Baseball Recap: Tarboro Victorious

Tarboro's tournament run continued when they took on Rocky Mount Academy on Thursday. The Vikings came out on top against the Eagles by a score of 11-7. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Vikings.

Stephen Ribustello

Batters Struck Out (Career)

04/09/26 vs Rocky Mount Academy	7
04/02/26 @ Farmville Central	4
03/20/26 @ Roanoke Rapids	4
03/05/26 @ Louisburg	4
04/01/25 @ Perquimans County	4

Stephen Ribustello made a splash while hitting and pitching. He struck out seven batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just one earned (and three unearned) runs off four hits. Those seven strikeouts gave him a new career-high. He was also big at the plate, getting on base in three of his four plate appearances with three stolen bases and three runs.

In other batting news, Reggie Bess II and Landon Browning did most of the damage at the plate: Bess II went 2-for-5 with two stolen bases, three RBI, and two runs, while Browning went a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs, one stolen base, and one RBI. Those three hits gave Browning a new career-high. Another player making a difference was Jayden Armfield, who went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.

Tarboro always had someone on base and finished the game having posted an OBP of .541. They are a perfect 3-0 when they post an OBP of .513 or better.

Tarboro's win bumped their record up to 3-10. As for Rocky Mount Academy, they dropped their record down to 5-6 with the defeat, which was their third straight on the road.

Tarboro and Rocky Mount Academy could both be facing uphill battles in their next games considering their disadvantage in the MaxPreps North Carolina Rankings. The Vikings (ranked 425th) will meet Jefferson Forest (ranked 122nd) at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Meanwhile, Rocky Mount Academy will take on Faith Christian at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday with a big rank disadvantage (275 vs. 37).