Baseball Recap: Van Beats Canton for Their 13th Straight Win

Vandals

Previous Games

04/17/25 @ Canton	6-1
04/15/25 vs Canton	5-4
04/12/25 vs Kaufman	9-1
04/11/25 @ Kemp	18-1
04/08/25 vs Kemp	14-2
+ 8 more games

Van entered their tilt with Canton on Thursday with 12 consecutive wins, and they'll enter their next game with 13. They walked away with a 6-1 victory over the Eagles. That's the second time they've managed to beat them this season, as they also won 5-4 on Tuesday.

Grady Baetz made a splash while hitting and pitching. He looked comfortable on the mound, striking out ten batters over seven innings while giving up just one earned run off five hits. He has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high.

In other batting news, the team relied heavily on Asher Hawkins, who went 2-for-4 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI. Rawly Hinch was another key player, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with one stolen base, one run, and one double.

Van pushed their record up to 26-6-1 with the win, which was their ninth straight on the road. The road victories came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.6 runs over those games. As for Canton, they have been struggling recently as they've lost five of their last six matchups. That's put a noticeable dent in their 16-11 record this season.

We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Van will square off against rival Lindale at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. The two teams have allowed few runs on average (the Vandals 3.6, the Eagles 2.4) so any runs scored will be well earned. Meanwhile, Canton is set to face off against their familiar foe Mabank at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.