Baseball Recap: Hillcrest Takes Down Ranked J.L. Mann

Hillcrest faced J.L. Mann in a battle between two of the state's top teams on Tuesday. The Rams came out on top against the Patriots by a score of 5-1. That's two games straight that the Rams have won by exactly four runs.

Garrett Shipman spent all seven innings on the mound, and it's clear why: he surrendered only one earned run on four hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than five strikeouts in five consecutive appearances.

Landon Vessell

Hits

03/31/26 @ J.L. Mann	3
03/27/26 vs T.L. Hanna	1
03/25/26 vs Dorman	1
03/24/26 @ T.L. Hanna	2
03/18/26 @ Greenwood	2
+ 6 more games

On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Landon Vessell, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with one stolen base, one run, and one double. That's the most hits he has posted since March 1st. The team also got some help courtesy of Noah Jarolimek, who went a perfect 2-for-2 with three RBI.

The win made it two in a row for Hillcrest and bumps their season record up to 12-3. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered a grand total of 5 runs in those games. As for J.L. Mann, their defeat dropped their record down to 10-4.

The teams didn't have to wait long for a rematch: Hillcrest beat the Patriots by a score of 7-6 on Thursday.