Canton had lost three straight at home, but on Thursday they dropped their record down to 16-11 to make it four. They took a 6-1 hit to the loss column at the hands of the Van Vandals. Unfortunately, that's the second time they've come up short against the Vandals this season, as they also lost their prior matchup 5-4 on Tuesday.
As for Van, they have been performing incredibly well recently as they've won 17 of their last 18 matchups. That's provided a nice bump to their 26-6-1 record this season. Those wins came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.1 runs on average over those games.
For Van's part, Grady Baetz was a major factor 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. Baetz has been nothing but reliable: he hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in five consecutive appearances. He was also solid in the batter's box, going 3-for-4 with two doubles and one RBI. Those two doubles gave him a new career-high.
In other batting news, Asher Hawkins was excellent, going 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.
We've got plenty of inter-district action coming up soon. Canton is set to square off against their familiar foe Mabank at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Van will challenge 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.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
