The Suwannee Bulldog baseball team took on Vanguard out of Ocala Saturday, in the bright sunshine. The stands were packed as the Dogs ran through three pitchers trying to beat Vanguard. The wind was whistling strong, blowing around trash and making pitching a chore.

Rheed Baldwin started on the mound for Suwannee and took the loss. Baldwin gave up one run in the first inning. The Dog offense was unable to generate any hits in the first ending the inning down 0-1. It never got any better.

Baldwin held off the Vanguard hitters in the second, but Suwannee once again failed to generate any offense. The score remained 0-1 going into the third.

Baldwin gave up one in the third. Mark Radford made a great catch and throw from left field for an out. Gabe Galloway did the same in right field for another out. Zack Davis led off with a walk for Suwannee. Radford took the sacrifice to advance Davis. Davis stole third and Galloway singled to drive in the Dog’s first run of the afternoon. The inning ended with the score 1-2.

Baldwin got into serious trouble in the fourth. He walked Vanguard’s first batter and allowed a double that drove him in. With two outs and one man on, Vanguard hit a home run. The score was 1-5 when coach Ronnie Gray brought in Michael Keene to relieve Baldwin. Suwannee was unable to score in the fourth and the Dogs entered the fifth inning down 1-5.

Keene was still pitching for Suwannee. He allowed a lead-off double. Vanguard loaded the base and then hit a double to drive in two. Another double allowed two more runs and the score went to 1-10.

Vanguard brought in a relief pitcher for the fifth inning. Radford singled, Galloway walked and Ross Aretino walked. Billy Moran walked in one run. Ryan Stovall singled to drive in Galloway. The fifth ended with Suwannee down 3-10.

The sixth saw Billy Moran at the plate for Suwannee. Moran held Vanguard scoreless and Suwannee was up. Taylor Abercrombie drew a walk, Keene walked and Vanguard trotted out a new pitcher. With two on and one out Galloway walked to load the bases. Ross Aretino hit a grand slam home run to clear the bases and give the Suwannee fans some hope as the score went to 7-10. But Vanguard brought in their fourth pitcher of the afternoon as the sun started to go down and a chill crept into the air. The inning ended with the score still 7-10.

Moran pitched the seventh. He allowed a two-run homer that sent the score to 7-12. Moran struck out the last batter to end the inning. Suwannee tried to generate some offense in the seventh. Keene walked and Mark Radford doubled scoring Keene. Radford stole third and Galloway hit a high fly that was dropped. Radford scored to make it 9-12 and that was the final score. Suwannee never gave up but couldn’t bring off the win.

The next time the Bulldogs are at home is March 23. They face Bishop Kenny at 5 p.m. Come out and watch the Dogs!