The hot-hitting Vicksburg Gators made quick work of New Albany in Game 1 of their third round Class 4A playoff series Friday at Viking Field.

The Gators (25-7) needed a little more than 90 minutes to send the Bulldogs back to a storm ravaged Northeast Mississippi down 1-0 in the best of three series. Game 2, conditions permitting, is set for today at 6 p.m.

New Albany coach Curt Fowler said a possible tornado hit New Albany at about 3 Friday afternoon.

“We’re going to try our best to play it, but we don’t know what the situation is with the town. I know three of my players had their homes destroyed. We tried to keep it from them until the end of the game, but by the third inning, it got leaked to them,” Fowler said.

“But by then, the game was over. From a baseball standpoint, they (Vicksburg) kicked our butts. The (Stanton) Price kid was as good as we heard he was. It seemed like every one they had put the ball in play, somewhere,” Fowler added.

Every batter in the Vicksburg lineup either had a hit or knocked in a run. After spotting the Bulldogs (26-8) an early run in the first, VHS tied it with a run of its own in the bottom half on a double by Price.

They then busted the game open with a six-run second inning. Blake Hynum led off with a double and Ryan Ferrington followed with what coach Jamie Creel called the key at-bat of the game.

Ferrington fouled off seven two-strike pitches, and eventually drew a walk against New Albany starter Mavrik Coltharp.

“Ryan’s at-bat was outstanding,” Creel said. “I counted 13 pitches. It really tired out that kid’s arm.”

“It took a lot out of him,” added VHS third baseman Bowen Woodson.

Andrew Brown’s bunt got past Coltharp to leave all three runners safe. Delmon Robinson then knocked Hynum in with the go-ahead run on an RBI grounder to second. With first base open, Price was intentionally walked. That set up Trey Prentiss, who roped his second hit of the game, to right, scoring two for a 4-1 lead.

Kurt Cooksey followed with a sacrifice fly to center to score Price. Woodson then singled to right and an error allowed Prentiss to score. Brian Fitzgerald ripped a single up the middle to plate Woodson and Coltharp was done.

Up 7-1, Woodson made it 9-1 in the fourth inning with a two-run homer to left off New Albany reliever Corey Smith.

“I was surprised it went out,” Woodson said of his third home run this postseason.

With two outs, Hynum walked and then scored on Ferrington’s single to right for a 10-1 lead.

Price sailed through five innings of work, needing just 60 pitches to take a nine-run lead to the bottom of the fifth. He then ended the game by the mercy rule with a double in the left-center gap to score Robinson, who had walked and stole second.

“It was not so great,” Price said of his fourth complete game win of the playoffs. He scattered three hits and struck out four to move to 9-1 overall. He also threw two complete games in first-round series against Neshoba Central, one against Oxford, and pitched the closing innings of a series-clinching Game 3 win over Oxford last week. “I can come back for a Game 3, but we don’t need to let up.”

Prentiss led the Gators with three hits. Price and Woodson had two hits each.

“We’re just on a roll. We want to keep it going,” Prentiss said.

Brock Foster had a double and scored the Bulldogs’ only run in the first inning. Coltharp was tagged for seven runs off seven hits in just 1 2/3 innings.