Vicksburg High’s softball bats came alive at a great time.

Zion Harvey and Harmony Harris both homered for two of the Missy Gators’ 20 hits, and they posted a season-high run total as they beat Region 2-6A rival Ridgeland 20-8 on Wednesday.

Harvey finished a single short of the cycle. She hit a two-run double in the first inning, a two-run home run in the second, and then tripled and scored a run in the fourth. She was 3-for-4 with five RBIs and four runs scored.

Harris hit an inside-the-park home run leading off the sixth inning, and was 2-for-3 with four RBIs and two runs scored. She also had an RBI on a bases-loaded walk and doubled in two more runs.

The Missy Gators (4-11, 1-2 MHSAA Region 2-6A) scored six runs in the top of the first inning and led 10-0 in the fourth. Ridgeland (2-8, 0-2) scored three times in the bottom of the fourth to stave off the mercy rule, but Vicksburg scored 10 runs in the sixth to take a 20-3 lead. Thirteen consecutive batters reached base for Vicksburg in the sixth inning, and two of its three outs came when runners were thrown out stealing.

Every VHS starter had a hit and six of them had more than one. Trinity McGloster was 4-for-5 with three runs scored, Avery Van Norman reached base five times and scored three runs, Lili Kistler was 3-for-4 with three runs scored, and Makynzie Dunmore was 2-for-5 with a triple, one RBI and two runs scored.

Vicksburg moved into third place in Region 2-6A and took a big step toward securing a berth in the Class 6A playoffs. It has a one-game lead on fourth-place Ridgeland and is 2 1/2 ahead of fifth-place Columbus. The top four finishers in each region make the playoffs.

The Missy Gators will head across town Thursday night to play Warren Central (7-10, 3-1) at WC’s Lucy Young Field. The junior varsity game will begin at 5 p.m. and the varsity at 6:15.