MOUNT VERNON — The Mount Vernon Yellow Jackets baseball team wanted a boost to its momentum for the stretch of OCC games ahead.
Franklin Heights was the perfect solution.
The Jackets took advantage of five Falcons’ errors to win a run-rule shortened game, 10-0.
Four of the five errors came in the first two innings, and came at inopportune times for Franklin Heights. In the first, shortstop Adam Little misplayed a Kenny Rucker groundball that allowed Riley Swanson safe access to second. Later in the inning, Little booted a grounder by Ryan Goetzman, allowing Swanson to score.
In the second, with two outs, third baseman Brandon Vogelsang misplayed a Ryan Shackle ground ball. On the next play, Vogelsang booted a Swanson grounder. Both runners would eventually score off Rucker’s bat.
On the other side, Mount Vernon played what was by far the best game of the year.
Defensively, the Jackets played like a team with experience. With two runners on and nobody out in the third, first baseman Ben Hoar snagged a line drive by Joey Blankenship, then tapped the bag to get the forceout on Vogelsang at first for the unassisted double play.
The fourth inning showed that Mount Vernon missed having Ethan Abell in center field. With Franklin Heights’ Mikey Taylor on second, L.J. Campos smacked a single to center. When Taylor came around third, Abell gunned him down with a perfect throw to the plate.
It turned out to be the only time Franklin Heights threatened to score.
