Baseball Recap: Van Sets Scoring Season-High Against Kemp

Vandals

Margin (Wins)

04/11/25 @ Kemp	17
04/08/25 vs Kemp	12
02/21/25 vs Quitman	12
03/22/25 @ Terrell	11
03/08/25 vs De Kalb	11

Winning is always nice, but doing so behind a season-high score is even better (just ask Van). They blew past the Kemp Yellowjackets 18-1 on Friday. The Vandals might be getting used to big wins seeing as the team has won 14 games by six runs or more this season.

Grady Baetz made a splash no matter where he played. On the mound, he struck out nine batters over four innings while giving up just one earned run off three hits (and only one walk). He has been consistent recently: he hasn't tossed less than nine strikeouts in four consecutive appearances. He was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-5 with one home run, three RBI, and two runs. That's the most RBI he has posted since back in April of 2024.

In other batting news, Asher Hawkins and Easton Hinch did most of the damage at the plate: Hawkins scored three runs and stole a base while going 3-for-4, while Hinch went 2-for-4 with one home run, two runs, and one stolen base. That's the most runs Hawkins has posted since back in March. Another player making a difference was Rawly Hinch, who went 1-for-3 with one triple, one stolen base, and two RBI.

Van was getting hits left and right and finished the game having posted a batting average of .452. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their batting average total in three consecutive matchups.

Van's win was their eighth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 23-6-1. The road victories came thanks in part to their pitching effort, having only surrendered 3.4 runs on average over those games. As for Kemp, they are on a 15-game losing streak that has dropped them down to 0-15.

When Van and Kemp next hit the field, they'll be up against teams who recently just can't seem to lose. The Vandals will face off against Kaufman and their three-game winning streak at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday. Meanwhile, Kemp will try to stop Mabank's three-game winning streak when they meet at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday.