Vikings turn it around in Monroe|Prep baseball
Published 12:00 am Monday, March 23, 2009
MONROE, La. — Finally, all the sermons Josh Abraham has been preaching to his fledging Warren Central team have borne some fruit.
On the final day of the Ouachita/Citgo Tournament on Saturday, the Vikings defeated both Ouachita Parish (11-5) and fourth ranked Dutchtown (9-6). It marked the first time in three years that the Vikings have won two games in the annual Monroe tournament.
“All the hard work these kids have been doing since the off-season, and then again through the pre-season and during the season, finally paid off for them today. I am very proud to be their coach,” Abraham said.
Coming into the tournament, the Vikings’ only wins had come against lowly Provine and Greenville-Weston in Division 4-5A play. To beat Ouachita Parish in Monroe and then hand one of Louisiana’s best teams its third defeat of the season, shows WC (6-9) is on the way back.
“The kids brought a new confidence when they came to the ballpark. We hit balls hard, we made plays, we pitched well and we got to go home with two wins. We’ve had our ups and downs, but to have a day like this, it makes everything we’ve been through all worth it,” Abraham said.
The Vikings benefited from a complete game effort from pitcher Dylan Wooten, who gave up five extra base hits but induced enough ground balls and pop ups to keep WC in the game. WC also got nine hits against Dutchtown, including a solo home run from De Kelley and a two-out, two-run single by Keaton Sanders that turned a two-run lead into a four-run cushion.
“It’s a big confidence boost for us,” Wooten said. “This is going to be good heading into Clinton week.”
This week, WC faces Clinton twice in a series that could determine the division champion. The Vikings will host Clinton (13-2) Tuesday night at Viking Field and then head to Clinton on Friday night.
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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com.