PEARL – On first glance, it didn’t seem like a good night to be a Vicksburg Gator.

They made errors. They couldn’t hit. They made mental errors. Even Superman faltered a little. Even so, losing 13-1 to East Central in Game 1 of the Class 4A championship series hardly sent the Gators down an unfamiliar road, causing coach Jamie Creel to bristle at the suggestion.

“What was so bad about it? I always say, if you’re going to have one like that you might as well have it early and get it out of the way,” Creel said. “This ain’t the first series we’ve played a game like that. I’m not going to say negative things because I don’t see anything negative about it.”

Baseball always seems to give everyone a second chance, as the Gators have proved time and again this spring.

They started the season 5-5 as their defense struggled. In the playoffs, they committed nine errors in a Game 1 loss to Oxford in the second round – ironically, a game they also trailed 13-1 at one point – and three in a Game 2 loss to Tishomingo County in the semifinals.

If you goSaturday, 4 p.m. – Vicksburg vs. East Central, at Trustmark ParkOn the radio: 101.3 FMTickets: $8 per gameOnlineFollow all the action with in-game updates

Each time, though, the Gators (28-9) came back stronger and better. After the early-season slump they won 16 in a row and ended up as Division 3-4A champions. They took the last two games from Oxford to advance, and beat Tishomingo in Game 3. The resiliency Vicksburg has shown has them confident that its poor showing against East Central in Game 1 doesn’t mean Saturday’s Game 2 will have a similar outcome.

“We still have confidence. We know we can beat these guys. They didn’t show us that they were that much better than us. They just came out and played better than us,” VHS third baseman Bowen Woodson said.

It was hard for anyone to play worse than the Gators in Game 1, especially in the early going.

Right fielder Brian Fitzgerald and Woodson both missed easy chances in the bottom of the first. The errors were sandwiched around soft, line drive singles by Caleb Dickerson and Phillip Byrd that appeared to be misjudged by Gator infielders. Dickerson caught Vicksburg napping, taking third as the Gators lollygagged in between batters.

In all, East Central scored four unearned runs in the bottom of the first to put VHS behind the 8-ball early. The dominance of East Central pitcher Phillip Byrd – he allowed two hits and one run in five innings, while striking out eight – only made the hole deeper.

“Any time you get a four-spot with a pitcher like that on the mound it’s hard to swallow,” Creel said. “And you saw Stanton (Price) lose some of his velocity. He was 83, 84 in the first inning and 79 in the second. The long inning hurt us a lot, but we didn’t make many plays behind him.”

After East Central extended its lead to 6-1 in the second, Vicksburg committed two more errors in the third that led to three unearned runs. That chased Price, Vicksburg’s ace who struggled alongside the shoddy defense behind him.

Price, who been nearly untouchable in the postseason, only gave up two earned runs in 2 1/3 innings. He did, however, allow eight hits and three walks, with one strikeout. It was a rare off night for a pitcher who had been 5-0 with one save in the playoffs. Even in defeat, though, there was a silver lining. Price only threw 64 pitches, which should allow him to come back strong for Game 3 on Monday or Tuesday – or Game 2 on Saturday.

Of course, the Gators need to get there first. Judging by the way they’ve responded to losses before, they can’t be counted out.

“It’s pretty much do or die,” Price said. “You have nothing to lose, so you might as well come out and have fun.”