Bulldogs take down Grizzlies
Published 9:57 pm Friday, March 31, 2017
King’s Fork High School’s baseball team made history on Thursday evening with the first win against Grassfield High School in program history.
King’s Fork played a solid game all around, notching a 9-7 win against the Grizzlies. Bulldogs coach Robert Hedrick was elated about his team’s win.
“We pieced it all together out there,” Hedrick said. “It was a good team win, the best we have played all season. That’s not a team we normally beat. Grassfield should feel like they should beat us every time we play. The guys weren’t having it out there this time, and I’m proud of them.”
After one inning, the game was tied at 0-0. In the second inning, the Bulldogs rattled off three runs, giving them a 3-1 lead going into the top of the third. The Bulldogs had their most runs in the fourth inning, with five.
Grassfield tried to make a strong run, but the Bulldogs were able to hold them off. Caleb Pittman threw a solid game in the midst of that run by Grassfield. Mason Brown came in to relieve and pitched two innings, allowing no runs.
Offensively, the team got production from nearly everyone who was at bat.
“It was just an all-around team effort win,” Hedrick said. “The guys picked each other up and got one of the better wins this program has probably ever had.”
Senior Tristen DeGuzman, who has been a part of the baseball program since he was in eighth grade, said the feeling is unbelievable. It puts into perspective how big of a win this was for the Bulldogs and what it can do for them going forward.
“I feel like it built everyone’s confidence on the team that much more,” DeGuzman said on the win. “Now we’ve seen we can beat these good teams. We have a lot of momentum and confidence going into our next game. Everyone is in good spirits.”
King’s Fork has gotten off to somewhat a slow start this season. Their first win of the season came Tuesday against rival Lakeland High School. Now they have two wins in a row and feel better about where they are. The Bulldogs only won five games all last year.
Next, King’s Fork will go on the road to take on Nansemond River High School. The Warriors have also gotten off to a slow start this season but are still the reigning 5A state champions. Hedrick feels if the team continues to play well, they have a good chance.
“We have been playing some good opponents,” he said. “We have to play well as a team in order to win. If everybody has that confidence and are feeling good about things we can do something, and maybe even win some games we weren’t supposed to.”
Game time is 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
King’s Fork 9, Grassfield 7
KF: Marrero (2 hits, 3 RBI’s). Pittman and Brown combined for 7 strikeouts. Riddick (3 runs), Floyd (2 runs), Gromkowski and Allen each with one run scored.