Lady Vikes clinch division championship
Published 9:16 am Wednesday, September 28, 2016
Warren Central’s offensive freight train plowed right through its latest stop and is on the fast track to the playoffs.
The Lady Vikes hit a total of eight home runs — three of them by Cocoa Fultz and two more by April Lynn — to sweep a doubleheader from Clinton on Tuesday and clinch the Division 3-5A/6A championship.
The Lady Vikes won the first game 13-3 and the second 13-6. They’ve hit 12 home runs and scored 46 runs in their last three games, and are averaging nearly 13 runs per game this season.
Warren Central (16-4) will host a first-round series when the Class 5A/6A playoffs begin Oct. 11. It will host Vicksburg Thursday at 6:15 p.m.
“We have been playing well defensively and hitting the ball through the lineup,” Warren Central coach Dana McGivney said. “Hopefully we are hitting our stride at the right time this year and we’ll be able to continue playing with this intensity.”
The Lady Vikes crushed Pearl 20-6 on Monday, and then kept rolling against Clinton.
Fultz hit a three-run home run in the top of the first inning in game one, and Lynn followed with a two-run shot two batters later for a quick 5-0 lead. They led 13-0 after 2 ½ innings and won in five innings via the mercy rule.
Fultz finished the game 3-for-3 with two home runs, a double and six RBIs. Lynn had two hits, and Kasy Cortezie was 3-for-4 with a home run, three RBIs and three runs scored.
In game two, Clinton jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning and led 6-4 after three before the Lady Vikes got rolling and took the lead for good.
Kaylee Hoeft drove in a run with a ground out and Cortezie had an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning to tie the game. Fultz then led off the fifth with a solo home run and Coley hit a two-run homer to give the Lady Vikes a 9-6 lead.
In the sixth, Fultz delivered an RBI single and Sarah Kate Smith hit a three-run home to extend it to 13-6.
Fultz was 2-for-4 with a home run, two RBIs and two runs scored in game two. Coley went 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBIs, Lynn homered, and Cortezie was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored.