NEW ALBANY – With runners on second and third in the sixth inning of a two-run game on Saturday, New Albany elected to intentionally walk Stanton Price to load the bases.

The move seemed obvious seeing as Price has been one of the hardest outs to get in the postseason and had just hit a solo home run the inning before. But Trey Prentiss made sure the decision would come back and haunt the Bulldogs as he delivered a rocket down the right field line for a two-run double and a 9-5 Vicksburg lead.

The move showed once again that facing the Vicksburg Gators (26-7) is akin to a game of pick your poison. There are no easy outs in this lineup.

“This is about as balanced team I have ever had here at Vicksburg,” coach Jamie Creel said following his team’s 14-5 North State semifinal series-clinching victory.

Prentiss had three hits batting in the third position. He was one of six Gators with more than one hit. On Friday night, every Gator in the lineup scored at least one time in an 11-1 mercy-rule shortened game.

The only Division I signee on the roster is leadoff hitter Delmon Robinson, a Mississippi State football signee. Price is being courted by several schools, but for the most part, the Gators are a star team instead of a team full of stars.

The bottom five batters in the Gators’ lineup on Saturday – Bowen Woodson, Brian Fitzgerald, Blake Hynum, Ryan Ferrington and Andrew Brown – combined to reach base 16 out of 20 times with eight hits and 10 runs scored. Every Gator starter except one had at least one hit and Vicksburg tallied 15 hits as a team against four New Albany pitchers.

“We knew the offense would come around and score runs,” said Vicksburg pitcher Brian Fitzgerald, who threw a complete-game victory after falling behind 5-2 in the third inning. “I had to do my best to hold them for the offense.”

The two-game series win also marked the first time this postseason Vicksburg will not have to play a deciding third game. Vicksburg had a light hitting practice today and a full practice Tuesday in anticipation of the North State championship series. Tishomingo County and Lafayette County were scheduled to play Game 2 of their best-of-three series today and a deciding third game, if necessary, will be played on Tuesday. Tishomingo won the first game, 5-4.

If the series goes three games, it also may be a blessing for Vicksburg. Game 1 of the North State series is set for Thursday, meaning either Tishomingo or Lafayette may have to play five games in six days – a stretch for any high school staff.

Vicksburg will be searching for its first trip to the baseball state championship series in school history.

“No matter who we play, it should make for a challenging series,” Creel said. “Hopefully we will be up for it and we can rock and roll.”