SHERIDAN -- Mike Moore's Sheridan Yellowjackets didn't have enough pitching or hitting when his team played Hot Springs Lakeside in a three-run loss earlier this month.
They had plenty of both in the rematch.
The Yellowjackets gave pitcher Evan Ward a seven-run cushion by the end of the second inning, and the junior had little trouble protecting it in a 9-1 victory at Oliver Williams Field on Tuesday.
Six players recorded hits for Sheridan (19-6, 9-2 5A-South), which exacted a bit of revenge after the Rams won the first meeting on April 1.
Lakeside (14-4, 7-3) cashed in on everything the Yellowjackets did wrong in that game, especially on the mound. Sheridan walked 9 batters, hit 3 others and was limited to just 1 run through 6 innings before mounting a small rally in the final frame to lose 7-4.
"We didn't throw strikes in that first one against them, either," Moore said. "Combine that with the fact that we didn't hit the ball until late when we had three or four hits and got a couple of runs. But it was 7-1 and two outs in the seventh inning before we even got that going."
Sheridan didn't wait nearly as long to get it together Tuesday.
The defending Class 5A state champions scored seven times in the second, but only one of their runs came off a hit -- an RBI double from junior Ashton Branson. Sheridan scored three runs off three Lakeside throwing errors. The other three scores resulted from a passed ball, a wild pitch and a fielder's choice. All of that added up to a 7-0 lead.
After giving up a game-opening single to sophomore Brennan Browning, Ward allowed just two more hits for Sheridan. Despite recording 1 strikeout, hitting 2 batters and issuing 3 walks, Ward's outing pleased Moore.
"He was so efficient," he said. "I think through the first four innings, he only had 39 pitches. We played good defense behind him, too. Our infielders made every routine play, and that's all I ask of them. Just make the routine plays, and that kept [Lakeside] from getting anything going."
The Rams, who also stranded eight runners, received an RBI single from freshman Brady Arnold in the top of the fifth to trim their deficit to 7-1. But senior Brandon Arledge ripped a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth to re-establish control for the Yellowjackets.
The victory gave Sheridan a 1 1/2-game lead over Lakeside in the 5A-South standings. The Yellowjackets, who have won eight of their past nine games, also own the tiebreaker over co-leader Texarkana (12-12, 9-2) should the teams finish tied in conference play.
"We've been working on being more aggressive on the bases, and that showed in this one," said Moore, whose team had nine steals in the game. "We also got some timely hits that were big hits. They weren't just bloopers, they were hit hard. Even some of our outs were hard-hit balls, and that was good to see because we've kind of been streaky with that.
"Since spring break, we've been more consistent, so hopefully we can keep that going."