A good, ole-fashioned pennant race is as much a part of baseball lore as the seventh-inning stretch, great nicknames, colorful announcers, dirty-encrusted ball caps, Cracker Jack and “Take Me Out to the Ball Game.”

Well, there’s a crackerjack (spelled like the original slang term that gave the candied popcorn and peanuts their name) of a pennant race brewing in Division 4-6A.

The great ones always have storylines aplenty and this one is no different. Three bitter rivals, Vicksburg, Warren Central and Clinton, are battling for a division title and a home playoff series in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. Those rivalries between schools separated by a few miles tend to make for some drama. Adding spice to the rivalry was the hiring of long-time Clinton assistant Cody Zumbro by Vicksburg.

In a pennant race, every pitch, every decision and every call is magnified like print through the late Harry Caray’s trademark fishbowl glasses.

Clinton, which gutted out a 6-1 victory over Warren Central on Tuesday, took charge in the standings with a one game lead over the defending champion Vikings. Last season, the Arrows were wracked by injuries and no home field, but won six games in a row to make the playoffs. This year, the injury bug has bitten elsewhere and the Arrows have a place to call home as they sport a 10-3 record, 2-0 in division play.

“There isn’t much difference between the three teams, Vicksburg, Warren Central and us,” Clinton coach Eddie Lofton said. “Athletically, cosmetically, we’re all about the same. Our pitching is about the same, we all have good hitters, but it’s just going to come down to who gets the job done on a particular night.”

The Arrows will face Vicksburg twice next week, but first, they will face WC again on Friday at home.

Second place Warren Central followed up two victories over archrival Vicksburg with a letdown loss at Lewisburg before Tuesday’s debacle. Starting pitcher Beau Wallace couldn’t get ahead of hitters and his offense did little to back him up, going 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position. The Vikings have little time to ponder what happened, as they turn around and travel to Arrows Field on Friday for another game with big ramifications.

“It’s going to be a dogfight,” WC coach Josh Abraham said. “We’re going to Clinton on Friday, expecting to win and we’re going to do what it takes to be champions. Vicksburg has a great team, Clinton is a great team, but we’re a great team and we’re defending division champions and we’re going to work to get back to it.”

Vicksburg is down, but not out, of the race with a 1-2 record in division play. They’ve lost two classic meetings to Warren Central by a combined three runs, one of which came via a controversial call at third base in the second game. The two teams play again at Bazinsky Field on April 5, their final meeting of the season.

The biggest key is avoiding nationally-ranked Madison Central in the second round. The division champion won’t likely meet the Jaguars until the North State title series. The division race will likely come down to the last week of the season.

But in the meantime, it’s going to be one to watch.

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Steve Wilson is sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. You can follow him on Twitter at vpsportseditor. He can be reached at 601-636-4545, ext. 142 or at swilson@vicksburgpost.com.