By SAM STAFF/Sports Writer

ELLISVILLE — Vancleave is one win away from making its way to the baseball state championship series for the first time in six years.

The Bulldogs handed home-standing South Jones an 8-1 thumping Friday night in game one of the Class 5A South State championship series. A win Saturday night back at home at “The Landing” will stamp Vancleave’s ticket for its first trip to the state title tilt since the Bulldogs won their only state crown on the diamond in 2018 in Class 4A.

Vancleave slapped around Braves ace pitcher and Southern Miss signee Cole Richardson in the series opener. Richardson came into the match-up with a 7-1 record and a minuscule earned run average of less than 0.88, but that didn’t impress the Bulldog batters as they reached him for nine hits and six runs in just the first two innings of the contest.

Vancleave wasted no time in jumping out to a quick and commanding lead it would never relinquish with those six markers, three each in the first two stanzas.

In the top of the first, the group of unfriendly visitors sent eight hitters to the plate. Martin Shaw’s two-run single was the big blow in the frame for the Bulldogs, while Aidan Tapp followed that with an RBI-single of his own to make it 3-0.

There was more in store in the second, as VHS sent eight more batters to the dish and doubled its advantage to 6-0. Tyler West made it 4-0 when he drove in a run on a run-ssoring fielders choice. Hunter Harper’s RBI-Sacrifice fly made it 5-0, and Shaw drove in his third run in two frames when his RBI-single made it 6-0.

Tapp’s two-run double in the top of the seventh ended the scoring.

Meanwhile, those eight runs were far more than enough support for Harper. The junior southpaw dominated South Jones, as he went the distance on the mound to pick up the win allowing six hits while striking out seven and walking none.

The Braves avoided the shutout with a lone run in the fourth frame.

The Bulldogs banged out an impressive 12 hits in the win. Shaw posted game-high totals in hits with three and RBIs with three as well. Asher Henley, Layton Eder and Tapp each chipped in two hits apiece o the winning effort, and Tapp also had a game-high three RBIs along with Shaw.

Richardson allowed 10 hits and those six early runs in five frames of work to suffer the loss.