[7/28/03]A handful of hits helped the Vicksburg Diamondbacks leave Bazinsky Field with a handful of first-place plaques Sunday afternoon.

The Diamondbacks didn’t get a hit until the fifth inning of the 14-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup championship game against the Tri-Parish Reds, then strung together four straight extra-base hits to blow open a close game and roll to a 9-2 win.

Stefan Gibbs allowed five hits and two runs in five innings of work to pick up the win, and helped his own cause by going 2-for-2 with a double and two RBIs. Nick Carson also had an RBI double, and finished the game with two perfect innings of relief.

Blake Jones was 2-for-3 with an RBI for the Reds, and Zach Jones had a double.

“It’s a good feeling. We’ve got some newcomers here today, and it’s a great time,” Diamondbacks’ coach Vernon Wolfe Sr., who also helped guide the team to a 12-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup title in 2001 when the team was known as the Vicksburg Dynamite.

Sunday’s game got off to a surreal start when the Diamondbacks took a 4-0 lead in the top of the first without getting a hit. Vicksburg drew five walks and stole several bases to spark the rally.

Cuyler Martin relieved Zach Jones with two outs in the first, and shut down the Diamondbacks for the next three innings. He retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced, striking out six of them.

“We looked at the scoreboard and it said we were up 4-0 and (they) had a no-hitter going,” Wolfe said with a laugh. “Baseball is a strange game, and you have to take advantage of the things you get.”

Tri-Parish got on the board with a run in the bottom of the fourth, but the Diamondbacks finally got to Martin in the fifth.

Eric Coleman started the outburst with a two-out double, and scored on Vernon Wolfe Jr.’s RBI triple. Carson and Gibbs followed with back-to-back RBI doubles to cap the rally and give Vicksburg a 7-1 lead.

“From that point on, we had the game in hand,” Vernon Wolfe Sr. said. “It got us fired up.”

Carrollton 5, Vicksburg Athletics 2

The Vicksburg Athletics ran out of heroics at the same time they ran into the Carrollton Boosters’ baseball machine.

Christopher Riess pitched two innings of scoreless relief, and also went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles and an RBI as Carrollton beat Vicksburg 5-2 to win the 9- and 10-year-olds’ Governor’s Cup championship Sunday afternoon at Halls Ferry Park.

Keaton Jones helped the Athletics reach the championship game by hitting a walk-off grand slam in a 10-7 semifinal win over the Clinton All-Stars. He went 2-for-3 with a pair of singles against Carrollton and had a chance to tie the game in the sixth inning, but struck out swinging for the final out.

“We played good ball this whole weekend. The kids hit, and everybody played real good. And that Carrollton team is really good,” Athletics coach Keith Ehrhardt said. “I’m very happy to get into the semifinals and the championship, and know we could have beaten this team.”

Carrollton gave up just six runs in five games of the tournament, but had its hands full with the Athletics on Sunday.

The game was scoreless into the third inning, when Carrollton broke through for three runs. Riess drove in a run with an RBI single and later scored on a wild pitch, while Hunter Lepeyre scored on Zachary Ladner’s RBI groundout.

The Athletics answered with two runs on bases-loaded walks in the bottom of the fourth inning, but had their rally cut short by Riess and Carrollton centerfielder Max Wheelock.

Riess relieved Ladner with the bases loaded and promptly walked Cameron Cooksey to force in a run and cut it to 3-2. Riess then struck out the next two batters before Chris McRaney hit a line drive to center. Wheelock charged in and made a diving catch to save at least two runs and end the inning.

“It was a huge catch,” Carrollton coach M.H. Phillips said. “That was a game-saver. That turned the momentum around.”

The Boosters increased the lead to 5-2 in the fifth on a sacrifice fly by Ladner and an RBI single by Marcel Garon, but the Athletics mounted one last rally in the bottom of the sixth.

Taylor Brocato led off the inning with a single, and went to third on a one-out double by Justin Atwood. Riess then relieved Garon and struck out the next batter to bring up Jones.

With the memory of his earlier heroics still on everyone’s mind, Jones had a chance to be the Athletics’ savior again. This time, however, the day belonged to Riess. He struck out Jones to end the game and start the Boosters’ celebration.

“I thought I could do it again,” Jones said.

Phillips said he was being careful with Jones, who had two of the Athletics’ four hits in the game, and praised Riess’ effort.

“He was excellent for us,” Phillips said of Riess. “He gave us the inning we needed. He came in and battled, and competed, and did an excellent job.”