With somewhat disappointing regular seasons safely in the rearview, both Warren Central and Vicksburg will now turn their full attention toward what’s really important — sticking around in the postseason as long as possible.

Warren Central opens the playoffs on the road Thursday against Columbus, while Vicksburg hosts South Panola in Game 1 of a first-round best-of-three series. Games 2 and 3 will be played as a doubleheader Friday at the other site.

For both teams, the playoffs represent a clean start. Warren Central finished the regular season with a 13-12 record, but lost four games by one or two runs and played a brutal schedule that included a total of seven games against three of the eight Class 6A division champions.

“It’s been a frustrating year in the sense of we don’t feel like our record shows how good we are,” WC coach Josh Abraham said. “The good thing is, we know that and believe that. Right now, everybody is 0-0. You play your best right now, and that’s how you win a championship.”

The Vikings have lost three of their last five heading into Thursday’s opener, but Abraham said things are looking up. The team has shown signs of life at the plate and, more importantly, on the mound.

In addition to his top two starters, Devon Bell and Beau Wallace, Abraham has gotten several strong outings lately from junior Chase Ladd. Blake Jobe, a Hinds Community College signee who has missed most of the season with a back injury, is also expected to return for the postseason and contribute some innings out of the bullpen.

“We feel like we’ve got four or five guys that can throw for us,” Abraham said.

While pitching should be a strength for Warren Central, it could be a weakness for Vicksburg (12-13).

Cody Waddell, expected to be the team’s ace, has been limited to just 212⁄3 innings because of lingering tendonitis in his elbow. Cameron Cooksey and Clyde Kendrick, the next two in line, have good stuff, but have been a bit inconsistent.

Cooksey has allowed eight earned runs in his last two starts, while Kendrick has only thrown more than six innings once this season. Kendrick did, however, strike out seven of the first eight batters he faced in a win over Brandon last Saturday.

Any slack in the rotation could be a problem for the Gators, who face a South Panola (16-7-1) squad that’s averaging 9.5 runs per game. South Panola has 67 extra-base hits in 24 games this season, including 50 doubles. Vicksburg has also collected 67 extra-base hits, with 49 doubles.

“We’re getting there,” VHS catcher Taylor Brocato said. “Last week with Clinton (a 6-4 loss) we had them, but we made some errors. When we cut out the errors, we’ll be good.”

Like Vicksburg, South Panola appears to have some issues with its pitching staff. Its ace is left-hander Mitchel Babb, who has a 3.16 ERA and has surrendered 36 hits and 24 walks in 372⁄3 innings. As a team, the Tigers have a hefty 3.67 ERA.

Despite the potential for a slugfest, VHS coach Cody Zumbro felt pitching would rule — at least early in the series.

“They’re like us. They’ve won the games they should have,” Zumbro said. “I expect the first one to be pretty low-scoring. But anything goes after the first game.”