Vincent sweeps Montevallo and Shelby County in double-header
Published 12:00 am Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Vincent baseball extended their win-streak to nine games Monday evening with a double-header sweep of Montevallo, 10-0, and Shelby County, 9-2.
Justin Smiley and Cale Thompson each tossed a complete game for the wins, as Smiley allowed no runs on three hits and Thompson gave up two runs off six hits.
Smiley also helped produce runs to get the rally going for the Yellow Jackets against Montevallo. After being retired in the first inning, Smilley drove in the first two runs of the game in the second inning with two outs on the board. The runs sparked a seven-run, two-out effort by the Jackets.
Big innings such as this one are nothing new for Vincent this year.
&8220;This is as good a team hitting the ball that we&8217;ve had in at least five years. Not all of our runs are earned, but we&8217;re going to hit the ball and you&8217;re going to have to get us out. We&8217;ve basically been putting the bat on the ball,&8221; head coach Dwight Spradley said.
Vincent has posted a three-run inning in almost every game they have played this year, on their way to a 9-0 start.
&8220;They have a good team. You can&8217;t make mistakes and beat a good team like that,&8221; Shelby County head coach Shane Beasley said.
Montevallo looked to take a lead early on Vincent, loading the bases with just one out in the top of the second inning. However, all three runners were left stranded after Smiley struck out the side.
&8220;I think there was a mood change in both dugouts. Had they scored a run or two there, I think it would have been a different ball game. It would have given them some confidence and made it a little more difficult on us,&8221; Spradley said.
&8220;But when we didn&8217;t give it up there it got our guys pretty excited.&8221;
The excitement carried into the night cap with Shelby County, where Brent Franklin and Cale Thompson each collected two hits, while driving in three runs and two runs respectively.
Smiley was 3-for-4 against Montevallo, including a two-run home run in the third inning.
Shelby County picked up a pair of wins last week, defeating Montevallo 14-4 and Brookwood 11-1. Montevallo also had a win over Isabella, 13-8. Vincent collected a 5-2 win over Calera.
Vincent opens area play next week at home against Thorsby, while Montevallo hosts Calera for a double-header Thursday.
In other baseball games from staff reports:
Oak Mountain drops two at Buccaneer Classic: Oak Mountain (17-5) fell short against Prattville, 3-2 on Monday. After trailing 3-0 in the seventh, the Eagles produced a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. The Eagles posted a 13-5 win on the day over Sinclair of Canada 13-5.
Briarwood Christian moves into top 10: Briarwood Christian School moved to No. 10 in Class 5A in last week&8217;s poll. Luke Furuto and Lance Coggins were 2-for-2 from the plate to help lead the Lions to a 14-0 victory over St. Clair County last Tuesday.
Coggins followed by going 4-for-4 with three RBIs in Friday&8217;s 9-4 victory over Christ Presbyterian Academy of Nashville, Tenn.
The Lions (10-6) dropped a double-header on Monday at the Nike Gulf Coast Classic in Gulf Shores, falling to Knoxville West (Tenn.) 8-5 and Childersburg 10-0.
Cornerstone Christian falls at Central, bounces back against Warrior: Cornerstone Christian bounced back from a last inning loss in Selma last Tuesday to defeat Warrior Academy 11-4 on Monday. Central rallied with an eight-run seventh inning to overcome an 8-2 deficit and defeat Cornerstone Christian last Tuesday. Blake Estress collected three hits for the Chargers, while Jake Horton and Patrick Shaw each had two hits.
Calera defeats Altamont: Calera picked up a 13-3 win over Altamont in area play last Tuesday, as Danny Barefield was 3-for-3 with a
home run and five RBIs. Barefield picked up the win on the mound, allowing five hits and striking out nine.
Shelby Academy defeats Kingwood: Shelby Academy collected 12 hits to defeat Kingwood Christian 63 last Tuesday. Kevin Lackey and Jeremy Ogles each had three hits for the Raiders. Lackey collected a home run from the plate and 13 strike outs on the mound on his way to a win.
Pelham sweeps Paul Bryant: Pelham (10-8) swept Paul Bryant 8-0 and 4-0 on Wednesday, but dropped two over the weekend.