May 1, 2008

Don’t let a name fool you. Just because the Vicksburg Soccer Organization’s 14-under team is named the Lazy Boys doesn’t mean they play that way.

The team was far from lazy last weekend and turned a brilliant showing into a surprise trip to this weekend’s state tournament in Meridian. The Lazy Boys will be joined by the VSO under-10 and under-8 girls at the weekend state tournament.

The Lazy Boys, though, are the biggest surprise. Team parents and coaches scrambled to find hotel rooms since other teams who thought they were a shoo-in to make state gobbled up available rooms. Parents organized a garage sale and a car wash to raise funds for the team’s trips.

Having one week to plan a weekend trip with a team full of teenagers cannot be fun at all. But the rewards are well worth it. The Lazy Boys earned the tournament berth with a second-place finish in the Western District Tournament. They finished 1-1-1 in bracket play, which included a 6-6 tie after the Boys trailed 6-1 at halftime.

In the semifinals, the Boys beat the Clinton Fire 3-0 to reach the finals. The team’s good fortune ran out in the championship game, a 3-2 overtime loss to South Madison.

Surely the Lazy Boys will represent soccer in this county well this weekend. Even getting to the state is impressive enough.

Work being done at Bazinsky Field

The mangled backstop that hung at a 45-degree angle over home plate at Bazinsky Field is gone, replaced by a new fence around home plate. The field is still unplayable, and more fencing needs to be added for the backstop, but at least work has begun.

Nearly a month ago, strong storms ripped apart the fencing, shifted light towers and tore away screens around the bullpens and infield. The field remained untouched until Friday when work began.

Needless to say, it was more than overdue. When the fencing gets completed, it will be time to tackle the ragged infield dirt and weed-filled warning track. New lights in the scoreboard and a fixed public address system should follow.

Plenty of work is left for Bazinsky to return to its former glory, but the wheels are in motion.

Ettinger in pursuit of Hinds’ hitting mark

Warren Central graduate Jonathan Ettinger started one season for the Vikings. He played so well in high school, he earned a scholarship to Hinds Community College.

As the state junior college tournament starts tonight at Itawamba, Ettinger finds himself chasing the school’s batting average record.

Entering tonight’s opener, Ettinger is hitting a ridiculous .447. The school record is .457. Ettinger has at least two games to play in the state tournament and with a big weekend could claim the school’s batting mark proving again the patience and perseverance do pay off.

Ettinger is not the only Warren County product to light up the junior college ranks. Eric Douglas is hitting .413, and Josh Gordon is at .398. The top three hitters on the team are all former county players. Impressive indeed.

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Sean P. Murphy is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. E-mail him at

smurphy@vicksburgpost.com