Warren Central’s Mark Different takes to the air to tag out Oak Grove’s Grant Hogue in the fourth inning Saturday. Hogue was picked off first base by Parker White. Ryan Grey threw to Different, who chased Hogue back toward first base before recording the out. The Vikings defeated the Warriors 8-6 in the first game of the South State championship series. Game 2 will be Monday at Oak Grove.(Jon Giffin The Vicksburg Post)

[5/9/04]Warren Central’s bullpen, effective and efficient throughout this year’s playoffs, rose to the task again Saturday afternoon.

Sophomores Eric Douglas and Parker White kept the dangerous bats of Oak Grove at bay for three innings, and closer Jake Turner slammed the door on an 8-6 win in the first game of the South State championship series at Viking Field.

The two teams will meet again on Monday at Oak Grove at 6 p.m. A WC win would send the Vikings to their first state championship series since the 2001 title team.

“Our bullpen came up huge today,” said WC’s Zach Balthrop, whose fourth-inning triple scored two runs to provide the winning margin. “It’s huge for the team and for them. It’s huge for the team’s confidence.

“The deeper you get into the playoffs, the more people you will need.”

Warren Central (24-10) finished second to Vicksburg High in the Division 6-5A race, but has been seemingly unflappable in the postseason.

The Vikings disposed of Ocean Springs in two games, then won a dramatic third game over Picayune in the second round to reach South State.

“They did a great job battling, and that is something we struggle with. We have to fix that,” said Oak Grove catcher Davis Smith, who led all hitters with three singles and a pair of RBIs. “I don’t think we were expecting that much from this team, but it will be a better game.

“They are a completely different team than the one we faced in the beginning of the year. They are playing with a lot of confidence.”

The two teams split a two-game regular-season series, with WC winning in Oak Grove.

On Saturday they beat the Warriors, and ace pitcher Wayne Smith at home.

The lefty was staked to a 5-0 lead through two innings, but a disastrous third inning resulted in six WC runs. Smith threw 48 pitches in the third and was relieved in the fourth.

“We made him work and I think he hit a little bit of a wall in that inning,” WC coach Randy Broome said. “I think you have to give our guys some credit for that for making him throw a lot of pitches.”

Warren Central sent 12 batters to the plate in the inning, taking advantage of five walks and four singles. Drew Warnock’s two-RBI single scored Ryan Grey and Brian Carroll as WC took a 6-5 lead. Three of the singles came on full counts.

The Vikings had the bases loaded with two outs, but Smith coaxed a flyout from Mark Different to end the inning.

“He’s been living on the edge all year, and the edge didn’t work out for him today,” said longtime Oak Grove coach Harry Breland. “We weren’t a timely hitting team. It was not a good effort. No excuses.”

Warren Central increased the lead to 8-5 in the fourth on a two-RBI triple by Zach Balthrop. His sinking liner skipped past a diving Grant Hogue in center field to score Otis Stamps and Ryan Grey.

The Warriors tacked on a run in the fifth against White, but could not score against Douglas or Turner.

Douglas, whose brother Shea starred at WC and Southern Miss, pitched a perfect sixth inning, getting two groundouts and a flyout.

“When I went to the mound coach (Jeff) Wood came up to me and said three outs,” Douglas said. “He said just get me three outs.”

Turner pitched the seventh, but got into a jam. The hard-throwing righty, who already has three saves in the postseason, gave up back-to-back one-out singles by Sellers and Davis Smith to put runners on first and third with one out.

Hendrick Leverette struck out and Marshal Greer flied out to center to end the game.

“It all started with Drew (Warnock),” Broome said. “He gave us three solid innings. Parker came in for two good innings and Eric gave us a perfect inning there in the sixth. That’s what we wanted from him.”

Oak Grove chased Warnock early, scoring one run in the second and four in the third to take a 5-0 lead. Ryan Norton belted an RBI double, and Davis Smith hit a two-RBI single to lift the Warriors to the 5-0 lead before WC bounced back in the third.

Sellers and Hayes Singleton each had two hits to pace the Warriors (26-6). Wayne Smith was charged with the loss.

Allen Carlisle, Pettway and Different each had two hits in the victory.

WC will now turn to its ace on Monday when Different will take the mound. Breland would not say who his starting pitcher would be.

Different is 10-3 on the season, including two wins in the playoffs.

“There is nobody on our team like Mark,” Balthrop said. “He comes through in every clutch situation. He will be big for us Monday night.”