By Justin Sutton

The Biloxi Indians (6-3) scored early and often Saturday, defeating the Lumberton Panthers and the Stone County Tomcats with 18-3 scores.

In their first game against the Panthers, the Indians jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, and they put the game out of reach with a seven-run second inning, which featured three RBIs by Nick Wheelock on two hits, a two-run homer and an RBI single. The Indians scored eight more runs in the bottom of the third to push their lead to 17-3. Biloxi added their final run in the fourth, and the game was called after five innings.

Cody Brown, T. J. Andrews, and Brandon Stuart all took the mound in the win.

The Indians’ bats stayed hot in their afternoon encounter with the Tomcats as Biloxi scored 10 runs in the first inning to set the tone of their game with Stone County. In that inning, Hawtin Buchanan batted twice, hitting a 2 RBI single each time. Derek Whitfield and Marcus Lawton also hit back-to-back homeruns to help led the charge.

The Tomcats scored a run on Jordan Skog, the Indians’ starter, in the second inning, but in the top of the third, Wheelock answered with a homer. The Indians added six runs in the top of the fourth, highlighted by a grand slam by Craig Wilson.

The Wildcats scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth, and Whitfield hit another homerun in the top of the fifth to close out the Biloxi scoring.

Skog picked up the complete game victory for the Indians, only allowing three runs, one of which was earned. Brown had three hits for the Indians.

Biloxi coach Kevin Burdine said his team did what he expected of them Saturday. "We hit the ball well from top to bottom, and we needed a game or two like that to get our bats going," Burdine said. "We want that confidence and momentum to carry over into our games with Ocean Springs."

The Indians travel to Ocean Springs Tuesday, and they host the Greyhounds Friday.

More info: You can keep up with Biloxi Indians baseball -- photos, scores, stats, even a play-by-play link on the schedules page -- by clicking here.