The Forrest County Agricultural Aggies will be defending their home field for the first time this season when they go up against the Vancleave Bulldogs at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Forrest County Agricultural's pitching crew has only allowed 3.8 runs per game this season, so Vancleave's hitters will have their work cut out for them.
On Friday, Forrest County Agricultural didn't have quite enough to beat Hattiesburg and fell 6-4.
Forrest County Agricultural got a good showing from Trip Carpenter, who pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits. Carpenter has been nothing but reliable on the mound: he hasn't given up more than one hit any time he's pitched this season.
At the plate, Forrest County Agricultural saw four different players step up and record at least one hit. One of them was Ethan Norman, who scored two runs and stole a base while going 2-for-4. That's the most runs Norman has posted since back in March of 2024. Preston Anderson also deserves some recognition as he scored his first runs of the season.
Meanwhile, Vancleave put another one in the bag on Friday to keep their perfect season alive. They walked away with a 7-3 victory over St. Martin. That's two games straight that the Bulldogs have won by exactly four runs.
Aiden English looked comfortable as he pitched two innings while giving up no earned runs or hits.
On the hitting side, the team relied heavily on Max Bates, who scored three runs while going 3-for-4. Another player making a difference was Aidan Tapp, who scored a run while going 2-for-3.
Vancleave pushed their record up to 3-0 with the win, which was their ninth straight on the road dating back to last season. Those victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 2.2 runs over those games. As for Forrest County Agricultural, their defeat dropped their record down to 2-2.
The batters for both teams will have to hit smart on Saturday as both have some strikeout artists on the roster. Forrest County Agricultural has been retiring batters left and right this season, having averaged 7 strikeouts per game. However, it's not like Vancleave struggles in that department as they've been averaging 7 strikeouts. Considering how easily both teams rack up Ks, the hitters on both teams better bring their A-game into this one.
Forrest County Agricultural suffered a grim 12-2 defeat to Vancleave in their previous matchup back in February of 2024. Will Forrest County Agricultural have more luck at home instead of on the road? Check MaxPreps after the action for a full breakdown of the game and more baseball content.
