The Northwest Rankin Cougars are taking a road trip to take on the Vancleave Bulldogs at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Northwest Rankin is coming into the matchup hot, having won their last three games.
Last Saturday, Northwest Rankin was able to grind out a solid victory over West Monroe, taking the game 6-2.
Gabe Hodges looked comfortable as he didn't allow a single hit and allowed only one earned run over four innings pitched. Furthermore, he didn't allow a single hit, the first time he has blanked an opponent since back in April of 2024.
At the plate, Russ Ingram and Brady Saxton did most of the damage at the plate: Ingram went 1-for-2 with one home run and three RBI, while Saxton scored two runs while going 2-for-4. The dominant performance gave Ingram a new career-high in RBI. Another player making a difference was Eli Ladner, who scored a run and stole Two bases. while getting on base in three of his four plate appearances.
Meanwhile, winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Vancleave). They put the hurt on Starkville with a sharp 16-8 win on Monday. With that victory, the Bulldogs brought their scoring average up to 6.3 runs per game.
Hunter Harper made a splash while hitting and pitching. On the mound, he tossed four innings while giving up just one earned (and six unearned) runs off five hits. He has been consistent recently: he hasn't given up more than one walk in three consecutive appearances. He was also big at the plate, scoring a run while going 2-for-4.
In other batting news, Vancleave got a massive performance out of Aidan Tapp, who scored three runs while going 4-for-4. Wyatt Adams also deserves some recognition as he snagged his first stolen base of the season.
Vancleave was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .441. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Starkville only posted a batting average of .300.
The win made it two in a row for Vancleave and bumps their season record up to 8-3. The wins came thanks in part to their hitting performance across that stretch, as they averaged 10.5 runs over those games. As for Northwest Rankin, their record is now 5-7.
