When the Warren Central Vikings look back on Tuesday’s game against Clinton, they will lament all of the missed opportunities.

But the difference was that Arrows took advantage of theirs and the Vikings did not.

Warren Central’s lineup went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position as Clinton pushed ahead of the Division 4-6A pack with a 6-1 victory.

“That’s my fault,” WC coach Josh Abraham said. “I’ve got to work harder during practice with our two-strike approaches and we’ve got to focus harder with runners in scoring position. That is on me.”

The two teams meet again in Clinton on Friday, as the Arrows owning a one-game lead in the standings at 2-0 in division play. WC is one game back at 2-1, while Vicksburg is third at 0-2.

Considering how the Arrows had to win six straight just to slip into the second spot in the playoff chase last year, Clinton coach Eddie Lofton is glad that his team is off to a much better start in what promises to be a down-to-the-wire chase for the division crown.

“It’s big, coming off how we lost over here last year and having to come over here early,” Lofton said. “We knew it was going to be tough. We manufactured some runs and got some key bunts down early.”

WC starter Beau Wallace struggled early with his command, but got a nice 6-4-3 double-play to escape danger in the first and he escaped with just one unearned run in the second after a costly overthrow allowed Grady Thurman to slide home with two outs.

Wallace, who took the loss for WC, threw an arm-ringing 119 pitches, striking out four and allowing only four hits. But he walked eight.

The Arrows (10-3, 2-0) manufactured a run again, as Kyle Washington singled and Jake Weathersby rapped a line shot off the wall to plate him from second. Clinton struck again off a suicide squeeze in the fourth to extend their advantage to 3-0.

The Vikings (7-7, 2-1) retaliated in the bottom of the fourth, as Brandon Gates walked and took advantage of a botched pickoff attempt to sprint all the way to third.

Next batter Hunter Austin struck out, but Devon Bell followed up a nice shot — that just tailed foul — with another line drive to right. This one was fair and it plated Gates. It was all that the Vikings managed, as Clinton starter Jayme Monroe induced a double play to end the inning and squelch the rally.

Monroe earned the win with 52⁄3 innings of solid work, striking out four in a three-hit performance, his first start since a bout with elbow tendonitis.

In the sixth, the Arrows put the contest out of reach, scoring three runs, two of which were from bases-loaded walks. Blake Jobe got the final out of the inning after relieving Wallace, but the damage was done.

The Vikings had one more big opportunity in the bottom of the inning, as Wallace and Clayton Ashley drew back-to-back walks to start the inning against Clinton sidewinder Clayton Thurman, but he recovered to induce a flyout and some routine groundballs to close it out.