Virden's No-No Guides No. 14 Wall to Outright District Title

GRAPE CREEK, TX—The no. 14-ranked Wall Hawks clinched the outright District 4-3A Championship with a 17-0 rout of the Grape Creek Eagles on Tuesday.

Stealing the show was Dryden Virden who threw his first career no-hitter at the high school level in his first start since early March.

“I just come in day in and day out and try to throw strikes,” the senior said modestly. “You can’t show emotion. If you do, it’s not going to help you the rest of the game.”

Virden started the game with eight consecutive strikeouts before allowing a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the third inning.

The powerful right-hander threw his first complete game of the year as well. His final stat line was impressive with 14 strikeouts through his five innings of work where he allowed just the two baserunners via a walk and a hit batsman.

“That’s exactly what we want out of Dryden,” Wall head coach Jason Schneirs stressed. “We wanted to see him compete. I wanted to see what he’ll be able to give us going into the playoffs. He hasn’t thrown a whole lot.”

Due to “arm issues”, Virden only threw 11 innings prior to Tuesday’s win.

Wall’s offense backed their hurler with four runs in the top of the first inning. Caleb Heuertz, Brock Rosenquist, Tanner Seider and Gage Weishuhn all came around to score in that inning on four hits and a walk to set the tone of the game. Virden helped his own cause with an RBI single in that inning as well.

“Knowing that everyone can hit is a good feeling as a pitcher,” Virden said. “Being able to help yourself out makes the game go smooth, too.”

The Hawks continued their scoring trend in the top of the second to go up 8-0 on the Eagles before plating nine runs across the final three frames.

“We were here for a four o’ clock game and senior night drug on,” Schneirs lamented. “I wasn’t sure [how we’d respond]. Then Caleb [Heuertz] leads off with a rope to right field.  The hitting continued after that. It’s always good to get that run support. It helps make your pitcher more comfortable.”

Brock Rosenquist went 3-for-5 with four runs scored and three RBIs to lead the Hawks offensively. Virden finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the win.

Grape Creek finishes the season 1-14 and 0-10 in district play.

Wall finishes the season 22-5-1 and 9-1 in district play. The Hawks will face either Kermit or Crane in the Bi-District round of playoffs which begin on Thursday, May 3.