Vincent finishes perfect run in area play with sweep of B.B. Comer

Published 2:51 pm Friday, April 5, 2024

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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Vincent Yellow Jackets took care of business against the B.B. Comer Tigers as they swept the series behind a 14-0 win at home on Wednesday, April 3 and a 7-3 win on the road on Thursday, April 4.

The wins polished off a perfect 6-0 run through area play as the Jackets will head into the playoffs as the unscathed area champions.

In the first game on Tuesday, Vincent used a one-two-three top of the first to carry momentum into the bottom half of the inning.

When the Jackets took the plate, Grayson Gulde reached on a one-out walk to allow Camden Cobb to hit an RBI double, and an Aiden Poe RBI single on the ensuing at-bat doubled the lead to 2-0.

In the bottom of the second, Aiden Gaseway singled on the first pitch and stole second to put a runner in scoring position. While the next batter struck out, Mattson Davis hit an RBI double to extend the lead to 3-0.

After a pair of walks to load the bases, Cobb hit an RBI double to plate a pair of runs and a Poe sacrifice fly put Vincent up 6-0 at the end of the inning.

Poe continued to dominate on the mound with swing-and-miss pitches, and in the bottom half of the third, Davis made the lead 7-0 off an RBI double.

The Jackets finished off the win in the bottom of the fourth by doubling their score in the inning.

With one on and one out, Ray Albright hit an RBI single for the eighth run of the game. An Ethan McEllrath single then led to a first-pitch RBI single by Gaseway.

A walk loaded up the bases once again and a passed ball during the next at-bat put the Jackets in run-rule territory with a 10-0 lead.

Vincent then scored runs on three of the next four plays with a Casen Fields RBI single, Cobb two-run double after a fielder’s choice and a Poe RBI single to put it up 14-0.

Poe then finished off the win on the mound in the fifth inning as he ended the day with nine strikeouts in five shutout innings while allowing just one run and no walks. He also went 2-for-3 at the plate with three RBI.

Cobb finished the game 3-for-3 with a team-high five RBI in the win. Davis went 2-for-2 with a walk, two RBI and two runs.

A day later in Sylacauga, the Jackets went back to work early to take another win.

After a lead-off walk drawn by Fields, an error two batters later allowed him to score and open up a 1-0 lead.

That lead held until the bottom of the third when B.B. Comer scored its first run of the series off an RBI single after the runner escaped the rundown between third base and home plate.

The score remained tied at one through the fourth inning before Vincent capitalized on scoring opportunities in the top of the fifth.

With two outs in the inning and Fields on second thanks to an error and a stolen base, a passed ball brought him home and gave the Jackets a 2-1 lead.

After a Cobb walk, Poe hit a line drive double to score Lucas Mims from second and extend the lead to 3-1.

In the top of the sixth, McEllrath and Landon Archer hit one-out singles to put the pressure back on the Tigers. A catcher error and a wild pitch both during the ensuing at-bat took the lead to 5-1, and after a Fields single, two more runs scored off an error during Gulde’s at-bat.

That sealed the 7-1 win for Vincent to take the series and stave off a tiebreaking third game.

Gulde pitched a complete game to take the win as he worked around one earned run, three total runs, seven hits and three walks to secure three strikeouts.

The Jackets finished area play a perfect 6-0 and will next travel to Victory Christian on Friday, April 5 at 3:30 p.m. in hopes of sweeping the non-area series.