Vidalia Sweeps Lyons
It was a big week for baseball in Toombs County as the #1 ranked Vidalia High School Indians and the #5 ranked Toombs County High School Bulldog baseball teams met for a threegame Region series. Vidalia showed why they are the top ranked team in the state of Georgia as they swept the Bulldogs and outscored them 34-5 in those three games.
Game 1
In the top of the first inning the Indians got things started in the first game of the series on Tuesday in Lyons. With runners on base an error by the Bulldogs allowed the Indians to get two runs across to take the early lead.
Vidalia added two more runs in the top of the second inning as they extended their lead to 4-0. The Bulldogs did manage to get a run across in the bottom half of the frame as Alex Grody hit an RBI double. That run though was the only run that TCHS managed to get in the game.
VHS added a run in the top of the third inning, and then in the sixth they scored one more to give them a 6-1 lead. Vidalia capped off the first game of the series with two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to take the 8-1 win over the Bulldogs.
Bryson Whited and Walker Moncus led VHS with 2 RBI's each and Ty Dalley and Hughes Graham each had two hits in the game. Landry Mead went the distance for the Indians and had 13 strikeouts in the game to pick up the win on the mound.
Game 2
The second game of the series was at Vidalia on Wednesday night of last week, and again the Indians rolled to a big Region win.
After a scoreless first inning, VHS continued from page
got on the board in the second as Caden Spivey started things off with a walk. He later came in to score on a ball hit by Jordan Walden that was booted by the Bulldogs.
In the third inning VHS added to their lead as Moncus drove in a run with an RBI single, and then Michael Blount came through with a 2 RBI double to put VHS on top 4-0.
Both teams were scoreless in the fourth inning, but in the bottom of the fifth the Indians plated two more as Mead and Dalley both had RBI hits. That put VHS on top 6- 0.
The Bulldogs finally broke through in the top of the sixth inning. Chandler Lynn walked and then an error on a ball hit by Chase Mullelman put two runners on base. Bryson Stanley followed with a fielder's choice that put the runners into scoring position. Wil Watts drove in both Lynn and Musselman to close the lead to 6-2.
The Indians answered with three more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning to extend their lead to 9-2, and then they held the Bulldogs in the top of the seventh to get the win.
Blount and Mead each had 3 RBI's in the game with Blount also picking up 3 hits. Gordy led the Bulldogs with two hits and Watts had both RBI's. Spivey got the win on the mound for VHS and recorded 11 strikeouts in the game.
Game 3
In the third game of the series on Thursday, freshman Brantley Upshaw got the call for the Bulldogs and had a solid first inning shutting down the Indians 1, 2, 3, on a very windy day in Lyons.
Whited was on the mound for VHS. He walked Lynn, and then Lynn took second on a ball hit by Musselman. A high pop fly by Treyvone Harris was misplayed because of the wind allowing Lynn to use his speed and come all the way in from second to score.
In the top of the second inning Graham walked to get the offense going. Moncus drove a ball into left center to put runners at first and second for VHS. A walk to Tucker Coleman loaded the bases for the Indians, and then Blount hit a line drive up the middle that scored Chandler Corbett, who was running for VHS catcher Graham to tie the game at 1-1. A walk to Cason Banks brought in another run to put the Indians on top 2-1. But a double play ended the threat from the Indians.
Jason Dukes hit a single for the Bulldogs, but the Indians returned the favor and turned a double play up the middle to shut down TCHS. In the top of the third inning the Indians blew the game wide open. Whited hit a solo home run to get things started for the Indians, and then Dalley reached on an error, and took second on a throwing error. Graham walked, and on ball four Dalley moved to third on a wild pitch. Moncus hit one off the end of the bat, and on the play Dalley scored for a 4-1 lead. Coleman laid down a nice bunt, and a throwing error made it 6-1 as two runs came in to score. VHS made it 7-1 on a hit by Blount ,and then Walden followed with a single. VHS pushed that lead to 10-1, and by the end of the inning VHS was leading 13-1. The Indians scored two more in the fourth and two more in the fifth to push their lead to 17-1. The Bulldogs did put a run across in the bottom of the fifth inning, but that ended the game by the run rule, with VHS winning 17-2. Whited and Moncus each had 3 RBI's in the game, and Whited also added 3 hits. Whited was also the winning pitcher for the Indians. This week the Indians will take on the Falcons of East Laurens in their three-game Region series. The first game was on Tuesday after presstime, and they will be back in action on Thursday in Vidalia at 5:30 p.m. And then play at East Laurens on Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs will face off with Bacon County this week. Game 1 of the series was after presstime on Tuesday. They will meet in Lyons on Thursday at 5:45 p.m. and then on Friday in Alma at 6:00 p.m.
Toombs County High School freshman Brantley Upshaw got the call in Game 3 of the series and came out firing for the Bulldogs.Photo by Mike Branch
