Warriors go 3-0 during break
Published 8:52 pm Tuesday, April 14, 2015
Spring break may have been a time of relative inactivity for many high school students, but those making up the Nansemond River High School baseball team had a very productive week.
The Warriors came back to defeat visiting Jamestown High School 8-7 on Saturday evening to go 3-0 during the time off from school.
“It was a good week,” Nansemond River coach Mark Stuffel said. “We played two really good teams and then Kempsville (High School) was solid.”
On Wednesday, the Warriors won 5-4 against visiting Hanover High School, the 2014 Virginia High School League Group 4A and 2013 VHSL Group AAA state champion. On Friday, the Warriors topped host Kempsville 7-4.
Saturday’s game against Jamestown was one of significant momentum swings.
“We played really well,” Stuffel said. “They’re a good team. Michael Blanchard shut them down for the first three innings, but then he lost some control in the fourth.”
Enjoying a 6-0 lead after three innings, Nansemond River suddenly fell behind 7-6 in the fourth.
Senior Ethan Woodruff (1-0) came on the mound for the Warriors in the fourth and shut the door of opportunity for the Eagles, getting two outs and then helping keep Jamestown off the scoreboard for the remainder of the game.
Sophomore Jarrid Johnson “had the game-tying single, and Robert Fitzwater had the game-winning single to score Jarrid” in the sixth inning, Stuffel said.
For the game, Johnson had two hits and two runs batted in, and junior Corey Fago went 2-for-2 with two RBIs.
“Kieton Rivers had a very good game, defensively,” Stuffel said, also noting the senior shortstop went 3-for-4 at the plate.
The coach was particularly pleased by Nansemond River’s play against Group 4A foes Jamestown and Hanover.
“They’re two teams that we could see later on in the year,” he said.
The Warriors (6-3, 0-1) were scheduled to host Western Branch High School on Tuesday, and they hit the road to face Deep Creek High School on Friday.