Warren Central wasted little time in maintaining its hold on first place in Division 3-6A and sent Greenville-Weston packing with a 16-0 rout Friday afternoon at Viking Field.

The first nine Warren Central batters all reached base and scored as the Vikings (13-6, 4-1) rang up 10 runs in the first inning. Senior pitcher Chase Ladd pitched two scoreless innings and reliever Michael Whitley finished off the blowout via run rule after Greenville’s turn at bat in the third inning.

Warren Central coach Josh Abraham said the win was a good way to send his team into a well-deserved weekend off. The Vikings, who are tied with Clinton for the division lead, return to action Tuesday night at home against rival Vicksburg.

“We’re right where we want to be at this point in the season,” Abraham said. “We’re starting to swing it better now. It’s been a good week for us and now we can have a weekend off. It’s good to have one of these types of games once in a while.”

Ladd struck out five in his brief stint against the Hornets to improve to 4-1. He walked one batter, Kenneth Hinton, who was the lone Hornet to reach base. Whitley struck out two in his one inning of work.

Greenville’s starting pitcher, Antonio Davis, struggled from the first pitch. He walked three of the first four batters he faced and he was pulled. Cody Waddell drove in the latter two WC runners for a 4-0 lead. Devon Bell followed with a two-run hit to make it 6-0.

Greenville’s third pitcher in the inning, Timothy Jackson, finally got an out when Trey Prentiss flew out to left. The fly ball was still good enough to score Bill McRight for a 7-0 lead. Travis Barnett walked and later scored to close out the first-inning assault. He said the Vikings wanted to jump on the Hornets early.

“We wanted to get some runs quick,” Barnett said. He did his part with three runs scored.

With two more wins, the Vikings would equal last season’s 15-win total.