MARKSVILLE, La. — The Vidalia Vikings might have earned a playoff spot even with a loss on Saturday to Marksville, but they wanted to take no chances.

Vidalia blasted Marksville 10-3 to earn the runner-up spot in District 3-3A and clinch a playoff spot as one of the district’s top two teams.

The top two teams in each district automatically earn a playoff spot, while the third place teams must have enough power points to be selected.

“I think that we would have made the playoffs anyway, but this win assured us of a spot,” Vidalia coach Johnny Lee Hoffpauir said. “This was a big game, and the kids rose to the occasion. I’m really proud of the boys.”

The win was Vidalia’s fourth straight, and third straight in the district.

The Vikings finished the season with an overall record of 13-11 and a 7-3 district record. Bunkie won the district with an 8-2 record.

“The kids really came around the last three or four weeks,” Hoffpauir said. “They’ve done what I was hoping they would do, and that was get better and work hard.”

Marksville jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Saturday, but Vidalia took the lead on a two-run homer by Mason Ozburn.

Ozburn was also the winning pitcher, as he tossed complete game to run his record to 6-3.

“Mason pitched very well,” Hoffpauir said. “He stayed very steady on the mound and shut the door on them.”

Vidalia led by three runs in the fourth when Seth Thompson gave them some breathing room with a grand slam.

The Vikings put the game away in the fifth after John Brixey’s two-run double.

“We hung in there and all of a sudden we looked up and we were leading 10-3,” Hoffpauir said. “We’re playing good baseball at the right time, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Vidalia will now wait to see where they are seeded in the playoffs. The voting will take place Monday night and the Vikings will find out Tuesday morning where they will play their first round game.

Hoffpauir is no fan of the selection process, which consists of the state’s coaches selecting where teams will be seeded.

“There’s a lot of politicking that goes on and I look for it to happen again this year,” Hoffpauir said. “I know for a fact that south Louisiana teams are calling and campaigning for votes. I’ve been contacted two or three times already. But that’s Louisiana.”

But whoever and wherever the Vikings are playing in the first round, Hoffpauir said they will be ready.

“Whoever we play we’ll go out there and compete,” Hoffpauir said. “I’ve said it from the very start of the season that I could never complain about the effort of the kids. They kept putting it out there and now it’s paid off.”