Today's News

It’s just one game into the season, but the Vandals already look like a different baseball team.

After losing a 1-0 lead by committing two errors in the fourth inning, the Vandals rallied to score a run in both the sixth and seventh innings to beat Lincolnwood, 3-2, in their season-opener.

“I’ve seen our team get in the situation where a team scores two runs and the wind comes out of our sails and we deflate,” said coach Luke Hohlt. “That’s the way this team has been, but today we came through and finished strong.”

It’s not toilet humor at all.

A brick that sits on top of the water cooler in Vandalia has the words “flush it” written on it eight times, and the message doesn’t pertain to bathrooms.

It actually has become a very serious motivator in the mental approach for each of Vandalia’s baseball players, who use the phrase to get over mistakes.

Vandalia’s softball team has struggled with defense in its first few games of the year, but coach Brian Buscher still believes his team can have a successful season.

“We’re 0-3, but we are good enough to be 3-0,” he said. “We are better than this, but by no means are we playing well.”

In the team’s three official games, the Lady Vandals have committed 17 errors. In two innings of a game against

Hutsonville that was canceled by rain last Saturday, there were two more committed.

GREENVILLE – Though he is just a sophomore, Levi Maxey showed tremendous plate discipline during Saturday’s 8-7 loss to Harvard.

In four plate appearances, Maxey did not swing and miss at any of the 14 strikes he saw, fouling off 12 of them.

“Doing that as a sophomore is a pretty big deal,” said coach Ryan Beccue.

He fouled off the first four pitches of his at-bat in the third inning before singling to start a two-run rally, and he drew a walk on five pitches in the fourth inning to load the bases during a four-run inning.