Warriors drop two games
Published 10:51 pm Friday, April 12, 2013
Nansemond River High School junior Trevor Riggs swings against host Great Bridge High School on Thursday evening. The Warriors ended up losing 10-6, but Riggs still had a stellar game at bat, going 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs. (Photo by Wil Davis / Wil Davis Photography)
The Nansemond River High School baseball team completed a tough two-day stretch on Friday with a 5-2 loss to host Grassfield High School. It was preceded on Thursday by a 10-6 road loss to the district’s only remaining undefeated team, Great Bridge High School.
Warriors head coach Mark Stuffel said his team just did not play well on Friday. It was not a case of the Warriors playing terribly throughout, either.
“We hit the ball well when it didn’t matter,” Stuffel said. “We just didn’t hit it when it mattered.”
On the other side of the ball, he noted that the “defense wasn’t great, pitching wasn’t bad,” but the Warriors allowed nine runners on base.
The Grizzlies scored twice in the first, twice in the second and once in the third to round out their offense for the night.
Nansemond River junior Trevor Riggs took the loss on the mound after a great game, offensively, the night before against the Wildcats.
On Thursday, the Warriors out-hit Great Bridge 10-8, but Stuffel used a first inning momentum-changer to describe what the game was like.
After the Warriors went up 4-0, the Wildcats got runners on first and second when the next batter came up.
“The kid hits a line drive up the middle and it takes a bad hop on our center fielder and the hitter ends up with an in-the-parker (home run),” Stuffel said. “So, that’s 4-3. That’s just the kind of night it was.”
Similar to Grassfield, Great Bridge piled up its offense early on, scoring all 10 runs in the first three innings. Senior Zach Rice took the loss on the mound. He was relieved in the third inning by sophomore Ethan Woodruff.
When senior Brandon Savage relieved him later, the defense began to provide the necessary support to shut down the Wildcats.
The game was not without highlights for Nansemond River as Riggs went 3-for-4 from the plate, including a home run and two RBIs. Sophomore Kieton Rivers went 2-for-4. Stuffel also praised senior Matt Boone for robbing a Great Bridge player of a sure home run by jumping up over the fence and bringing the ball back in.
The Warriors (7-5, 5-5) stay on the road next Friday when they face Hickory High School.
