MONTICELLO-The Vicksburg Gators defeated the Lawrence CountyCougars 10-8 in Saturday afternoon baseball action at Jimmie DavisPark. The Gators banged out 13 hits against 3 LCHS pitchers, andwere able to fight off repeated comeback threats by theCougars.

With the win, the 6A Gators, coached by Jamie Creel, improved to16-10 on the season. Lawrence County, under sixth-year coach CoryKeyes, fell to 17-8. Lawrence County will conclude its season withthree Division 7-4A games against South Pike this week.

“It was another frustrating, painful, loss,” said Keyes. “Again,the effort was great, and we played a very decent game. We’ve justbeen one pitch, one play, one hit away, all season.”

Keyes’ Cougars trailed throughout. They battled back from an early6-0 deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the fifth, only to seethe Gators score 4 in the top of the sixth. Again, LCHS battledback, only to come up short. The potential tying runs were on thebases when Willie Buckley’s fly ball to right field ended thegame.

“I’m proud of the way our guys kept battling,” Keyes said. “We’vehad some heartbreaking days and nights this season, but they justkeep on plugging, and I’m proud of that.”

Vicksburg scored 6 runs in the first 2 innings, chasing Cougarstarter Willie Buckley in the process. First baseman Jacob Thomasdrove in 3 runs with a long homerun and a sacrifice fly.

The first Lawrence County comeback came in the bottom of thesecond, when Jamie McCardle’s delivered a 2-run single. The Cougarsscored 1 in the third, and 2 more in the fourth, to cut the Gatorlead to 6-5. That inning ended in crushing fashion. With the basesloaded and 2 out, Dylan Lea ripped a line drive toward right fieldthat would have at least tied the game, and likely would have giventhe Cougars the lead. Instead, the ball slammed into base runnerScott Votaw for the third out of the inning.

Undaunted, the Cougars tied the game in the bottom of the fifth onAlton Moreman’s RBI single. Cougar fans’ joy was short-lived, asVicksburg plated 4 against LCHS lefty Jordan McCaffrey in the topof the sixth. McCaffrey gave his team a gutsy 4 and 1/3 innings,but was saddled with the loss. Dylan Lea pitched the last inningand two-thirds.

Scott Votaw’s sixth-inning homer cut the Vicksburg lead to 10-7. Inthe bottom of the seventh, Lane Stephens led off with a single. Twoouts later, Moreman doubled him home, and then Adam Watson was hitby a pitch. Gator lefty Mark Middleton secured his win by inducingBuckley’s fly to right.

“This game was a synopsis of our season,” said long-time LCHSassistant Craig Davis. “We’re a bit snakebitten. Having that linedrive hit our base runner, with the bases loaded, is incredibly badluck.

“Vicksburg deserves considerable credit, though. They earned theirruns with 13 hits. They’re a good 6A team.”

Hunter Stephens went 3-for-3, and John Hedgepeth pitched a stronggame, as LCHS won the junior varsity game by a score of 7-2.