The Van Vandals will challenge the Kaufman Lions at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Van sitting on ten straight wins and Kaufman on three.
Van is headed in fresh off scoring the most runs they have all season. They were the clear victors by an 18-1 margin over Kemp on Friday. The Vandals might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 matchups by six runs or more this season.
Grady Baetz
| 04/11/25 @ Kemp | 9 |
| 04/04/25 @ Athens | 10 |
| 03/28/25 vs Brownsboro | 12 |
| 03/21/25 @ Mabank | 10 |
Grady Baetz made a splash no matter where he played. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out nine batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024.
In other batting news, Van let Asher Hawkins and Easton Hinch run wild. Hawkins scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4, while Hinch went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. What's more, Hawkins posted three RBI, the most he's had since back in April of 2024. The team also got some help courtesy of Rawly Hinch, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI.
Van was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .452. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive games.
Meanwhile, Kaufman owes their pitching crew a big pat on the back after their performance on Friday. They came out on top against Crandall by a score of 3-0.
Abraham Ramos tossed a big game, not allowing a single earned run and allowing only two hits while striking out eight over six innings pitched. He is becoming a predictor of Kaufman's success: when he posts at least eight strikeouts the team is 2-1 (and 6-12-1 when he doesn't).
At the plate, Kaufman's victory was truly a team effort as three different players contributed at least one hit. One of them was Angel Montes, who scored a run while going 1-for-3. Matthew Carrillo also deserves some recognition as he brought in his first RBI of the season.
Van pushed their record up to 23-6-1 with the win, which was their eighth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 11.1 runs over those games. As for Kaufman, their win bumped their record up to 8-13-1.
Kaufman's pitching crew has a crucial task ahead of them: Van has hit smart this season, having averaged an OBP of .459. It's a different story for Kaufman, though, as they've only averaged .318. Will they be able to contain Van's hitters? Check MaxPreps after the match for a full breakdown of the game, commentary, and other baseball content.
