The Vermillion Tanagers will look to defend their home field on Monday against the West Central Trojans at 4:00 p.m. The squads are rolling into the game with opposing streaks: Vermillion has struggled recently with three defeats in a row, while West Central will arrive with 28 straight wins.
Vermillion is coming in fresh off a high-stakes matchup with another one of South Dakota's top teams: Gayville-Volin, who was ranked 20th in their home state at the time (Vermillion was ranked 15th). Vermillion fell just short of Gayville-Volin by a score of 9-8 on Thursday.
Chandler Clevelandc was huge no matter where she played even without the win. She looked comfortable on the mound, striking out 12 batters over 5.1 innings while giving up just two earned runs off five hits (and not a single walk). Clevelandc has been nothing but reliable: she hasn't tossed less than six strikeouts in four consecutive pitching appearances. Clevelandc was also stellar in the batter's box, going 2-for-4 with a home run, two runs, and a triple.
In other batting news, Jenna Peterson made the most of her time at bat despite the final result and scored a run and stole a base while going 4-for-4. Bailey Baylorc was another key contributor, scoring two runs while going 1-for-3.
Even though they lost, Vermillion was hitting in the alleys and finished the game with five doubles. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Gayville-Volin only hit a.
Meanwhile, West Central can now show off 11 landslide victories after their most recent game on Friday. They beat Sioux Falls Christian by the very same score they won with in their prior game: 12-0. West Central's pitching crew has been rock solid lately; the team hasn't given up a run in their last three matches.
Vermillion's loss dropped their record down to 9-5. As for West Central, they pushed their record up to 17-0 with that victory, which was their 14th straight on the road dating back to last season.
Vermillion might still be hurting after the 16-0 defeat they got from West Central in their previous meeting back in May of 2023. Thankfully for Vermillion, Kaylee Olson (who didn't allow a single earned run and only two hits while striking out six over four innings pitched) won't be suiting up this time. Will that be enough to change the final result? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
