By CURTIS ROCKWELL/Sports Director

VANCLEAVE — It didn’t take first-year East Central head coach Stephen Garrard long to make his mark on the long-running rivalry with Jackson County rival Vancleave.

Garrard’s Hornets wrapped up a sweep of the Bulldogs in Region 4-5A play Saturday afternoon on the road with a 9-0 whitewash. The three wins marked the first time in 17 years that East Central won three straight games over arch rival VHS.

The wins solidified the Hornets well into the third seed in the region race at this point at 8-4, and it also secured a spot in the state playoffs for ECHS for the 16th straight season.

On Saturday, East Central broke open a 0-0 deadlock with a seven spot in the top of the fourth to seal the win.

Gage Damazio’s two-run single was the big blow for the Hornets in the decisive eruption, as ECHS combined five hits, three walsk and a key error by VHS to pile up the runs.

Brody Long had two hits, including an RBI-double in the fourth, and he also drove in two runs for the Hornets while Pacey Baria also had two hits in the winning effort, including a double as well. Mason Prouty also had

two hits, and Troy Driskell had a double.

Christian McFaul worked six solid shutout stanzas on the hill to pick up the win, scattering just three singles. He only faced 20 batters in his stint.

Conner Mitchell took the loss for the Bulldogs.

The outing marked the second thumping of the Bulldogs by the Hornets in less than 24 hours, after a 10-0 home win in Hurley in just five frames Friday night.

McFaul weilded the big stick at the plate for the Hornets in that one, posting game-high totals in both hits with three and RBIs with four thanks triao a two-run triple in the third inning and a two-run double in the fourth.

Grant Vick also had two hits and drove in two runs for ECHS, while Baria had two hits and Long a pair of RBIs.

Anthony Bonfiglio tossed all five frames to pick up the win on a two-hitter with six strike outs.

Carter Fazio took the loss.

East Central is now 14-11 overall, and on a six game win streak. Vancleave falls to 12-12 overall, and 4-8 in the region race. The Bulldogs are one game ahead of Stone for the fourth spot in the standings.

East Central faces second place Purvis next week while Vancleave gets league-leading Northeast Jones. The Tornadoes and Tigers are tied up at 9-3 in the region race, but NEJ has the tie-breaker.