From outcasts to division champs, the senior season for Warren Central’s Dylan Wooten and Jay Harper has been special.

On Friday at Viking Field, the pair helped nail down the Vikings’ first division championship since 2005 with a 10-3 win over the archrival Vicksburg Gators. Warren Central (15-13) wins the Division 4-6A title with a 7-2 league mark, finishing one game better than Clinton at 6-3. Vicksburg ends its season at 16-12 overall and 5-4 in the division.

The Gators came into the regular season’s final game needing to beat the Vikings by seven runs to make the Class 6A playoffs and by two runs to deny WC the division title.

Wooten’s three-run shot in the bottom of the first inning, which was followed by a two-run homer by Clayton Ashley, made that a tough chore.

“It’s awesome,” Wooten said. “This is my fourth year and my first three were all losing seasons. But in my senior year, we win the division.”

Wooten had an RBI groundout in the fourth inning for his fourth run driven in to extend his county-leading total to 36. His home run against Vicksburg starter Cody Waddell for a 3-0 lead, was the game’s key blow.

“He hung a curveball. I was able to get on top of it. I just try to do all I can for this team,” Wooten said.

“He hits really well in the clutch,” WC coach Josh Abraham said of Wooten. “No doubt, the two swings from him and Ashley got us a good lead and that gave Harper a lot of confidence on the mound.”

Harper, who went the full seven innings, was most appreciative.

“This is amazing. To get the early run support meant I could just cruise,” Harper said.

Vicksburg coach Jamie Creel, who had the Gators cruising to 16 wins last week, saw his team end with two of its most disappointing losses.

“We bobble the first play and that leads to a five-spot,” Creel said. “Then we don’t scratch home a run when we have the chance. You have to make plays in a game like this.”

Vicksburg left nine men on base with four being stranded on third and four more on second. Despite giving up nine hits and hitting three more batters, Harper got the big outs either by strikeout or via a well-timed ground ball.

“I hung some curveballs and they got them,” Harper said. When Keaton Jones singled in the fourth to put two on in a 6-1 game, Harper came back to get a ground ball out at second and then a fly ball to right to end the threat.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jimmie Elliott doubled to left and then scored on Wooten’s grounder for a 7-1 lead.

The lone Gator who had a hot bat was Jonathan Clay. He belted his second double of the game off Harper in the fifth and scored on Taylor Brocato’s fly out to right to make it 7-2.

Warren Central got the run back in its fifth inning off Vicksburg’s fifth error of the game. They added two more in the sixth, when Carlos Gonzalez tripled home a run and then scored on Ashley’s second RBI hit of the game.

Ashley finished with three RBIs on two hits and two runs scored. Gonzalez had two hits and three runs scored.

Clay scored his second run in the seventh to account for the final. He finished with two doubles and two runs scored. Cameron Cooksey and Jones also had two hits for the Gators.

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Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com