Vandals Hanging On In District Race

The Vandals baseball team split their games between Brownsboro and Bullard. Tuesday night in Brownsboro, the Vandals got a decisive 6-1 victory to earn a season sweep of the Bears. Chance Cotton (5-4) went the distance allowing one earned run on 6 hits, 3 walks, and 8 strikeouts.

At the plate, the Vandals scored three runs in both the 3rd and 4th innings to give Cotton a commanding 6-0 lead to work with.

Zach Harrison paced the offensive attack going 2-for-3 with a run scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases. Colt Oliver, Allan Dike and Michael Terry delivered RBI hits, with Terry’s being a two-run triple.

As a team, the Vandals stole bases at will, tallying 10 on the night, including four by senior Matthew Goode. The win kept the Vandals in a tie for 2nd in district play.

The Vandals traveled to Bullard on Friday to take on the Panthers in an effort to gain ground on the district front-runner.

In the 2nd inning, the Vandals took a quick 1-0 lead on a Blake Ross RBI-single that scored Goode. That would be the last run of the night in a 6-1 loss for Van.

Allan Dike (3-4) got the start, and allowed four runs (two earned) on five hits in four innings. Dike struck out two and gave up one walk.

Goode came on in relief in the fifth, allowing one earned run on four hits and a pair of walks.

The Panthers were able to keep Van off balance at the plate, as the Vandals were only able to get five hits on the night.

Ross added another single in the seventh to finish 2-for-3 with an RBI. Dike, Blake Pennington and Goode each added hits along the way. The loss dropped Van to 4-3 in district play (10-12 overall), but remain in a 3-way tie for second.

The Vandals hosted Athens on Tuesday night, and Canton for the regular season finale on Friday.