Vancleave will play in a winner-take-all Game Three for the Class 5A state baseball championship on Saturday after Tyler West hurled seven complete innings and struck out 11 batters to lead the Bulldogs to a 2-1 win over Lafayette on Friday night at Trustmark Park in Pearl.
“We had to leave it out on the field, but we’ve had our backs against the wall before in the playoffs,” said Vancleave coach Justin Edwards in an on-field interview with 228 Sports reporter Makenzie Knight. “I thought our guys rose to the occasion and played hard.
“They played with passion and with intent and Tyler West did a great job on the mound. And we did enough on the offensive side to win the baseball game.”
Vancleave (28-8) jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and West made both runs stand up.
Asher Henley began the game with a hit for the Bulldogs and Hunter Park followed with a double. Hunter Harper hit a sacrifice fly to score Henley and Layton Eder followed with an RBI double to make it 2-0.
“I was just sitting on a fastball and waited on it and crushed it,” said Eder, who added that the Bulldogs will be looking to ride the momentum into Game Three.
Lafayette (27-8) came back in the second inning to cut the lead in half. Jack East singled to start the home half of the inning and scored on a two-out RBI single by Foster Crockett.
In the fifth, Brody Breithaupt, who paced Lafayette’s attack with three of its seven hits, ripped a two-out triple for the Commodores, but West recorded his ninth strikeout to end the threat.
That was the last time Lafayette threatened to score.
West, who threw 112 pitches, retired the side in order in the seventh to put Lafayette away.
“I had to go out there and fill it up and we scratched out two in the first and I was like I had to go out there and do my thing,” said West.
Commodores pitcher Tanner Harris was also strong, allowing just four hits and fanning four in going the distance.
Vancleave, which dropped a tough 8-7 loss in 12 innings in the series opener, will be aiming for its first state baseball championship since 2018.
Vancleave will send Levi Tapp to the mound for Saturday’s game, which is set for 7 p.m. at Trustmark Park.
“We’re excited about the opportunity,” said Edwards of the chance to bring a state championship back to Jackson County. “The focus is to keep the main thing the main thing.
“To have the chance to bring the trophy back to Vancleave is something we’re going to take pride in.”
