Warren Central’s Tom Corbin (15) is congratulated by teammates after his solo home run in the second inning of the Vikings’ win over Forest Hill on Tuesday. Corbin had two hits and two RBIs as WC won, 14-3. (Melanie Duncan ThortisThe Vicksburg Post)

[4/10/03]Warren Central broke out the bats early Tuesday night and never put them away.

The Vikings (10-14) scored seven runs in the first inning and cruised to a 14-3 win.

“Maybe we took a more relaxed approach at the plate,” WC coach Randy Broome said. “It paid off.”

Tom Corbin hit a single, home run and drove in a pair of runs and seven of nine Vikings had at least one hit in torching Forest Hill’s best pitcher.

Calvin Triplett lasted only 1 1/3 innings and allowed 10 runs before being replaced by Brandon Walker, who struggled with control problems.

Walker pitched the final 2 2/3 innings, allowed only three hits, but uncorked four wild pitches and the Rebels had seven passed balls that allowed five Vikings’ runs to score.

Meanwhile, Andrew Simmons gave up four runs two of them earned in the third inning, but WC had built a 10-0 lead by then.

Simmons settled in and allowed only one hit over the final two innings to pick up his first win of the season.

“He stayed composed and did a good job,” Broome said. “He got his pitch count up a little bit, but he was stronger in the fifth inning than he was in the first.”

The Vikings, who will play Clinton on Friday and end the season Saturday against Pearl, wasted little time getting the bats started.

Jake Turner, Corbin and Jeremy Ferguson all had first-inning RBI singles and Greg Carroll hit an RBI double as WC collected five hits in the bottom of the first.

With one out in the second, Corbin hit a lined shot over the right centerfield fence for an 8-0 lead. Ferguson was then hit by a pitch and scored on a John Rice Pettway single for a 9-0 lead. Zach Balthrop reached on an error and eventually scored on a wild pitch for the 10-0 lead after the second.

After Forest Hill pulled to within seven runs, WC ended the game in the bottom of the fourth with four runs three scoring on wild pitches and one on a passed ball. Mark Different had the only hit in the inning, but Walker walked four and hit one batter.

Simmons allowed a one-out triple to Jon Paul Reed, but retired the final two batters to get the win.