In its biggest game of the season so far, Warren Central went small to get a victory.

The Vikings scored five runs in the fifth inning using two bunts, a bases-loaded walk and an error to beat Clinton 8-4 on Tuesday in a key Division 4-6A matchup in Clinton.

Warren Central (11-4, 4-0 Division 4-6A) moved into first place by a game over the Arrows (12-8, 3-1), and can virtually clinch the division title and a first-round bye in the Class 6A playoffs by winning Friday when they play again at Warren Central’s Viking Field.

“That’s big stuff, winning Game 1, especially on the road,” Warren Central coach Conner Douglas said. “It’s not do-or-die like the playoffs, but it’s intense and has big implications. Rival games feel like the playoffs, especially when you know it’s for a division championship. Our guys competed like it was Game 7 of the World Series, and they do that on a daily basis.”

Clinton led 2-1 entering the fifth inning, and that was when the Vikings used small ball tactics to gain the upper hand.

After Logan Stewart led off with a single, Tanner Chambers and D.J. Lewis both bunted for hits to load the bases. Tyler McRight drew a walk to bring in the tying run, and Brooks Boolos hit a grounder to second that resulted in an error. Two runs scored on the miscue, while Boolos wound up at third base and later scored on a wild pitch. When the dust settled, the Vikings led 6-2 and never trailed again.

“We were playing situational baseball and did a fantastic job of executing,” Douglas said. “And then we had a couple of big hits. We got those timely hits we’ve been talking about that make the difference.”

Clinton got a run back in the sixth inning on an RBI single by Courtland Posey, but the Vikings struck back for two insurance runs in the seventh to stretch the lead to 8-3. Tyler Vroman had a two-run single.

Conner Wilkinson finished 3-for-4 with a triple, RBI and a run scored for Warren Central, while Boolos scored three runs. Josh Tucker drove in two runs for Clinton, Walker Burchfield doubled twice, and Mason Pigg was 2-for-3 with a run scored.

Taft Nesmith pitched a complete game for Warren Central. He allowed eight hits and four runs, but only walked two batters and struck out nine.

“He didn’t have his best stuff early, but he hit another gear and found it when we needed him to,” Douglas said of Nesmith, the team’s ace. “He’s a competitor and handled some adversity extremely well.”

Vicksburg 4, Lanier 2

Gage Ederington struck out 16 batters in a one-hitter, and Vicksburg High snapped a 10-game losing streak by beating Lanier in a Division 4-5A matchup in Jackson.

Ederington didn’t walk a batter and gave up two runs, one earned.

The Gators scored three times with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. The go-ahead run came in on a dropped fly ball off the bat of Latonio Brown. DeWayne Sims had an RBI single to bring in an insurance run.

The Gators’ run output was their highest since their last win, an 8-7 victory over Murrah on Feb. 29. They had scored a total of eight runs in their last eight games.

Manchester 8, St. Al 4

Manchester Academy scored five runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and went on to beat St. Aloysius to snap the Flashes’ three-game winning streak.

Lane Hynum had two hits for St. Al and Tyler Breithaupt threw 2 1/3 innings of solid relief to keep the Flashes (7-4, 3-1 District 3-AAA) in the game.