Warren Central pitcher Andrew Simmons, left, and third baseman Jeremy Ferguson scramble for a bunt in the first inning of the Vikings’ 6-5 loss to rival Vicksburg. (C. Todd ShermanThe Vicksburg Post)

[3/5/03]Using a combination of luck, skill, and good old-fashioned guts, Vicksburg High managed to shake off a late Warren Central rally and squeeze past the Vikings on Tuesday.

After WC tied the game with a two-out, two-run rally in the top of the seventh inning, Vicksburg scored the winning run in the bottom half on a bases-loaded, two-strike squeeze bunt by Justin Boler to pull out the 6-5 victory.

“I thought it would catch them off-guard. It’s tough to make that call,” VHS coach Jamie Creel said of the call for the squeeze bunt. “Justin is one of the top four bunters we have. I wouldn’t have asked somebody that I didn’t think was a very good bunter to do that.”

Allen Carlisle went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored for WC, and Tom Corbin drove in the tying runs with a single, but WC (1-5) committed five errors that led to all six of Vicksburg’s runs.

“Knowing we can win, that’s real disappointing. A couple of errors cost us the ballgame right there,” Corbin said. “They’ve got one of the best ballclubs they’ve had in a long time, but they can’t beat us. They just did, but they didn’t deserve it.”

VHS seemed to have the game in the bag in the top of the seventh. The Gators held a 5-3 lead, and reliever John Hendrix quickly got the first two WC hitters out.

Then Carlisle delivered a two-out single and Josh Gordon followed with a single to left. The ball was bobbled, allowing both runners to move into scoring position and setting the stage for Corbin.

Corbin bounced a single back through the middle to score Carlisle and Gordon, and tie the game at 5-5.

“I was 0-for-3 going into that at-bat right there and in my head, I’ve got to come through right there,” Corbin said.

Hendrix got John Rice Pettway to hit into a fielder’s choice to end the inning, and the Gators went to work right away in the bottom of the seventh.

Justin Henry led off with a grounder to first that took a late hop and bounced off of Daryl Harper’s mitt, allowing Henry to reach base. After Henry stole second, the Vikings intentionally walked Paul Gorney to bring up James Jackson.

Jackson showed bunt for the first few pitches of the at-bat, and it played into the Gators’ hands. WC’s infielders rotated to cover the bunt too soon on one occasion, allowing Henry to stroll to third unchallenged.

“They were just running some kind of wheel six play on the bunt. They went a little early and there wasn’t anybody on third, so I just jogged on over there,” Henry said. “I think they must have just gotten mixed up on a bunt coverage, so we took advantage of it.”

Gorney stole second without a throw on the next pitch, and the Vikings gave Jackson a free pass to first to put the force play back in effect.

Like Jackson, Boler showed bunt on the first few pitches of his at-bat. The count went to 1-2, however, a situation that would seemingly take the threat of a bunt away. That was what Creel was counting on the Vikings to think, and he gambled.

Creel called for the squeeze one last time, Boler got the bunt down in front of the plate, and Henry beat Mark Different’s flip home by a half-step to score the winning run.

“It surprised me that he called it, being two strikes. But it’s something we practice … so you have confidence in it that you can lay it down. That’s all you can do,” Boler said.

The winning rally was the second time in the game that the Gators answered a WC score.

The Vikings scored the first runs of the game in the fourth inning, when Jeremy Ferguson hit a grounder to first with two outs and runners on second and third. Gorney fielded the ball cleanly, but hesitated before flipping to the pitcher Jackson, and Ferguson slid into the bag headfirst as Jackson dropped the ball.

Vaughn Mims scored from third on the play, and Neil Tillotson came around from second to make it 2-0.

“I ran to third and I looked over and there was an opportunity, so I didn’t slow down. I passed (WC coach Randy Broome). It was all on me. I saw an opportunity and I took it,” Tillotson said.

The lead was short-lived, however.

Gorney hit a rocket to center that was misjudged by Corbin, allowing one run to score to cut it to 2-1. After Jackson singled to put runners on second and third with two outs, Sean McGowan chopped a double over the third base bag and down the line to bring home both runners and put VHS on top 3-2.

Sean Gibbs followed with a pinch-hit RBI single to make it 4-2, but was picked off of first to end the inning.

“Every game, we’ve done that. Somebody will chip away at us, and then we come right back and deliver with a couple of big runs,” Creel said.

Carlisle delivered an RBI single in the fifth to score Harper and cut it to 4-3, but the Gators added an insurance run in the sixth.

Boler was hit by a pitch, then circled the bases when the throw to second on a stolen base attempt sailed into center field and was bobbled. The two errors allowed him to score easily, putting Vicksburg ahead 5-3.