Dowagiac’s baseball team led early but couldn’t maintain the lead as Vicksburg rallied Thursday to sweep a Wolverine Conference doubleheader. The Bulldogs won the opener, 8-6, and game two, 9-6.

Game two was official and was called because of darkness after Dowagiac batted in the top of the sixth inning.

In game one, the Chieftains owned a 6-3 lead after two innings. In the second game, Dowagiac led 2-0 after the first inning.

“We ran out of pitching and I was a little disappointed in our defense,” said Chieftains coach Bob Turner, whose team used five pitchers in a doubleheader on Tuesday against Three Rivers.

In the opener, Vicksburg scored three unearned runs in the third inning to tie the game at 6. Dowagiac had four errors in the inning.

The Bulldogs took the lead for good at 7-6 in the fourth inning after Jesse Boulnemour tripled and scored on the hit after the Chieftains committed an error. Jared Peterson’s RBI single gave Vicksburg an 8-6 lead in the sixth inning.

“In the first game, (Ryne Willming) pitched great when he came in (with two outs in the second inning). We had one big inning against us when our defense let him down. You can’t give a team five, six or seven outs in an inning.”

Vicksburg scored six of its runs with two outs.

“We got to nail our defense down and work at it and build our confidence,” Turner said.

Dowagiac scored five runs in the second inning to take a 6-3 lead. Brody Froehlich’s two-run single highlighted the inning.

After the second, Bulldog pitchers Bret Ovens and Austin Shepherd held the Chieftains hitless. Shepherd struck out five in his two innings of relief.

“I showed up and they quit scoring,” said Turner, who missed the start of the opener because of a job obligation.

In game two, Brett Scanlon’s two-run homer in the first inning gave Dowagiac an early lead. It’s Scanlon’s first homer this season.

“He hit three or four last year,” Turner said about his No. 4 hitter. “He hasn’t had a lot of multiple hit games this year. Teams pitch around him. He’s got to be patient. He was able to hit one good today.”

Vicksburg responded with four runs in the second and third inning to take an 8-3 lead. Alex Bjork had an RBI double and Jared Peterson and Jesse Boulenmour each collected an RBI single in the second for the Bulldogs. Vicksburg drew three bases-load walks in the third inning.

Dowagiac scored two unearned runs in the fourth inning and got an RBI groundout from Scanlon in the fifth inning. Ben Speildenner tripled for Vicksburg and scored on a wild pitch to give Vicksburg a 9-5 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning.

The Chieftains got singles from Todd McIntyre and Matt Smith to start the sixth inning, but no runs crossed home plate.

First game

Vicksburg 123 101 0 – 8 10 2

Dowagiac 150 000 0 – 6 4 5

Bret Ovens (W, 2-0), Austin Shepherd (6-S) and Joey Henderson; Nate Lindsey, Ryne Willming (2-L) and Brett Scanlon

2B: Ben Spieldenner (V)

3B: Brad Spieldenner (V), Jesse Boulnemour (V), James Tarner (V)

Second game

Dowagiac 201 210 – 6 5 1

Vicksburg 044 10x – 9 7 2

Brody Froehlich (L), Brett Scanlon (3) and Scanlon, Dean Klann (3); Neal Wyatt (W), Rustin Rice (6-S) and Joey Henderson

2B: Alex Bjork (V), Jared Peterson (V)

3B: Ben Spieldenner (V)

HR: Scanlon (D)

Varsity records

Vicksburg 6-6, 4-0 Wolverine; Dowagiac 3-9, 1-3 Wolverine