Vikings in a ‘good spot’ at halfway point as Coast trip nears
Published 4:00 am Thursday, March 16, 2023
- Warren Central baseball coach Randy Broome walks to the dugout between innings of Saturday's game against Brandon. The Vikings will play three games in the Battle at the Beach event on the Coast this weekend, beginning Thursday at 7 p.m. at Vancleave. (Ernest Bowker/The Vicksburg Post)
Warren Central has reached the halfway point of its season with a 7-5 record. It could just as easily be 10-2, or perhaps 5-5.
The whims of the baseball gods being what they are, coach Randy Broome was just fine with where the Vikings are sitting as they took a few days off before heading to the Coast for a few days of fun and games.
“I like where we are right now,” Broome said. “We’ve figured some things out. We get back from spring break and now it’s go time to make a run in the district that we’re 1-0 in right now. We’re sitting in a good spot.”
Warren Central went into spring break — the unofficial halfway point of the high school baseball season — after splitting two games last weekend. It was on the wrong end of a 13-10 slugfest with Brandon on Saturday in which each team hit four home runs.
Blake Channell hit two for the Vikings, and Maddox Lynch and Kylan Landers each hit one. They let an early 4-0 lead slip away, however, which has been an unfortunate theme so far this season.
Warren Central has taken two walk-off losses in addition to the one that got away against Brandon.
On the positive side, it also won two games with walk-off hits and picked up a huge victory over defending MHSAA Class 6A champion Northwest Rankin in its Region 6-6A opener last Friday. Other wins came against quality programs like Germantown, Ocean Springs and Madison Central.
“Hopefully we’ll pick up where we left off (Friday). I didn’t think we played bad (Saturday),” Broome said. “That’s two, maybe three games in a row with a zero-spot on the error column. We’re throwing strikes and playing defense, and we’ve gotten some timely hits. (Saturday) we didn’t get enough of them and (Friday) we did.”
Now the Vikings head to the Coast for three games in the Battle at the Beach tournament. The weeklong event draws teams from all across the South for three games each, including some at MGM Park in Biloxi.
Warren Central’s turn at the Double-A ballpark is in its final Battle at the Beach game, Saturday at 10 a.m. vs. West Harrison. Its opener is Thursday at 7 p.m. at Vancleave, and its second game is Friday at 5 p.m. vs. Walker, La., at Biloxi High School.
A total of 55 teams from Alabama, Florida and Louisiana are in the event that runs from March 10-18. St. Aloysius also played three games in it this week.
Broome planned to give the Vikings a couple of days off before their weekend on the Coast, a welcome break after playing five games in eight days. When they return to Vicksburg, a home-and-home region series vs. Pearl awaits.
WC hosts Pearl on March 21, and is at Pearl on March 24.
“It’s a good time for a little rest. We’ve been grinding, especially the last two weeks. I think these next couple of days we’ll get some rest, enjoy a day or two off, and then we get back and go to the Coast,” Broome said after the loss to Brandon. “There’ll be some good competition there, and then after that there’s the district run.”