NATCHEZ – What better way to send a wake-up call than to watchone of your childhood friends make you and your teammates look likethey’ve hardly ever played the game of baseball.

Ryan Vanderslice took it personal.

The scrappy Brookhaven Academy infielder had only a singleSaturday when the Cougars struggled at the plate against TimmyFoster and Adams Christian.

Vanderslice grew up in Natchez with Foster and other players atAC until he and his family moved to Brookhaven when he was in thesecond grade.

The Cougars bounced back from a 12-strikeout day on Monday witha win over Huntington and followed it with a 15-1 win over TrinityEpiscopal in four innings Tuesday at Chester Willis Field.

The Cougars and Saints meet again at 1 p.m. today atBrookhaven.

“Timmy pitched a good game, but we didn’t hit worth anything,”said Vanderslice, who doubled and tripled against Trinity and drovein two runs.

Since that 6-3 loss Saturday, the Cougars had only six hits butput it in play enough to claim a 9-6 win over Huntington. A daylater, the bats poured it on with 11 hits in four at-bats -including eight in a 10-run second – while the Saints made sixerrors on balls the Cougars (2-0, 5-1) put in play.

Now, it seems, Saturday was weeks ago.

“We didn’t swing the bats well against Adams Christian, but westill feel Timmy threw a great game against us,” BA head coachStephen Cooksey said.

“His curveball was breaking very well against us. Coach (Ron)Rushing is a good coach and had us scouted pretty well. But ourkids can step it up for district play on most nights. They know howmuch is on the line and what to do to get to the next level.”

The Cougars’ 10-run second indicated the bats were back, and itmade for a long inning for the Saints – who were hoping to do thesame after their best offensive output Monday against WCCA.

“We took a step backward today,” Trinity head coach Matt Masonsaid. “We’re a team that’s trying to get over that hump. We need abig win to get over that hump, and we weren’t able to get that wintoday.

The Cougars put up two runs in the first off Trinity No. 1starter Kolby Godfrey before things went south in the second. KolbyByrd doubled in Vanderslice and Steven Covington for the first tworuns and scored on an error, but Keith Franklin singled in two moreruns for a 7-0 lead before the Saints could register an out.

Vanderslice later tripled to score Paul Davis and Seth Davis offTrinity reliever Parker Brumfield, and Byrd later deposited a pitchover the fence in right for a two-run homer for a 12-0 lead.

Brumfield – who pitched two innings Monday against WCCA -retired the side in order in the third before Jon Griffey came into pitch the fourth. The Cougars got two walks off Griffey beforean error on a Corey Dickerson hit in the outfield allowed Covingtonand Byrd to score and Dickerson to get all the way to third.

Dickerson (1-1) struck out 5 batters and walked 1 in a completegame 3-hitter.