Indians Sweep Commerce In 1st Round
The No. 7 seeded Vidalia Indians made a strong statement in the opening round of the GHSA State Baseball Playoffs, sweeping the Tigers of Commerce High School in a best-of-three series on Thursday at Greg James Field to advance to the second round.
Game 1
The Indians set the tone early in Game 1 thanks to a big night from Ryan Brantley. He got Vidalia on the board in the first inning with a solo home run to center field, igniting the offense.
After Commerce briefly took momentum with two runs in the top fo the third inning, the Indians responded in the bottom of the third when Clay continued from page
Mimbs came through with a key single that scored two runs, giving Vidalia a 3-2 lead. Brantley struck again in the fourth inning, launching his second home run of the night — a three-run shot — to extend the lead to 6-2.
Commerce picked up one more run in the top of the sixth inning, but that was all the Indians allowed as they took the win, 6-3.
On the mound, senior Veer Patel delivered a complete game performance, allowing seven hits and two earned runs while striking out eight to secure the win.
Offensively, Cayden Nance and Clay Mimbs each added two hits to help pace the Indians attack.
Game 2 The Indians carried that momentum into Game 2 and wasted no time jumping ahead. Cayden Nance led off the game with a home run to dead center field, putting Vidalia up 1-0. A sacrifice fly in the second inning extended the lead to 2-0.
Commerce battled back to tie the game in the third, but Vidalia regained control in the fifth when Clay Mimbs delivered an RBI single to give the Indians a 3-2 edge.
The game broke open in the sixth inning as Vidalia exploded for seven runs. Nance highlighted the inning with a two-RBI double, finishing with four RBIs on the night. Ryan Brantley also added a two-RBI double, while Reece Wall drew a bases-loaded walk. An infield error brought home two more runs to cap the scoring. Vidalia went on to take the win, 10-2.
Banks Hopkins earned the win on the mound, allowing two unearned runs while striking out four and walking two.
The series win sets the Indians up with a best-ofthree series at home against the Blue Devils of Model. They will play a doubleheader on Thursday, and if necessary will play a game 3 on Friday. Game times TBA.
