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Vincent rode dominant pitching performances from Landon Archer and Aiden Poe to sweep its area series against Westminster OM. (For the Reporter/Dawn Harrison)

By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

The Vincent Yellow Jackets got off to a flying start in area play as they took their first Class 2A, Area 9 series of the season against a county foe in the Westminster School at Oak Mountain Knights.

Vincent took a pair of shutouts to earn the series sweep, defeating Westminster OM 10-0 in six innings on Tuesday, March 18 at Vincent Middle High School before winning 9-0 on Wednesday, March 19 at Heardmont Park.

Landon Archer dominated throughout game one of the series, earning 11 strikeouts across six shutout innings while surrendering just four hits and a walk. Two of those hits came off the bat of Davis Franklin, who led the Knights with a 2-for-3 day at the plate.

Vincent’s first three batters of the game reached in the bottom half of the first. That set up Grayson Gulde to draw a bases-loaded walk and Archer to bring another run home off a sacrifice fly.

Another walk meant Calvin Johnson had two on by the time he came to the plate with two outs. He took the first pitch he saw to left for a single and gave the hosts a 3-0 lead at the end of the inning.

The Jackets wouldn’t score again until the bottom of the fourth, when singles from Casen Fields and Aiden Poe put two on. Fields would steal second ahead of Poe’s single, and he eventually stole home during Gulde’s at-bat for the 4-0 advantage.

Vincent played small ball in the bottom of the fourth inning after Ethan McElrath reached off a hit by pitch to start the frame. David Newton got him to second with a sacrifice bunt, Johnson put him on third with a ground out and Lane Mims brought him home with an RBI single for the 5-0 lead.

The Jackets then shut it down in the bottom of the sixth with a five-run inning. Aiden Gasaway and Poe started the inning with back-to-back singles before Gulde loaded up the bases with a walk. Then, Archer and McElrath hit back-to-back two-run doubles to take the lead to 9-0.

While the next batter grounded out, McElrath advanced to third and came home for the game-ending run two batters later off a passed ball.

Gasaway finished 3-for-4 with two runs and Poe was 2-for-2 with a walk and a run. Archer earned 3 RBI in a 1-for-3 day while McElrath finished with two RBI and two runs off a 1-for-1 game with two walks.

The next day at Heardmont Park, neither team scored until the top of the fourth as both pitchers were in prime form. Both teams only had a hit apiece in the first three innings thanks to stellar starts from Westminster OM’s Tucker Bradberry and Vincent’s Poe.

The Jackets shifted the tides in the top of the fourth when Gasaway and Poe each reached base on singles to start the inning. Gulde then bunted to try and advance both runners, but an error put him on second and scored both Gasaway and Poe to open up a 2-0 lead.

While the next batter struck out, McElrath kept the scoring going with an RBI single before Keller Finn’s RBI ground out made it a 4-0 advantage.

Neither team scored in the fifth, but a one-out single from Archer in the top of the sixth set up McElrath to launch a two-run home run to center for the 6-0 lead.

Vincent also started the seventh strong with runners on the corners and just one out after a pitching change for the Knights. Poe then plated both runners with a run-scoring hit that saw him reach second off an error.

Gulde then capped off the day with an RBI double to finish off the 9-0 win.

Poe finished the game with nine strikeouts in seven shutout innings, surrendering just one hit and no walks. He also went 2-for-4 at the plate with two runs and two RBI.

McElrath was 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs, Gasaway finished 2-for-4 with two runs and Gulde had a 2-for-4 day with a run and an RBI.

Vincent dropped to 14-5 overall after losing to Bowdon 8-1 on Friday, March 21. The Jackets will be in showcase action at Choccolocco Park in Oxford on Monday, March 24 when they face Jacksonville at 9 a.m. and Childersburg at 11 a.m.

As for Westminster OM, it dropped to 8-7 overall and 2-2 in area play. The Knights are finished with their initial area slate and will have to await the result of Vincent’s series with Cornerstone Schools to learn its playoff fate.

They will be in tournament action from March 24-26 with Monday, March 24’s doubleheader taking place at Elberta High School. Westminster will then face Gardendale at Orange Beach High School on Tuesday, March 25 before playing Headland on Wednesday, March 26.

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