By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

WIGGINS — The rubber match in a key Region 4-5A series between Vancleave and Stone is set for Saturday afternoon.

And, that makes the third game in five days between the Tomcats and Bulldogs this week’s “Vertical Raise Game of the Week” for SouthMiss6 Sports.

Each week during the prep basketball season, SouthMiss6 Sports will feature a “GOTW” sponsored by Vertical Raise, the premier online fundraising platform for athletic teams and associated clubs and supporters of all ages.

Stone took game one at home Tuesday. Tomcat standout Brax Batson scattred six hits and struck out eight in leading his team to a 4-1 win which was their fourth straight Region 4-5A win.

Stone got a two-run single from Dalton Danzey in the bottom of the second to take a lead it would never relinquish. Then, Nolan Scott’s two-run home run in the sixth stanza sealed the deal.

That pair of timely hits was exactly half of all the Stone hits in the game, but enough to take down VHS senior ace Dane McElroy, who had been dominant in posting two straight shutouts over the past two weeks in league play.

Harris Henry had two hits to lead VHS, while Kyle Capers had a double.

However, on Thursday night, Stone’s win streak came to an end.

Vancleave’s Conner Mitchell doubled home Wyatt Adams with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning to break open a scoreless deadlock and give the Bulldogs an exciting 1-0 win.

The game settled into a pitcher’s duel between Vancleave’s Carter Fazio and Stone’s Kellan Burge, and neither hurler deserved to lose this one as each went the distance. Fazio tossed a three-hitter, while striking out eight and walking none in perhaps the best outining of his career. Burge stooed to-to-toe with him on the mound, striking out seven and allowing six hits.

Adams had two hits to lead VHS offensively.

Blaine Morgan collected all three of Stone’s hits.

“It was a big win for us for sure.,” second-year VHS head coach Zac Haarala said.. “We haven’t been able to find a way to win the last couple games and against a good team like Stone, especially with their guy on the mound, we knew it was going to be a battle. Hopefully this gets us going in the right direction for the backend of the season.”

Stone is now 13-8 overall and 4-4 in the region race, while Vancleave is also 4-4 in the loop and 11-9 overall.

As the premier online fundraising platform, Vertical Raise utilizes the newest technology through a tested combination of email, text and social media campaigns to maximize the reach of your fundraiser.

Our successes are built upon our best-in-class email deliverability, detailed tracking and the complete personalization of every participant’s page. Combining this proprietary system, with experienced and passionate fundraising coaches has made us the most effective fundraising platform available.