SAN ANGELO, TX-- The season came to a close for the no. 6 Wall Hawks after an 8-4 loss against no. 2 Brock, completing the sweep of Wall in the Class 3A Regional Semifinals.
Senior pitcher Dryden Virden took to the hill for the Hawks after not playing in Friday’s matchup. Virden, much like his fellow seniors, left it all on Foster Field at 1st Community Federal Credit Union Stadium by throwing 108 pitches, allowing five runs on six hits with six strikeouts in five innings pitched. Virden finished the game at catcher, too.
Virden ran into some bases loaded jams in this game, including one in the fifth with no outs and the Hawks trailing by three runs. The Hawk ace proceeded to strike out the side.
“It was very gutsy what Dryden left out there on the mound,” Wall head coach Jason Schniers said. “I walked over [in the fifth] and told him ‘That’s gutsy right there,’ because it could have easily gotten away from us right there. He stepped up and gave our team a shot.”
Players also felt they were on the unfortunate end of a few calls by the umpires, who appeared to have a “tight” strike-zone, as Schniers said.
“I’m never going to blame an official for calls,” Schniers also said. “I felt like [the umpire] called it both ways. We had that last week and our kids just battled through it. That’s the thing, We’re not going to sit around and make excuses and point fingers. That’s not what our kids are about.”
The Eagles opened the scoring in the top of the first inning on an RBI groundout from Tanner Patino to score Noah Nye, who advanced all the way to third base from first on a wild pitch and a passed ball. Brock would tack on another run to make their lead 2-0.
The Hawks would answer and tie the game in the bottom of the second inning. Sutton Hurst opened the scoring with an RBI single to score Virden before Gage Weishuhn came home on a fielder’s choice.
The Eagles would put up three more runs on Virden in the fourth inning to lead 5-2.
Brock tacked on three more runs to lead 8-2 in the sixth inning, this time off Caleb Heuertz who came on for two innings of relief for Virden.
Heuertz finished the day with three runs on three hits against him with one strikeout and two walks.
A two-run triple from Heuertz brought the Hawks back to life in the bottom of the seventh and pulled them within four runs, but Brock Rosenquist and Tanner Seider struck out in consecutive at-bats to end the game.
Hurst was the only Hawk with a multi-hit game, going 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. Heuertz led the offensive output for the Hawks with his pair of RBIs in his 1-for-4 performance.
Joseph Gossett started on the mound for the Eagles, going three and a third innings where he allowed just two runs on four hits with a pair of walks and strikeouts for no decision. Caleb Satterfield got the winning decision in relief by throwing a perfect two-thirds of an inning.
The Hawks made their playoff run without junior pitcher Ryan Gully who was out all season after having Tommy John surgery and the Hawk’s ace during their 2017 season and first-ever State Tournament berth.
“I thought, from the very beginning of the season, our kids were dealt a heavy blow that was the injury news about Ryan,” Schniers said. “It was going to be an uphill battle all year long.”
Schniers would go on to say how proud he was for the way his team fought to overcome the obstacles in their way this season and how the seniors “raised the bar” for the Wall Hawk baseball program.
“[Gully’s injury] didn’t slow our guys down. That’s the thing I’m most proud about,” Schniers said. “They held their heads high. They played hard every day. There were some times throughout where we didn’t look as flashy or weren’t as productive as we have been in the past, but these guys didn’t let that bother them and we got on a roll going into playoffs. And that’s where you want to be when playoffs roll around.”
The Hawks finish the season 28-7-1 while Brock will face Peaster for the right to go to the State Tournament in Austin.
Subscribe to the LIVE! Daily
Required
Post a comment to this article here: