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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

OXFORD – The Vincent Yellow Jackets earned the first three of what they hope to be more wins at Oxford’s Choccolocco Park Signature Field, home of the AHSAA Baseball State Championship, as they cruised to three victories in two days against tough opposition.

Vincent defeated the Class 4A Jacksonville Golden Eagles 6-2 before beating the Childersburg Tigers 5-1 on Monday, March 24 and the Holly Pond Broncos 11-1 in five innings on Tuesday, March 25.

In the first game against Jacksonville, the Jackets cruised to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first as they racked up four doubles over the course of the inning. Two of them from Aiden Poe and Ethan McElrath generated runs while a third run came from Landon Archer’s ground out.

The Golden Eagles responded in the top of the third when a single and a double to start the inning led to a run off a passed ball and another off a sacrifice fly, cutting the deficit to 3-2.

However, those would be Jacksonville’s only runs of the game as Poe settled into a groove from there. He finished with five strikeouts in seven innings against one earned run, two total runs, five hits and a walk.

Like the Golden Eagles, Vincent started the bottom of the third with a single and a double, this time from Grayson Gulde and Archer respectively. While the next batter struck out, Keller Finn and Calvin Johnson hit back-to-back singles to extend the lead to 5-2.

A run off a fielder’s choice play in the bottom of the fourth finished off the 6-2 win for the Jackets.

Gulde was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, Poe went 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run and Finn finished a perfect 2-for-2 with an RBI.

Vincent turned right around and faced Childersburg in the second half of the doubleheader.

While the Jackets couldn’t capitalize off a Poe triple in the top of the first, they overcame a pair of walks in the bottom of the second to get a chance to go ahead in the third.

Vincent loaded up the bases with one out thanks to a Casen Fields single, an Aiden Gasaway fielder’s choice and a hit by pitch. Gulde burst the game open with a two-run double, and two batters later, McElrath brought two more runners home with an RBI single for the 4-0 lead.

That lead held through the bottom of the sixth when a lead-off single from the Tigers turned into an RBI triple and their first run of the game.

It proved to be too little, too late as the Jackets finished off the 5-1 win in the top of the seventh with a two-out RBI double from Finn.

Archer got the win with five innings of one-run baseball, earning six strikeouts against two hits and four walks. Gasaway got the two-inning save with a pair of perfect innings and three strikeouts.

Gulde was 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk, two RBI and two runs. McElrath had a 2-for-4 game with two RBI and Fields was 2-for-4 with a run.

The next day against Holly Pond, Vincent fell behind early after a passed ball scored a runner that reached on a lead-off single to start the game.

However, a walk and a single in the bottom half of the inning led to an RBI double from Gulde, plating the first two of 11 unanswered runs.

After a scoreless second inning, the Jackets pulled away for a commanding lead with nine runs in the third.

After a walk and a single to start the inning, Gasaway brought a run home off a ground out to kick off the rally. Poe then launched a fly ball to center that led to an inside-the-park home run, scoring him and Fields for the 5-1 lead.

Three of the next four batters reached off a pair of singles and a walk, and Gulde and McElrath came home off a two-run double from Johnson.

Lane Mims kept the inning alive with a walk before Fields cleared the bases by ripping a double to left, giving the Jackets a 10-1 lead after three innings.

Fields kept Holly Pond’s offense at bay in the fourth and fifth innings, finishing with seven strikeouts in five innings and allowing one run, three hits and two walks.

That set up the Vincent offense to finish the job in the bottom of the fifth. After back-to-back singles from Johnson and Dakota Newton, Fields brought Johnson home on a ground out to seal the 11-1 win in five innings.

In addition to his pitching performance, Fields went 2-for-4 at the plate with four RBI and a run. Poe was 2-for-3 with a run in addition to his two-run inside-the-park home run.

Gulde, McElrath and Johnson each finished 2-for-3 with Gulde earning a walk, two RBI and a run, Johnson securing two RBI and two runs and McElrath getting a run.

The Jackets will take a 17-5 record into the rest of their spring break and will be back in action on the road on Monday, March 31 at 4:30 p.m. against the Class 5A Montevallo Bulldogs.