Morgan City defeats Vandy, 7-5

The race for the District 8-4A title got more hectic as Vandebilt lost its first home game of the season to Morgan City 7-5 on Saturday.

After winning 15 consecutive games, the Terriers (22-3, 7-2 district) have dropped two in a row. They were no-hit in a 1-0 lose at Shaw last Thursday.

The Tigers (16-8, 4-4) jumped out in front of Vandebilt’s struggling starter Austin Hebert. On four straight batters in the first inning, he plunked two, walked one, and gave up a grand slam to catcher Asa Isham (2-for-5, 5 RBIs).

“You can’t rebound against a good team like Morgan City when you get down early,” said Vandebilt head coach David Constant, of the 4-0 deficit.

The Terriers got a run in the bottom first when shortstop Evan Mistich scored on a Tigers error.

Morgan City scored one run in the third and fourth innings to push the lead to 6-1 but left the bases loaded in each inning.

“We answered every challenge, but we still left runners in scoring position at crucial times, said Morgan City head coach Richey Garrett. “We really could have done more damage.”

Vandebilt assembled their only rally in the fifth. Mistich (3-for-3, two runs, two RBIs) hit a two-run triple to score Jeff DeBlieux and Jacob Allen.

Next up, Reece Bergeron slapped a single to score Mistich and cut the score to 6-4.

Tigers’ starter Jaron Baily was immediately pulled for Clayton Williamson, who got out of a one out, two on jam.

The Tigers’ Ty Thomas scored on an error in the sixth to extend its lead to 7-4.

Vandebilt’s Doug Champagne drew a bases loaded walk in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 7-5. However, Williamson pitched out of that jam as well.

Baily was the winning pitcher, allowing four runs on seven hits.

Hebert allowed five runs on two hits, two walks, three hit batters, and one strikeout.

“This loss, I think, hurt Vandebilt more than it helped us,” said Garrett. “But it kept us in playoff contention.

Constant took a positive approach to his predicament. “We’re still a game up, and thank God we played well in the first half [of the season],” he said. “We just got to win out and take care of business and worry about the rest when it comes.”