PHILADELPHIA — Senior pitcher Stanton Price struck out 11 batters, allowed only three hits and also homered to lead Vicksburg to a 7-0 win over Neshoba Central in the first game of the Class 4A state playoffs on Saturday.

The Gators, winners of 14 straight, improved to 21-5 on the season and will host the Rockets for the second game either Monday or Tuesday at a site to be determined.

Vicksburg grabbed a 5-0 lead in the second inning and was never seriously challenged.

“We’ve been piecing hits and runs together all season, and that’s what we did in the second inning,” Vicksburg coach Jamie Creel said. “We put a little pressure on them when we bunted down the line. After that, we were able to get a couple more runs.”

With one out in the second, Brian Fitzgerald pounded a double that bounced off the center field fence. Blake Hynum followed with a triple that went into the right field corner and Fitzgerald scored to give the Gators a 1-0 lead.

Ryan Ferrington knocked in Hynum on a fielder’s choice, making it 2-0.

Rocket left-handed pitcher Austin Buchanan fanned the next batter for the second out. Then Delmon Robinson knocked in a run to make it 3-0. Buchanan jammed his shoulder into the ground on Robinson’s hit, but stayed in the game through the fifth inning.

Price knocked in a run and scored on Kurt Cooksey’s hit as the Gators led 5-0 after their second at bat.

The Rockets had a runner on third in the first and runners on second in the fifth and sixth innings. But that would be as close as they would come to scoring against Price, who upped his record to 6-1 on the year.

The Gators picked up two runs in the seventh as Price and Trey Prentiss hit back-to-back solo homers.

The Gators outhit Neshoba Central 8-3. Price helped his own cause as he went 3-for-4 and scored two runs.