Beating one of their longtime softball rivals is always nice. For the Warren Central Lady Vikes, however, beating anyone after several tough losses felt even better.

Abby Morgan racked up nine strikeouts and only allowed one hit in seven innings, and Kennedi McKay drove in two runs as Warren Central defeated Clinton 5-2 on Tuesday.

The Lady Vikes (4-4) snapped a three-game losing streak that included an extra-inning loss to Germantown the night before. Warren Central also beat Clinton for the second time in a row, after losing 21 straight in the series.

“It’s more than who we played. Obviously, when we beat Clinton it’s always a good time. But it’s more about bouncing back and playing better, and growing as a team,” Warren Central coach Dana McGivney said.

McKay hit an RBI single in the third inning, and the Lady Vikes tacked on two more runs to take a 3-0 lead. Clinton scored a pair of unearned runs in the fourth, but Warren Central answered right away to blunt that momentum.

McKay drove in another run with a ground out, and Hossley followed with an RBI single to put the Lady Vikes’ lead back to 5-2.

“Just to put a little bit of a gap between us helps,” McGivney said of the rally. “It gives you more of a cushion and you can breathe a little bit more and you’re not playing as tight.”

Morgan was in complete control over the last three innings. She faced the minimum — the only runner to reach base was erased on a double play to end the fifth inning — and finished the game by striking out the last two batters.

“We pitched better, hit the ball better, and defensively I think Abby pitched better (Monday) night and really well (Tuesday). If she’s pitching well, obviously it makes it a little easier on us,” McGivney said.

Warren Central completed a stretch of four games in six days, and will now get a bit of a breather. It travels to play Florence Thursday at 6:15 p.m., and then only has one other game until returning from spring break on March 18.

“We finally get a weekend off,” McGivney said with a laugh.

Madison Central 13, Vicksburg 0
Ella Tierce had nine strikeouts and pitched a one-hit shutout as Madison Central defeated Vicksburg High.
Harmony Harris led off the second inning with a single for Vicksburg’s only hit.

Claire Boykin went 3-for-4 with three runs scored for Madison Central, and Tierce was 2-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

Vicksburg (2-6) will go on the road to Jackson to play Jim Hill in its MHSAA Region 4-5A opener Wednesday at 6 p.m.