Warren Central didn’t play its best game of the season Monday night. When it comes to its biggest rival, however, that hardly seems to make a difference these days.

Josh Lieberman hit a two-run home run, Zach Cox drove in two more runs with a double, and Warren Central slogged and slugged its way to an 11-4 victory over Vicksburg High on a damp night at Viking Field.

Warren Central (13-7) won for the sixth consecutive time in the crosstown rivalry series, and for the 11th time in 13 meetings. They’ll play again Saturday night at 6 at Bazinsky Field.

“We made adjustments at the plate, but we just didn’t play very good baseball tonight,” Warren Central coach Conner Douglas said. “It bothers me being that it’s a rivalry game. It’s like we didn’t get up for it. It’s like we didn’t think we were going to play. But we have to flip that switch no matter who we’re playing, and we just didn’t do that tonight.”

The Vikings took a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Marcus Ragan and Connor Wilkinson both singled and moved around the bases on a combination of stolen bases and a wild pitch. A few batters later Lieberman lofted a high fly ball that carried over the wall in left field for a two-run homer and a 4-0 lead.

It was the junior’s first varsity home run — and just the Vikings’ third of the year as a team — and got them rolling offensively. They scored at least two runs in each of their last four at-bats to stay a step ahead when Vicksburg (5-11) eventually made a push in the middle innings.

“It’s my first one since eighth grade and it felt really good. I thought it was a pop up. I looked up and saw Coach Douglas waving his hand around, and it was the best feeling ever,” Lieberman said. “That was a lift. That got the team going. We don’t have many home runs as a team, and that just pushed us forward.”

Vicksburg, much as it has been all year, was its own worst enemy for much of the game. It committed six errors that led to six unearned runs, hit into two double plays and had two runners thrown out on the basepaths.

The second of those two short-circuited a rally that could have gotten the Gators back in the game.

Two singles and a throwing error brought in two runs, and D.J. Lewis hit an RBI single to plate another as the Gators pulled to within 7-4 in the top of the fifth inning. With runners on first and second and still only one out, Chris Prentiss was caught off of second and tagged out after a brief rundown. Tyler Smith struck out two pitches later to end the inning, and the Gators never threatened to do major damage again.

“We’re so close to being a good team. We just have to clean up some things. If we can clean those things up heading into the playoffs, we can make a run for it,” Vicksburg coach Derrick DeWald said. “The bottom line is, when you give a good team like Warren Central extra outs, or walk guys or hit guys, they’re going to make you pay for it.”

Chandler Luke finished the game 2-for-2 for Vicksburg. Marcus Williams reached base twice and scored a run, and Justin Jones walked twice and scored twice.

Monday’s game marked the beginning of a grueling stretch for the Gators. They’ll play seven games in eight days, including division contests tonight at 6 against Lanier at Smith-Wills Stadium and next Monday at Callaway.

The rest of the schedule features difficult games against Clinton, Ridgeland and St. Aloysius, as well as the rematch with Warren Central on Saturday.

Although they didn’t win Monday against Warren Central, DeWald said he was happy with the fight his team showed after falling behind 7-1 in the fourth inning. It rallied for the three runs in the top of the fifth before letting it get out of hand after that.

“We fought. That’s something I haven’t seen in a lot of games. A couple of things go our way and we could’ve scratched a win or it would’ve been closer,” DeWald said. “I truly believe we’re knocking on the door and we just need to clean up a few things.”

For WC, Wilkinson went 2-for-3 with two singles, two RBIs, two walks and two runs scored. Lieberman was 2-for-4, and John Austin Burris also had two hits. Aaron Greene allowed only one unearned run while pitching the first four innings to get the win, and Brooks Boolos threw the last 2 1/3 innings for the save.

The Vikings won for the fourth time in five games despite the sluggish start. It’s a positive trend, but one Douglas feels could benefit from a little more enthusiasm.

“We saw glimpses of it this past week of being great,” Douglas said. “We’ve got to show up to the park ready to play the game, and we didn’t tonight. That’s what’s disappointing. It’s a crosstown rival. We should be ready to play and you can hear crickets in our dugout. We’ve got to be better than that.”