Since Dane Clark took over the Vinton High School baseball team in 2023, he set high goals for the program.

In a brief span of time, the Lions are starting to realize some of those goals.

Non-select Division IV No. 6 Vinton will play in the second quarterfinal game in program history at No. 3 DeQuincy at 6 p.m. Thursday. The winner will play the Welsh-Grand Lake winner in the semifinals.

The Lions hope to make a trip to nearby Sulphur for next week’s state tournament for the first time.

“We just do little things very well,” Clark said. “They bought in two years ago. When I got here, we had a mission, and that was to get to the quarters and then eventually get to Sulphur. It’s happened a little bit quicker than I expected.”

Vinton bowed out in the regional round in Clark’s first two seasons. Vinton’s only other quarterfinal appearance was in 2001.

“It’s never fun facing somebody for the third time, but I think it’s going to be a really great game between two quality opponents,” Clark said. “We’ve just got to go out there and play clean baseball and try to find a way to score some runs against a really good pitcher.

“If I had to guess, they’ll probably be throwing Carson Rainwater. We’ve got to go find a way to make him uncomfortable, whether that’s stealing bases or hit by pitches or bunts, whatever it may be.”

The Lions are young with up to eight underclassmen in the lineup. But Clark said his team is a cohesive group because they have played together even before they hit high school.

“They’ve grown up together,” Clark said. “They’ve played together since they were little.

“We played all summer together. They love each other, and they play for each other. It’s not like we just showed up one day and magically got to the quarters. They’ve put the work in in the summertime and the offseason. Being so young, they don’t know anything else but hard work.”

Junior Gage Guidry is the ace of the pitching staff at 6-2. He has struck out 103 batters in 66 innings and has a 1.67 earned run average. He threw a one-hit shutout in the regional round and pitched both regular-season games against the Tigers.

“When you’ve got a guy like Gage Guidry, it helps a little bit,” Clark said. “He’s been that workhorse for us, but we’ve got a pretty good supporting cast around him that’s helped him a lot.

“He just goes out there and competes. He trusts his teammates behind him.”

It will be the third time for the District 4-2A rivals to meet. DeQuincy won the first 6-0, but the Lions won the second 3-2 on a walk-off by sophomore Kortlin Kyle. Guidry, Kyle, senior Connor Courmier and sophomore Tim Hooper (So.) are all batting over .325.

“Connor Courmier and Kortlin Kyle have really stepped up for us,” Clark said. “(Kyle’s) got that bulldog in him. He wants the pressure on him. So I think that’s kind of why he thrives in moments like that.”