ATLANTA – The 2019 Mount Vernon varsity baseball season came to a close on Friday afternoon, May 3, as the Mustangs dropped Game Three in the GHSA Class-A Private Sweet-16 12-5 to the Fellowship Christian Paladins at the Glenn Campus Baseball Field.
The Paladins struck early in the contest, plating two runs in the top of the first inning when Cameron Gill singled to center field to bring home Isaac Bouton and Preston Joye for a 2-0 lead.
Fellowship added another run in the top of the second inning when Bouton doubled in Garrett Hauenstein for a 3-0 advantage.
The Mustangs got a run back in the bottom half of the third inning to cut the deficit to two when Jack Sims singled to center field to plate Tres Gonzalez.
After a brief lightning delay, the Paladins struck big in the top of the fourth inning, scoring four runs on five hits.
Bouton singled in Luke Schmidt, Preston Joye singled home Cody Tapley, Gill singled to plate Bouton and David Bishop singled home Joye for a 7-1 Paladin lead.
The Mustangs added a run in the bottom half of the fourth when Gonzalez singled to left field to score Alex Thomas for a 7-2 contest.
In the fifth inning, the Paladins padded their lead when Joye was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to bring in Ethan Bell for an 8-2 Fellowship lead.
Mount Vernon added a run in the fifth to pull within five at 8-3 when Alex Mette singled to left field to score Alex VanLandingham.
Fellowship made it a 10-3 game by scoring two more runs in the top of the sixth inning, both coming on a Tapley single to score Wilson Long and Schmidt.
The Mustangs continued to battle, adding two runs in the bottom half of the sixth when Nate Anderson tripled home Jackson Denney and came around to score on a throwing error by the Paladins for a 10-5 game.
Fellowship put the game out of reach in the top of the seventh, adding two insurance runs, the first coming on a RBI single by Bishop and the second on a RBI single by Andrew Davidson.
Matson Grose picked up the win on the mound for the Paladins, throwing five innings, allowing nine hits three runs while striking out three batters.
Jack Sims took the loss on the hill for the Mustangs.
Check ' target='_blank'> and @MV_Athletics on Twitter for updates on the Mustangs throughout the offseason.
The Mount Vernon Athletic Department strives to build the student-athlete by providing a five-star experience built on community, courage, development, hospitality and professionalism. As a school of inquiry, innovation and impact grounded in Christian values, we prepare all students to be college-ready, globally competitive, and engaged citizen leaders. For more information on Mount Vernon athletics, visit ' target='_blank'> and follow @MV_Athletics on Twitter for up-to-the-minute news on the Mustangs.