By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

PETAL — D’Iberville enters week two of a new baseball season looking to bounce back from a two game losing streak.

The Warriors started the new campaign with a rousing 11-1 win at home over Long Beach one week ago, but the road wasn’t as kind as DHS followed that with two losses over a two day span later in the week 12-8 at LBHS and then 11-6 here Saturday against Warren Central at the “Runway Classic” hosted by Petal High School.

The Vikings finished as the Class 6A overall state runner-up to George County last season, and they wasted no time in their season-opener showing the Warriors why they may be favored to make a return run deep into the state playoffs again this year.

Tied at 1-1 going to the bottom of the second inning, Warren Central exploded for six runs to take a commanding 7-1 lead it would never relinquish.

Charlie Roberts and Hayes Loper each had a two-run single in the frame for the Vikings to make it 5-1, and then Trace Hood smacked a two-run home run to put WCHS up 7-1.

The Warriors actually got on the board first in the top of the first frame on an RBI-double by Cannan West, but the Vikings responded immediately in the bottom of the inning on Tristan Jamison’s run-scoring single.

Warren Central extended its advantage to 9-1 in the fifth.

The Warriors had one final burst in them, scoring four runs in the sixth stanza when Caleb West cracked a grand slam to make it 9-5.

After Warren Central secured the win with two more runs in the bottom of the inning, Caleb West added another RBI-single in the seventh to close out the scoring.

Sophomore Caden Cole started and picked up the win for the Vikings, while Corbin Smith took the loss. Smith was one of four Warrior pitchers to take the mound in the game.

The loss overshadowed an outstanding, career best day at the plate for the Senior Warrior West as he collected a game-high four hits and drove in five runs with that grand slam, a double and two singles.

Both Jayden Johnson and Ayden Demoran had two hits apiece for DHS.

Lester Martin paced the Vikings winning 10-hit attack with three hits.

In Long Beach’s win over DHS Friday night, Landon Carden had a game-high three hits for the Bearcats and Will Brady had a game-high three RBIs. Cannan West had two hits for DHS and Caleb West drove in two runs.

Wayne Ulrich picked up the win.

D’Iberville returns to the diamond Tuesday night hosting Alma Bryant (Ala.).