VAN BUREN — Defense was the game plan for both teams in the first round of the Class 2 State Baseball Tournament, but a late rally in the final inning would give a team the edge to sneak to the next round.
The Van Buren Bulldogs went head-to-head against the Portageville at Van Buren High School for an opportunity to pursue a state title. While both teams showed great reliance on the mound on Monday, Portageville was a little more effective at the plate to escape with a 3-1 victory over the Van Buren.
The Bulldogs finish the season with a 19-8 record and Class 2 District 2 champions.
Though the game didn’t go in favor of the Bulldogs, head coach Jacob Nickelson said he was pleased with how the team played all year.
“I'm proud of our work ethic,” Nickelson said. “We pushed through the very end. We talked all week leading here that we would have to give 120% to get to where we wanted to be. I think after our pitching, hitting, our field and even the intangibles that you can't see, it didn’t show the heart that these kids have. I think today was all 120% that we've been building up for, so I'm proud of that.”
The matchup was a low-scoring affair for most of the game, but Van Buren would catch a break with a sacrifice fly ball from Noah Keeney to give his squad a 1-0 lead.
The game’s intensity quickly went to another level at the top of the seventh inning. With the assistance of a new pitcher from the Bulldogs, Portagville saw an opening to get the bases loaded with two outs against them.
Van Buren needed to rely on defense to close out the game, but things would quickly soar as Portageville doubled in the seventh inning with a hit from Mason Adams to put them out front and secure the win.
Adams earned the win for Portageville. He gave up zero hits and one run (zero earned) over three innings, striking out one and walking one. Brady Smith opened the game for the Van Buren Bulldogs. The right-handed pitcher gave up four hits and zero runs over six and one-third innings, striking out six and walking two.
Gage Vanlandingham took the loss for Van Buren. The righty went one-third of an inning, allowing three runs on one hit, striking out none and walking two. Beau Warren led things off on the bump for Portageville. He surrendered one hit and zero runs over four innings, striking out three and walking three.
Keeney led the team with one run batted in, while Benjamin Hawkins led Van Buren with one hit in three at-bats. Adams led Portageville with three runs batted in. The infielder went 1-for-4 on the day.
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