Vicksburg High navigated some strange, maybe even unprecedented, detours to make it to the MHSAA Class 6A baseball playoffs.

The Gators outlasted Columbus not on the field, but in a game of patience and a test of wills Monday night. While waiting out a second lightning delay, Columbus forfeited the winner-take-all game between the teams for the No. 4 seed from Region 2-6A, which awarded it to Vicksburg.

The Gators (7-20) will play Region 1-6A champion Saltillo (18-5) in a best-of-three first-round series beginning Friday in Saltillo. Game 2 will be Saturday at VHS’ Showers Field, and if Game 3 is needed it’ll be back in Saltillo on Monday, April 28. Game times have not yet been set.

“We’ll take it,” Vicksburg coach Brandon Kincaid said. “I told my brother, it’s not always how you get there but that you got there. It was one of the most unconventional games we’ve ever won, but I’ll take it.”

Monday’s unusual finish to the regular season was set up by an equally bizarre series of events three weeks ago.

Vicksburg won 12-2 when the teams played in Columbus on April 1. Four days later Columbus was leading the rematch 14-5 in the top of the seventh inning when an on-field incident led to the ejections of Kincaid and three of his players. Umpires called the game and awarded the victory to Columbus.

The first head-to-head tiebreaker to determine playoff seeding is run differential. Vicksburg had that in its favor, but Columbus argued that it could have matched or beaten the 10-run difference if the game had continued. Kincaid disagreed, saying his team would have still had a chance to come out ahead if it had been allowed to bat in the bottom of the seventh.

The solution was to settle the issue with the winner-take-all game three at a neutral site. Even that turned out to be not so easy, though.

Ridgeland High School was selected as the neutral site. Rain Monday afternoon and evening left its field unplayable, however, so Kincaid made some calls and moved the game to Smith-Wills Stadium in Jackson — which has artificial turf — at the last minute.

The game was scheduled to start at 6 p.m., but never did. The steady rain persisted, mixed with enough thunderstorms to create a couple of lightning delays, and after about 90 minutes Columbus’ coaches decided not to wait it out.

“At a certain point Columbus just conceded the game over and said they’ll just go home. At first we were saying an 8:30 start, but they conceded at 7:30 and it has rained since that time,” Kincaid said around 9:30 p.m.

So it’ll be the Gators moving on to the playoffs, extending a season that was as wild and unpredicatable as Monday night. Kincaid was promoted from assistant to head coach after Kent Willis stepped down in the middle of the school year. A number of players are also first-time varsity starters.

Kincaid said he was proud of how his players have navigated through all of the turmoil, and hopes there’s at least one more surprising twist to come when they take the field next weekend against Saltillo.

“I’m extremely proud of them. We started off rough. Had a rough season. Had a rough year. Went through a coaching change in the middle of the school year to get to this point. We moved players around to different positions, so we were learning. Most of our players never had varsity experience. To take advantage of the opportunity that was given, I’m very proud of my boys,” Kincaid said. “We completed goal one of the season, which was to make the playoffs. Now we’re going to take it every pitch, every inning, every at-bat, and see what we can do. Just compete every time we get the opportunity.”

CLASS 6A BASEBALL PLAYOFFS
First round – Best-of-3
x-if necessary
Vicksburg vs. Saltillo
April 25 – Vicksburg at Saltillo, 6 p.m.
April 26 – Saltillo at Vicksburg, 6 p.m.
x-April 28 – Vicksburg at Saltillo, 6 p.m.

Warren Central vs. Center Hill
April 25 – Center Hill at Warren Central, 6 p.m.
April 26 – Warren Central at Center Hill, 7 p.m.
x-April 28 – Center Hill at Warren Central, 6 p.m.

CLASS 6A SOFTBALL PLAYOFFS
First round – Best-of-3
x-if necessary
Vicksburg vs. Saltillo
April 24 – Vicksburg at Grenada, 5 p.m.
April 25 – Grenada at Vicksburg, 5 p.m.
x-April 26 – Vicksburg at Grenada, 11 a.m.

Warren Central vs. Saltillo
April 24 – Saltillo at Warren Central, 5 p.m.
April 25 – Warren Central at Saltillo, 5 p.m.
x-April 26 – Saltillo at Warren Central, 3 p.m.