By SAM STAFF/Sports Writer

Vancleave kept pace with Stone atop the Region 4-5A standings by completing a three game sweep of Wayne County Saturday afternoon.
With the 12-1 win in five frames, the Bulldogs moved to 8-1 in the region race with their eighth straight league win and VHS stands in the second spot just one game behind league-leading Stone.
The Bulldogs went to Waynesboro for the second time time in five days and cruised to a comfortable victory. Earlier in the week, Vancleave beat the War Eagles, 11-0 on the road Tuesday and then earned a 10-0 home win over WCHS on Friday night.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early 4-0 lead, then added three runs in the second, one in the third and four more in the fourth before closing things out. VHS managed 10 hits on the day while limiting the War Eagles to only two.

Layton Eder paced VHS at the plate with a game-high three RBIs and two hits while Tyler West had a pair of hits as well and drove in a run and Martin Shaw added an RBI-double to the winning effort.
Wayne County’s sole run came in the bottom of the second as Bulldog starter Hunter Parker handcuffed the War Eagles for the first four innings on just one hit.
Friday’s 10-0 home win for Vancleave also ended in five innings, Hunter Harper carried the big stick at the plate for the Bulldogs with a game-high three hits and three RBIS including a double, while Asher Henley added a triple and West had a double while Aidan Tapp drove in two runs as well.
West went the five frame distance on the hill to pick up the win.
Vancleave faces Stone in a battle for the top seed in a three game set next week starting Tuesday night in Vancleave.

Stone completed a three game sweep of Laurel with yet another win Friday night.

It was the third time in four days Stone thumped Laurel in three innings to maintain its grip on the top spot in Region 4-5A Thursday night.
The Tomcats tore through the Golden Tornadoes 17-1 in the latest outing, and that comes on the heels of a 16-1 beating in Wiggins Thursday night and a 14-0 thumping on the road Tuesday night.
The Tomcats moved to a perfect 9-0 in the region race with the mercy-rule win, while the Golden Tornadoes drop to 0-7.
“We are playing well right now,” Stone High head coach Sean Miller said. “We’ve been pitching well and limiting walks. Also playing good defense. Offensively we’ve been able to get guys on base and have been putting pressure on the defense. We also have limited strike outs and moved runners.”

Miller was asked if the strong start in the new league by his squad was a surprise.
“Maybe with our record,” he added. “We were 3-8 going into region play. We returned about seven starters from last year and we won our district. But this district is a lot tougher, especially with the three game series format. I think starting the way we did helped us. I think our guys needed some humble pie.”
Meanwhile, in other Region 4-5A play Friday night, Gautier stunned two-time defending Class 5A state champion East Central with a seven run rally in the top of the seventh inning to overcome a seemingly insurmountable 8-3 deficit and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat with a 10-8 win.
The win guides the Gators into third place in the region race at 4-4, while the Hornets have lost seven region games for the first time in school history and sit in fifth place at 2-7 in the league standings and as of now are out of the playoffs.