FLOWOOD — Warren Central had plenty of chances to upset Northwest Rankin on Thursday night.

It just didn’t take advantage of them.

Three Northwest pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts, and the Vikings left seven men on base in a 3-2 loss to the undefeated Cougars (7-0).

Three of Warren Central’s four losses this season have been by one or two runs, but coach Josh Abraham wasn’t discouraged heading into tonight’s Division 4-6A opener against Vicksburg at Viking Field.

“The hump is in front of us and every single one of us is ready to jump,” Abraham said. “It’ll happen before we know it. All of these experiences are going to make us better.”

WC (3-4) outhit Northwest Rankin 6-5 and drew four walks, but couldn’t do much once its runners got on base. It was 3-for-12 with runners on base and 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. Fourteen of its last 19 outs came via a strikeout, and Northwest Rankin’s Cody Livingston retired the last eight batters he faced.

The Vikings’ two runs came on a solo homer by Jay Harper in the second inning and an RBI triple by Carlos Gonzalez in the third. Gonzalez’s hit tied the game at 2.

“We outhit them. We did some things early, then a couple of mental mistakes hurt us late. But once again we’re in a perfect position at the end. We’ll move past it,” Abraham said.

WC also had a runner thrown out at the plate in the fourth inning, but so did Northwest Rankin in the fifth. After first baseman Dylan Wooten cut down Tanner Wolverton on a grounder to the right side, Jared Lyons followed with a blooper to right. The ball bounced off the glove of a diving Clayton Ashley in right for a two-out single. Garrett McBeth scored the go-ahead run from third to give Northwest Rankin a 3-2 lead.

Livingston then set the Vikings down in order in the sixth and seventh to close out the win.

Livingston finished with eight strikeouts in 3 2/3 innings. Starter Gary Foster struck out three in the first two innings of the game, and Caleb Dugas struck out three in 1 1/3 innings.

WC starter Devon Bell allowed three hits and a walk while striking out four in four innings. Reliever Dee White was tagged with the loss, but allowed only one unearned run, two hits and no walks in two innings.

“Their pitchers did a good job,” Northwest Rankin coach Jeff McClaskey said. “We didn’t swing the bats well tonight, but that’s been our forté this season. We just find ways to win.”

Contact Ernest Bowker at ebowker@vicksburgpost.com