Vicksburg’s first win on the softball diamond this season was an important one.

With the Missy Gators paired with archrival Warren Central and Greenville-Weston in a three-team division, every division contest is critical.

The Missy Gators (1-2) took care of business in the home opener at Bazinsky Park, clubbing visiting Greenville 19-0. They hung 13 runs on the board in the second to earn the victory.

“They were patient at the plate and I was appreciative of that,” Vicksburg coach Amanda Yocum said. “We’ve been in that situation before, so you don’t ever want to run up the score.”

Vicksburg pitcher Faith Thomas pitched a one-hit gem with six strikeouts and she allowed only four base runners to get into scoring position.

The key for the Missy Gators was patience. With Greenville pitcher Kieona Titus struggling to find the strike zone and with catcher Amber Brown struggling to keep the ball in her mitt, the walk and the passed ball became Vicksburg’s primary offensive weapons.

In the first, the Missy Gators loaded up the bases and got RBI groundouts from Leah Davies and Thomas as six scored in the frame. Four of those runs came on passed balls.

In the second, the Missy Gators blew open the contest, scoring 13 runs in the frame. An RBI single by Tyra Erwin drove in one and walks and passed balls accounted for the rest.

As the inning wore on and a huge lead on the scoreboard continued to enlarge, Yocum quickly cleared her bench, stopped sending runners and instructed her hitters to try to make any sort of contact, even on pitches out of the zone. It helped the Honeybees finally get out of the nightmare inning.

“It was a district game and we wanted to get our points on the board,” Yocum said. “We’ve been in the position where it’s come down to one run here, one run there.”

Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com