[8/27/03]Warren Central poised itself for a comeback against Northwest Rankin on Tuesday and came up short in a 10-8 loss.

The Lady Vikes scored a combined seven runs in the fourth and fifth innings to cut the lead to two, but were retired in order in the final two innings.

Once again, errors in the field proved to be Warren Central’s undoing. The Lady Cougars scored six runs in the second inning on six WC errors.

“We made too many errors and it seems like we’re making a lot of errors with two outs and then we’re not stopping that play there,” Warren Central coach Lucy Young said.

The Lady Vikes, who were without injured pitcher Keisha Blue, got a solid performance from seventh-grader Mandy Fuller. Fuller gave up 10 runs three earned on 11 hits and three walks.

The team did get a lift with the return of Cookie Johnson in her first game back from surgery.

“It felt good to come back, but I’ve only been at practice one day,” Johnson said. “I’ve got to work real hard to keep my position and help the team out more.”

Johnson, who tore cartilage in her knee and had it scoped three weeks ago, had to shake the rust off early.

“I’ve been sitting out so long just sitting around,” she said. “I couldn’t run or do anything but lift weights, but now I’m getting the feel back.”

Johnson seemed to get more comfortable with each trip to the plate. She finished the day 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Northwest Rankin, which later beat Vicksburg 7-1, jumped out to a 7-1 advantage on Warren Central.

Another pair of errors in the fourth inning gave the Lady Cougar another pair of runs to put them up 9-1, and they held on for the victory.

Central Hinds 5-3, PCA 4-10

The errors finally caught up to Porters Chapel Academy on Tuesday afternoon.

Holding a 4-0 lead going into the sixth, the Lady Eagles (13-3) committed three errors that led to five Central Hinds (13-5) runs in a 5-4 loss. PCA bounced back in the second game for a 10-3 win.

In the opener, Lauren Johnson went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Allison Horn had two hits and an RBI and Amy Beaugh hit a home run. Betsy Bryan took the loss, allowing five unearned runs in the sixth.

In the nightcap, Bryan threw a one-hitter to improve to 5-1.

Annie Beaugh led the Lady Eagles with three hits and two RBIs, while Amy Rutledge, Johnson and Amy Beaugh each belted two hits.

The Lady Eagles will be in action again on Sept. 4 at Greenville Christian.