Vicksburg High’s slow-pitch team had played well in the season’s early going, but in Tuesday’s home opener at Halls Ferry Park, Richland broke out the bats.

The visiting Lady Rebels belted out 17 hits to beat the Missy Gators 16-2 in five innings. Despite the loss, Vicksburg is just a game under .500 at 2-3 after getting road wins at Forest Hill and Ridgeland.

Third-year VHS coach Michelle Fisackerly said Richland deserved credit for hitting the ball well.

“I thought we played a decent game. They hit it well. Our defense, though, does need to get better. We need to do a better job of communicating in the outfield,” Fisackerly said.

One of the strengths shown by Vicksburg onn the four-game road trip was the team’s batting.

“Our hitting is better this year,” Fisackerly said.

Against Richland, however, Vicksburg had just three hits. Heather Middleton smacked an RBI double in the second inning to score Sydney Bufkin with the Missy Gators’ first run. Bufkin came back in the fourth to single in Shannon Botsford to make it 15-2. The other VHS hit came from Grace Bufkin in the fourth inning.

Richland coach Mike Chambliss said his team needed to get the bats going against Vicksburg.

“It was about time. We’ve played some good people like Brandon, Pearl and Puckett in the Rankin County Tournament. We walked nine in the Puckett game, so our pitching was better today,” Chambliss said.

Richland had all 10 starters either get a hit or score a run. Lindsey Harper led the way, going 3-for-4 with three runs and two RBIs. Lauren Harper had a pair of triples and drove in three. Jennifer Harrison had two hits and two RBIs while Tori Still had three hits and Allison Harriel added a two-run double that keyed an eight-run, second inning.