BRANDON — After he was shelled for nine runs in an ugly loss on Friday, Avery Johnson’s coach sent him a text message reminding him he’d get another chance. On Saturday, Johnson redeemed himself at Warren Central’s expense.

Johnson delivered a bases-clearing double in the bottom of the sixth inning, keying a four-run rally that lifted Brandon to a 6-3 win over Warren Central in the Mid-Mississippi Classic.

“I was looking straight-on fastball and that’s what I got. So I took advantage of it,” said Johnson, who was 2-for-3 with a double, single and two RBIs less than 24 hours after allowing nine earned runs in a 17-0 loss to Tuscaloosa County, Ala. “It felt a lot better today. It’s good to redeem myself.”

Brandon’s comeback spoiled an otherwise strong outing by Warren Central. Starting pitcher Dylan Wooten allowed four hits and three walks in 5 2/3 innings, Colby Key went 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored, and the Vikings made a comeback of their own to take the lead in the top of the sixth.

Trailing 2-1 with two outs, Key drove a double to right-center and Jimmie Elliott followed with another double to left-center to tie it. Elliott’s hit came after he took a 3-1 pitch he thought was high, only to have it called for a strike. Elliott then scored on a single by Beau Wallace to put WC ahead 3-2.

“It was above my chest,” Elliott said of the called strike. “I was looking for a fastball down the middle and got it and drove it to left field. It gave me a second chance.”

WC couldn’t hold its slim lead, though. Two singles and an intentional walk loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the sixth, and the Vikings were unable to turn a double play on a grounder hit by John Hartley North. The fielder’s choice brought in the tying run.

Another walk loaded the bases and ended Wooten’s day on the mound. He was relieved by Justin Atwood, whose first pitch was a fastball that Johnson launched down the left field line for a three-run double and a 6-3 lead for Brandon (4-2).

Warren Central got a runner on in the seventh, but he never advanced past first base and the Vikings lost for the third straight time to start the season. Although they’ve been competitive in every loss, first-year coach Josh Abraham said at some point that’s just not enough.

“We’re making progress. We’re finding out who’s going to do what. But playing well and winning are two different things,” Abraham said. “We are on the path we want to be on, but we have to win some games.”

Tuscaloosa Co. 6, VHS 5

If Groundhog Day was a couple weeks ago, why do the Vicksburg Gators seem to be reliving the same nightmare every day?

Tuscaloosa County (Ala.) rallied for three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning Saturday — after Vicksburg had taken the lead with three runs in the top half — and handed the Gators their third straight one-run loss at the Mid-Mississippi Classic, 6-5.

All three of Vicksburg’s losses have come in its opponent’s final at-bat. The Gators (0-3) have also hurt their own cause with mental mistakes, fielding errors and a lack of timely hitting. They failed to hold leads in each game, committed a total of 10 errors and had nearly a dozen passed balls. Their three opponents had a total of 15 hits.

“It’s wanting to be in that situation and not seizing the moment and making a play,” Vicksburg coach Jamie Creel said. “You’ve got to want the ball hit to you and then do something with it.”

Although some of the miscues are simply early-season jitters, the Gators need to find some solutions fast. Their first division game is Tuesday night at Pearl.

“We planned on having these three games as tune-up games. We’ll have all of our mistakes out by then,” said VHS outfielder Brian Fitzgerald, who was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI singles on Saturday.

Tuscaloosa led 3-0 after three innings, before Vicksburg scored two in the top of the fourth. With runners on second and third, Fitzgerald hit a chopper to short that Tuscaloosa’s Seth Booth charged and couldn’t come up with. As Booth lollygagged after the ball, Bowen Woodson never stopped running and scored from second.

Vicksburg then took the lead with three runs in the sixth inning. Fitzgerald’s second RBI single of the day tied the game, and sophomore Keaton Jones delivered a two-out, two-run single to put the Gators in front 5-3. They couldn’t hold on, though.

Tuscaloosa (4-1) used three walks, two infield hits and a hit batsman to bat around and score four runs while hitting only one ball out of the infield. Still leading 5-4 with two outs, Woodson got Tuscaloosa’s Ronnie McMillan to hit a two-hopper to third. Vicksburg’s Blake Hynum was slow to charge the ball, though, and couldn’t throw to first in time to get the out.

The misplay allowed the tying run to score, and Tanner Smithson followed with a sharp grounder up the middle. Jones made a nice sliding stop to keep the ball in the infield, but couldn’t make a play. Booth scored, giving Tuscaloosa a 6-5 lead. The next batter grounded out, finally ending the inning, and the Gators went down in order in the seventh.

“We got a chance to get out of the inning and probably win the game, and we just didn’t make a play,” Creel said.

Hartselle (Ala.) 9, WC 1

Adam Lee drove in the lone run for the Vikings (0-4) with a single. John Michael Harris threw 4 1/3 innings of two-run relief for WC.