The Stone High Tomcats were riding a nine-game winning streak and leading Region 4-5A when they came into a critical three-game series against the Vancleave Bulldogs.
All of that ended on Tuesday night in Vancleave, thanks to a hot performance at the plate by Bulldogs catcher Layton Eder. Eder was 3-for-4 with two doubles and four RBIs, leading Vancleave to an 8-2 series-opening victory. It was the Bulldogs’ ninth win in a row.
Vancleave’s Asher Henley walked to start the bottom of the first inning and ended up on second after a sacrifice bunt by Hunter Parker. After Hunter Harper walked, Eder smacked a double to left-center field and brought in Henley and Harper for a 2-0 Bulldogs lead.
“Layton set the tone for us early with the two-run double in the first inning, allowing us to throw the first punch,” said Vancleave coach Justin Edwards. “Layton has continued to come up big for us all year long. He’s a big competitor who works his tail off and gave us what we needed tonight.”
Harper performed well on the mound, giving up just one earned run on seven hits with four strikeouts. It was a game Edwards needed from his junior pitcher as Vancleave moved into a tie with Stone at 8-1 in the region.
“When Hunter pitches well, he is always around the zone and does a great job of keeping hitters off balance,” said Edwards. “He did great on the mound, but our defense made outstanding plays behind him to keep Stone from putting anything together offensively.”
The Tomcats, losing for the first time this season in region play, let some things get away from them defensively.
“We weren’t very competitive tonight, and, in a way, I think it had a lot to do with how we played last week,” said Tomcat coach Sean Miller. “I was worried about that as a coach. So the goal is for us to be more competitive and make routine plays. They did what they were supposed to do tonight, and we didn’t. It’s that simple.
“It’s going to be interesting because we still have two more games to play against each other this week, so we will see how it goes.”
With the new regions in Mississippi this year, teams play each other three times in a week, and it has been well-received by most coaches.
“Having this showdown with Stone is great and we saw it coming as they have been running through the district, much like we have since the loss to East Central,” said Edwards. “That’s really what this is. It’s a battle for first place and we will see if we can come out on top.”
Tomcats designated hitter Baley Brogan had two hits and scored two runs and leadoff hitter and first baseman William Breland also had two hits and the only RBI for Stone.
Parker had two hits and scored two runs for Vancleave.
The teams will battle again Friday night at Stone, then will wrap up the series back at Vancleave on Saturday.
