Errors lead to VHS loss

Published 1:36 am Saturday, March 21, 2009

VIDALIA — If Thursday night’s 9-4 loss to Minden was the low point of Vidalia’s season, Friday’s game against Calvary Baptist might have the Vikings trying to find their miner’s hats.

The Vikings committed five errors and collected only two hits in a 13-0 loss to the Cavaliers on the second day of the Vidalia Baseball Invitational.

“It has been a total catastrophe the past two games,” Vidalia coach Johnny Lee Hoffpauir said. “But we’re not going to quit. That’s why we have all these (championship) signs hanging. We’re going to keep battling.”

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The Vikings hung with the two-time defending Class 2A state champions for the first two innings before the errors began.

Calvary got two unearned runs in the third inning on three Vidalia errors.

The Vikings threatened to push a run across in the bottom of the inning, as Ben Parnham led off with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch.

However, Parnham was thrown out at the plate on a ground ball to the third baseman and Vidalia never threatened to score again.

Calvary widened its lead in the top of the fourth with four more runs.

Kolby Copeland led off the inning with a deep home run to right center and two more runs scored on two more Vidalia errors.

Calvary added insult to injury in the top of the fifth, as they took advantage of several walks and wild pitches to score seven runs.

Calvary’s only two hits in the inning were both infield singles.

Hoffpauir said his young team hasn’t been improving the way he expected it to.

“The first day of practice I told them we had to get better every day,” Hoffpauir said. “For a while we were showing signs of improvement, but these last two games were a big step back.”

Vidalia now sits at 4-8, which is an unfamiliar record for a program used to winning games and championships.

However, Hoffpauir said there will be no quit in his team.

“We’re going to keep battling,” he said. “That’s about all we can do. I won’t give up and I hope my players are like that too.”

The Vidalia Invitational wraps up today with three games.

Minden plays Calvary Baptist at noon while Calvary will face Franklin Parish at 2:15 p.m.

Vidalia will close out the tournament with a game against Franklin Parish at 4:30.