Hancock catcher Nathan Vineyard broke a 6-6 tie in the 10th inning when he crushed a two-RBI home run in left field to permanently give the Tigers a lead over Maplewood Richmond Heights (1-4, 1-1) in Maplewood on Thursday. The Blue Devils lost 10-6.
It was Vineyard's second home run of the game. He also hit a solo shot in the fourth in the same spot. Hancock scored two more runs after the 10th inning homer to put an exclamation point on the win.
"They were one inning better than we were today," MRH coach Jonathan Webb said.
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The Blue Devils had several opportunities to win the game. MRH held a 5-2 lead in the fifth but gave up three runs in the top of the sixth. The Blue Devils' bats responded to grab a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, but Hancock bounced back to tie the game at 6-6 in the seventh. The game stayed tied until the 10th.
"We had our chances to win the ball game. They had their chances to win the ball game. And they just capitalized one more time than we did," Webb said.
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MRH's next game is at 4:15 p.m. on Friday against Crossroads.
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