2-0 lead in the first when Fitzgerald, who went 3-for-3, singled and scored on a balk from Thunder pitcher Stephen Evans. Trey Prentiss followed Fitzgerald’s hit with a single to right and then scored on Adam Lee’s hit up the middle.

In the third, Fitzgerald and Kurt Cooksey both singled to put two on with one out for Lee. A ground ball to third was mishandled, allowing both runners to score for a 4-1 lead.

&#8220The play at third was huge. It gave them two runs,” Clark said.

The Thunder had three errors but it was a marked improvement over Saturday’s seven errors which led to a 12-5 loss to Tri-County, Texas. Evans pitched well, going six innings, allowing seven hits while striking out four.

Waring led the Thunder with two hits. Cooksey had two hits for the Gators.