When he got to school on Monday, Kurt Cooksey figured he’d spend the evening trying to smash Warren Central’s pitching.

He did that, getting two hits and doubling in a run. He also did a fantastic job of shutting down WC’s lineup.

Cooksey allowed two hits and one run in five innings in an emergency start, and also went 2-for-3 with an RBI double to lead Vicksburg High past WC 12-1. Cooksey struck out six and walked five while filling in for VHS ace Brian Fitzgerald, who played right field and drove in two runs but skipped his scheduled pitching start because of stiffness in his shoulder.

VHS coach Jamie Creel told Cooksey he would get the spot start about three hours before the first pitch.

“Any time you’re playing baseball, you have to be ready. I kind of found out at school because Brian told me he was having some problems with his shoulder,” Cooksey said. “With the defense we had, the main thing was to throw strikes and let the defense work. They made some great plays.”

The Gators (12-5) gave Cooksey plenty of run support. Three of their first five batters doubled as they jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the top of the first inning, and they stretched the lead to 9-1 by the end of the third.

Tyler Temple was 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and four RBIs, Bowen Woodson was 2-for-4 with two RBIs, and Blake Hynum went 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Vicksburg had five doubles among its 12 hits.

“We’ve got a good hitting lineup and we showed that tonight,” Creel said. “We got the bats rolling and we’ve got to keep that up.”

The game was, essentially, decided in the first inning. Four straight hits by the Gators — three of them doubles — and a two-run single by Temple staked them to a 5-0 lead, but Warren Central rallied in its half of the inning.

The Vikings cut it to 5-1 on an RBI single by Dylan Wooten, and had the bases loaded with one out. Jimmie Elliott hit a two-hopper to second, though, and the Gators turned the double play to get out of the jam.

Cooksey didn’t allow another hit or a runner past second base the rest of the way. The Vikings coaxed a few walks out of Cooksey, but only hit one ball out of the infield after the first inning.

“That was a huge play. It kept it a four-run gap instead of 5-2, and that’s where you want it so a grand slam can’t hurt you,” Creel said. “Kurt really settled in after that. He threw his breaking ball well tonight.”

Vicksburg added a run in the second, then three more in the third — two of them scoring on a single by Woodson — to increase its lead to 9-1. The Gators hit a lull in the middle innings, but finally scored three more in the sixth to go up 12-1 and finish the game by the mercy rule.

Cooksey’s RBI double and a second two-run single by Temple keyed the sixth-inning rally.

“They swung the bats very well early, which affected us at the plate. We tried to have a good approach at the plate, but the score affected what we do,” WC coach Josh Abraham said, adding that Cooksey’s effective curveball played a key role in his team’s offensive struggles. “He hid his breaking ball from us well and the guys couldn’t pick it up soon enough. That was the equalizer.”

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Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com.