Gators take two from Blue Waves
Published 12:00 am Saturday, April 3, 2010
A wild six-run first inning started it and a Kawayne Gaston moonshot ended it.
Talk about a way to bookend a doubleheader.
Vicksburg pounded visiting Port Gibson 13-0 in the first game and 16-2 in the second in a pair of run-rule shortened games at Bazinsky Field on Friday.
“It was good to see some other guys get some time and do some things at the plate,” Vicksburg coach Jamie Creel said. “It’s hard to get in rhythm because of all the walks and the game is kind of sloppy for both teams, but I was glad coming off the emotion of last night’s game (a 6-3 loss to Clinton) to see us bounce back and get a couple of wins today.”
The Gators (11-8) get a much-needed week’s rest going into the stretch run as they aim for a playoff berth. Creel is very happy with how his young team is responding to its trial by fire.
“If we iron some things out, we’re going to be tough to beat,” Creel said. “If we hit the ball and make plays like we’re capable of doing, we are tough to beat. We’ve got a lot of talent, but we haven’t gotten over that hill yet.”
In the first game, Vicksburg jumped to an early six-run lead and scored in all four innings played. Cameron Cooksey earned the win with seven strikeouts.
Cooksey and Justin Pettway each had RBI singles, but the Blue Waves yielded most of the Gator runs off five errors.
The Blue Waves struck first in the second game as Adarius Barnes reached on one of Vicksburg’s four errors in the twinbill and was doubled home by Deairton Simmons.
But the Gators bounced back with two runs in the first and three apiece in the second and third innings. Clyde Kendrick’s two-RBI single in the second and Jonathan Clay’s RBI double in the third were the highlights.
In the fourth, Keaton Jones had a two-run single and Justin Pettway added an RBI single as the lead swelled to 12-0.
After an error allowed another run to score, Gaston checked into the game for his first at-bat. Demonta Hedrick’s fastball up and in was easy pickings for the burly sophomore, who blasted it over the left-field fence to end the game.
Mack Middleton earned the win with three strikeouts. He gave up one earned run.
The Blue Waves also get a week’s worth of rest before returning to the heart of their division schedule. Port Gibson (7-11, 3-6 Division 7-4A) is in fourth place in its division and faces third-place South Pike on Tuesday and Friday. The top two teams in each division make the playoffs.
“There was defense being played out here today. We hit the ball pretty good, but no defense,” Port Gibson coach Dan Smith said. “We’ve got a tough district. We’re still getting better and we’ve come a long way.”
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Contact Steve Wilson at swilson@vicksburgpost.com