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By ANDREW SIMONSON | Sports Editor

LEEDS – Entering the season with high expectations off a runner-up finish in the Class 2A state championship, the Vincent Yellow Jackets got off to a blistering start in their first game of the season against the Leeds Green Wave.

Tasked with facing a 5A opponent on the road in their season opener, the Jackets plated 10 runs in a 10-2 victory on Friday, Feb. 16 at Leeds High School.

With two runners on and one out in the top of the first, Aiden Poe hit an RBI double to score Casen Fields off the first pitch of the at-bat to take the 1-0 lead.

Ray Albright singled on the next pitch to set up Aiden Gasaway for an RBI single to score Poe and Grayson Gulde to take the lead to 3-0.

Landon Archer then had an RBI groundout to bring Albright home and put the Jackets up 4-0 at the end of the first inning.

Leeds earned two outs in the top of the second inning, but Vincent got right back to scoring thanks to a Camden Cobb double which increased the lead to five.

After Poe walked in the next at-bat, Albright hit an RBI single on the second pitch to score Luke Mims and earn a sixth run.

A passed ball plated Poe and extended the lead to 7-0 to end the top of the second.

After a pair of singles by Vincent in the top of the third, Gulde was faced with a 2-2 pitch with two outs and hit a single to score Archer and take the lead to eight.

The Green Wave got on the board in each of the next two innings off errors to make the score 8-2, but that was as close as they would get.

The Jackets rounded out the scoring in the top of the sixth inning by taking advantage of a pair of walks to start the frame.

Poe doubled to score Keller Finn before Albright hit a fly ball single to left field to send Mims home and plate the 10th and final run from the Vincent offense.

From there, the Jackets held strong the rest of the way and saw out the eight-run win.

Poe earned seven strikeouts in five innings of work against one hit, two runs and a walk. Gulde also earned two strikeouts in two relief innings.

On offense, Albright went 4-4 with a run and two RBIs. Gulde went 2-3 with two hits, two walks a run and an RBI.