HANCEVILLE, Ala. — Hanceville hosted Vinemont and Falkville Thursday afternoon and the Bulldogs collected wins over both the Eagles and the Blue Devils. A big fourth inning by the Bulldogs helped them pull ahead of Vinemont on the way to a 7-6 win and both local teams ended up getting wins over Falkville, 15-3 and 18-8, respectively.
Hanceville 7 – Vinemont 6
Vinemont didn’t waste any time jumping out to an early lead in their opening at-bats. Michael Foust reached on a one-out error, then Jacob Hale got hit by the pitch. Ayden Thomason put the Eagles in the run column first on an RBI single to center field, then later on, Hale stole home and Thomason ended up scoring on a passed ball to give Vinemont a 3-0 lead.
Hanceville countered in their half. Jake Cornelius drew a leadoff walk, then Nelson Arteaga reached on an Eagle error. Later on, Cornelius stole third and home to put the Bulldogs on the scoreboard as that made it a 3-1 game. The Bulldogs looked to cut into the deficit even more in the bottom of the third. Three straight walks loaded the bases for Gabe Ognilla, who proceeded to hit into an RBI fielder’s choice to cut it to 3-2.
Vinemont answered right back in the top of the fourth. Austin Marsh hit a one-out single and moved to second on a Hanceville error on the same play. One out later, Hayden Robinson hit an RBI single to left field to make it a 4-2 game. Hanceville responded in their half as they sent nine batters to the plate and the damage came with two outs. Dalton Johnson drew a walk, then Ashton Hurst hit a single and Cornelius got hit by the pitch to load the bases. Dylan Lazarro later scored on a passed ball to cut it to 4-3, then after an intentional walk, Les Fischer quickly cleared the bases on the first pitch as he lined a three-run triple to right field. He scored on an Eagle error to give the Bulldogs a 7-4 lead.
Vinemont looked to make things a little interesting in the top of the sixth. Rush Sandlin drew a leadoff walk, then a sacrifice bunt moved him to second. One out later, back-to-back RBI singles by Foust and Hale made it a 7-6 game. They couldn’t cut anymore into the deficit after that as Ognilla worked around a leadoff walk in the final inning to get the final three outs and Hanceville held on to defeat Vinemont 7-6.
Fischer led the way for Hanceville with a hit and three RBIs. Ognilla added an RBI, while Cody Belcher and Hurst each ended up with a hit in the contest. For Vinemont, Hale finished with a pair of hits and an RBI. Robinson, Foust, and Thomason each added a hit and an RBI in the game, while Marsh chipped in with a hit of his own.
Vinemont 18 – Falkville 8
Falkville jumped out to a quick lead in their opening at-bats as an RBI single and an RBI groundout gave them an early 2-0 lead. They added a run in the top of the second on a Vinemont error as that made it 3-0. The Eagles got in the run column in their half as Joshua Rhodes scored on a double-play ball to cut it to 3-1. The Blue Devils continued to add to their lead in the top of the fourth as a one-out, two-run triple, an RBI groundout, and an RBI triple pushed their lead to 7-1.
As quick as a flash, though, Vinemont responded with a big inning of their own as they sent 13 batters to the plate. Thomason and Rhodes drew back-to-back walks to lead off the inning, then an RBI fielder’s choice by Rylan McRae cut it to 7-2. A Falkville error loaded the bases for Chayce Sandlin, who proceeded to line a two-run double to left field, then Rush Sandlin scored on a wild pitch on the next one to make it a 7-5 game. One out later, Hale tied the game at seven on a two-run double to right field, then an RBI single up the middle by Thomason gave the Eagles an 8-7 lead.
Vinemont added to their lead in their next at-bats as they loaded the bases with one out. Rush Sandlin scored on a Falkville error, then Thomason drove in a run on an RBI groundout to push their lead to 10-7. The Blue Devils cut it to 10-8 in the top of the sixth as they scored on a wild pitch, but the Eagles broke the game wide open in their half. McRae and Banks Borwick each drew a walk to lead off the inning, then after they stole second and third, Rush Sandlin hit an RBI single to left field to give Vinemont an 11-8 lead.
They were just getting started, though, as Chayce Sandlin followed that up with a two-run double to left field, then Robinson hit an RBI single to right fielder to make it a 14-8 game. Hale later hit a two-run single and ended up scoring on a balk, then Thomason later scored on a Blue Devil error that ended the game as Vinemont picked up an 18-8 win over Falkville.
Hale finished with two hits and a game-high five RBIs for Vinemont. Sandlin wasn’t too far behind him as he added a pair of hits and four RBIs. Thomason ended up with two hits and two RBIs. Robinson and Rush Sandlin each added a hit and an RBI. McRae and Borwick each ended up with an RBI, while Foust chipped in with a pair of hits of his own.
Vinemont will head home to take on Decatur Heritage Tuesday.
Hanceville 15 – Falkville 3
Falkville got in the run column first on an RBI single, but Hanceville’s bats got red-hot in a hurry in their half. Arteaga drew a one-out walk, then Fischer reached on a Falkville error. Ognilla tied the game up at one on an RBI single up the middle, then Jackson Cleveland lined a two-run triple to right field to give Hanceville a 3-1 lead. Cleveland later scored on a wild pitch, then Cody Belcher scored on a passed ball as Hanceville’s lead was now at four at 5-1.
They quickly broke the game wide open in their next at-bats. They almost batted around twice that inning as they sent 16 batters to the plate and scored 10 runs. The big hits came from Arteaga (RBI double and two-run double), Ognilla (RBI single), Belcher (RBI single), and Dalton Johnson (RBI single) as the Bulldogs stretched their lead to 15-1. Falkville added a pair of runs in the top of the fifth on a Hanceville error, but the deficit was too much for them to overcome as the Bulldogs ended up knocking off the Blue Devils 15-3.
Arteaga finished with three hits and three RBIs for Hanceville. Ognilla and Johnson each added two hits and two RBIs. Cleveland ended up with a hit and a pair of RBIs. Cornelius and Belcher each collected a hit and an RBI in the contest, while Hurst finished with an RBI.
Hanceville will travel to take on Southeastern Saturday.
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