For years, Vicksburg and Warren Central have spent the last weekend of the spring intercession playing in Monroe at the Ouachita and Neville Tournament.

Tournament schedule

Today

at Bazinsky Field

11 a.m. – Pearl vs.

Warren Central

1:30 p.m. – Pearl vs.

Vicksburg

4 p.m. – Lawrence County

vs. Vicksburg

This year, the Vikings and Gators decided to do something different. They began the week in the Big Blue Tournament at Madison Central and will conclude the week with today’s triangle match at Bazinsky Field.

Warren Central (6-7) takes on Pearl at 11 a.m. The Gators (5-6) follow with a 1:30 game with the Pirates, then finish the day with a 4 p.m. matchup against Lawrence County.

“We were in a situation where we needed two games and Warren Central wanted to play one, so we put this together,” VHS coach Jamie Creel said.

For the Gators it will be a welcome return to Bazinksy. They’ve played their last eight games away from home, which included two tournaments and two road games. Vicksburg was just 3-5 in the tough stretch — two of the losses came on walk-off hits — but Creel said it was still beneficial.

“We’re still in a stage where we’re figuring things out. I like our progression. We just seem to have that one mental lapse that has cost us,” Creel said. “All I can say, it’s great to be returning home.”

Warren Central has had a similar run. They won three of four with wins over Vicksburg, Father Ryan out of Nashville and DeSoto Central, but closed the Big Blue Tournament with losses to Oak Grove and Brandon.

The Port Gibson Blue Waves (5-2) will have a full day of action today with their Spring Break Classic. The Blue Waves face Wingfield at 11:45 a.m. and the winner of that game meets the winner from pool B which includes Natchez, Woodville and Greenville-Weston.

Contact Jeff Byrd at jbyrd@vicksburgpost.com