Murfreesboro Post
MURFREESBORO WEATHER

Vinson, Pennington power Oakland baseball past Smyrna




Oakland pitcher Luke Vinson threw a complete game one-hitter on Wednesday night, striking out nine Bulldogs. MICHAEL GALLAGHER

Oakland pitcher Luke Vinson threw a complete game one-hitter on Wednesday night, striking out nine Bulldogs. MICHAEL GALLAGHER

The Oakland Patriots baseball team (6-2) won its fourth consecutive game on Wednesday night, defeating the Smyrna Bulldogs 7-0 behind a one-hitter from starting pitcher Luke Vinson.

“A one-hitter, what more can you ask for?” Oakland coach Mack Hawks said. “All of our guys have pitched well. When you’ve got a guy up there that is throwing a lot of strikes and getting a lot of people out, that gives you a lot of confidence.”

Oakland raced out to a 5-0 lead in the second inning. Seth Henson kicked off the big inning with a leadoff single. Following back-to-back walks to Josh McGowan and Brevin Linnell, Vinson helped his own cause, singling to left field and bringing home Henson.

In the next at-bat, shortstop Jacob Pennington unloaded on an Andrew Potts pitch over the right field wall for a grand slam, extending the Oakland lead to 5-0.

“He’s been swinging it well,” Hawks said. “He’s one of our leaders and that’s kind of what we expect out of him. He’s swinging the bat well, throwing well and playing well.”

From there, Vinson locked down the Smyrna offense. He flirted with a no hitter, finally giving up a single in the fifth inning to Evan Potter. That would be the only hit Vinson allowed, as he struck out nine Bulldogs for the complete game victory.

Oakland added two more insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth inning when Pennington singled home Vinson, who was hit by a pitch in the previous at-bat, and Zac Lemerand hit a sac fly to left field, bringing Pennington home.

Pennington finished 2-for-3 with the grand slam and five RBIs, Vinson and Lemerand added the other RBIs.

“We came out and swung the bats well early,” Hawks said. “We got the five-run lead, got the big home run from JP (Jacob Pennington) and Vinson threw well. It was a solid game”

The two teams play each other again Thursday at Smyrna. Game time is set for 6 p.m.

Follow Michael Gallagher on Twitter @mpatrickg5

Leave a Reply