Vicksburg High catcher Julianna Jones reacts after getting hit in the helmet with a pitched ball. The ball hit the ground and popped up to hit Jones’ mask. (C. Todd ShermanThe Vicksburg Post)

[08/22/03] Sloppy fielding and cold bats were the enemies of the Vicksburg Missy Gators, who fell short of their first win of the season.

A five-run fourth inning made possible by five Missy Gators errors gave Terry (2-2) the runs it needed to take the lead and never relinquish it as the Lady Bulldogs won 8-6 on Thursday.

“This should have been a game we didn’t lose,” Vicksburg coach Laquitta Smith said. “They made too many errors in the outfield and then they died batting.”

It was the second time in as many nights that a big inning cost Vicksburg (0-5) the victory. On Wednesday, Vicksburg gave up seven runs in the bottom of the fourth and lost 14-10 at Madison Central.

The Missy Gators started off on a good note against Terry when Shannon Arnold drove in two runs with a double to left-center field.

Vicksburg maintained the 2-0 advantage through three innings, but in the bottom of the third, the Missy Gators failed to increase their lead after loading the bases with one out. Kelli Ouzts lined out to shortstop Megan Prince, who then turned to third to double up Claiborne Bryant to end the inning.

That seemed to shift the momentum of the game as the Bulldogs came up with five runs in the top of the fourth to take a 5-2 lead on a slew of errors by the Missy Gators.

The Bulldogs then increased their lead with two runs on three hits in the fifth and another run in the sixth.

PCA 6, River Oaks 5

Lauren Johnson went 3-for-3 with two doubles and three RBIs to lead the Lady Eagles past River Oaks.

Johnson also got the win on the mound, and escaped a seventh-inning jam. After PCA (8-2) built a 6-0 lead after two innings, River Oaks scored four in the fourth and one in the fifth, and had runners on second and third in the seventh with one out. Johnson retired the next two batters to end the threat.

Amy Beaugh went 2-for-3 with two RBIs in the win.

Madison Central 10, WC 9

Tiffany Fuller had three of the Lady Vikes’ 10 hits and an RBI in a loss to Madison on Thursday.

WC (2-2) scored seven runs in the second inning and led into the sixth when Madison Central took control. The Lady Jaguars scored five in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kristen Linson and Tranyce Peoples had two hits each for WC.