A road loss on Tuesday put the Nansemond-Suffolk Academy baseball team below .500 in the conference, but it returned home on Thursday with a convincing 10-0 victory over Norfolk Collegiate School that greatly pleased Saints head coach David Mitchell.

“I was really proud of them,” he said of his team. “The best game we’ve played as a team with (sacrifice) bunts, stealing bases, clutch hits at the right time, it was the best overall effort. Both pitchers did a fantastic job. Definitely our best team effort this year and maybe in a year and a half.”

Sophomore pitcher Greg Beale came in and pitched four innings, throwing seven strikeouts and allowing only three hits to get the win. He improved to 3-2 on the season.

“Last couple starts, I’ve been throwing a lot more walks than I should be, and that was a little bit better (today) than the other ones,” he said. “Especially the first two innings, and I feel good about that. So, it’s going to definitely help my confidence for the upcoming games.”

He was also active offensively, going 2-for-2.

Sophomore Cam Sutton relieved him on the mound and finished the game strong.

Junior Jake Grady found the game a welcome contrast to Tuesday’s 12-7 loss against Norfolk Academy.

“We came off a tough loss on Tuesday, so it’s good to come out, and we really were firing on all cylinders, pretty much,” he said. “It was a good day, I thought, overall. Came out and jumped on them.”

Senior Alan Meyers went 2-for-3 at bat with two RBIs and sophomore Toby Buchanan went 2-for-4 with two more RBIs. Buchanan said he felt like the Saints came to the field ready to play.

“I feel like we kept a strong tempo throughout the whole game, which was very good,” he said. “We haven’t been doing that. It was just a great win overall.”

Freshman Cole Williams went 2-for-2, and Grady got in on the offense in the final inning with a bases-loaded double, resulting in two RBIs.

Moving forward, Nansemond-Suffolk will focus on improving its consistency, which has been lacking. Mitchell knows his team can produce more games like Thursday’s.

“I told the guys after the game, ‘We’re capable of that. We’re not consistent with it yet,’” he said.

NSA improves to 3-3 in the Tidewater Conference of Independent Schools and Mitchell estimated that it still has the chance to finish anywhere from third to seventh.

The Saints (6-7, 3-3) travel to play Christchurch School this afternoon.