By BAKER ELLIS / Sports Editor

VINCENT – After beating area rival Thorsby two times in two day, the Vincent Yellow Jackets moved to 12-9 on the year and qualified for the 2A state tournament in the process. Vincent beat Thorsby by a single run, 7-6 on March 22 before beating the Rebels once again on March 23 by a final of 3-1.

 

Game 1. Vincent 7 – Thorsby 6

Thorsby took a 2-1 lead into the fifth inning of the Tuesday game against Vincent before the Yellow Jackets opened things up in the bottom of the fifth. Carroll reached base on an error by the Thorsby third baseman to start the bottom of the fifth inning before Chris Phillips took the first pitch he saw into center field for a triple to score Carroll. Matthew Swift was then walked on five pitches to put runners on the corners with no outs, and then Ryan Childers took the first pitch he saw to left field for a double, scoring Phillips from third. Jordan Smith then singled to second base, which scored Swift from third. When the fifth inning was all said and done, the Yellow Jackets had knocked five runs across the board to take a 6-2 lead.

The Rebels however responded immediately in the top of the sixth, knocking four runs of their own across the plate to tie the game at 6-6.

The game stayed tied until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Swift singled to center before Childers and Smith were walked on eight straight pitches to load the bases with no outs. Robbie Albright then hit an 0-2 pitch to the Thorsby third baseman, which scored Swift from third and gave the Yellow Jackets a thrilling 7-6 win.

Ethan Davis, Cole Fincher and Swift combined to get the win from the mound for Vincent.

 

Game 2. Vincent 3 – Thorsby 1

Much like the first meeting, the second game in two days was dramatic as well. Thorsby slapped a run across the plate in the bottom of the second to take a 1-0 lead, a lead which held until the sixth inning. In the sixth inning Caemon Jernigan singled to left field on the fourth pitch he saw to start things off before Saylor Carroll hammered the seventh pitch of his at-bat deep into right field for a triple, scoring Jernigan from first and tying the game. Phillips followed Carroll and hit a sac fly to score Carroll and give the Yellow Jacket the lead. Later in the same inning, Childers singled to right, which scored Swift from second base to give Vincent a 3-1 lead, which the Yellow Jackets held on to, ensuring a playoff berth.

Fincher threw the first six inning of the game for Vincent, throwing 57 pitches and giving up just four hits and a single run while he struck out five before Swift came in to close things out in the seventh.