COVID Rears Its Ugly Head, and a Nice Win on Saturday.

It took less than a week into the 2021 regular season for COVID to influence our baseball schedule.  The Washburn Pirates' coach said on Friday morning that he had five players quarantined, so the Pirates could not make the trip to Scotty Bunton Field on Friday, March 19.  After checking with multiple ball clubs, the Warriors from Happy Valley were interested in playing (as they were washed at their place on Friday vs. Sullivan North), but they wanted to play on Saturday, so an impromptu game was scheduled.  After being up 1-0 in the 1st, and down 2-1 in the 3rd, the home team from Hampton scored three runs in the bottom of the 4th on its way to a 7-2 victory over our Carter County rival.   

Happy Valley Game Notes:

*Senior team Captain, Josh Owens took the ball at Scotty Bunton Field on Saturday and pitched six innings of quality baseball, efficiently throwing only 60 some pitches through his first five innings of work, as he lowered his career ERA to under 3.00.  It was the second time Owens has beaten Happy Valley in just over a year (March 12, 2020 at Happy Valley), making him, I am sure, one of the few, if not the only Bulldog hurler to beat the boys from HV multiple times in a career.  Owens also recorded his first base hit of the 2021 campaign, a "frozen rope" line drive to Right Field in the bottom of the 4th. 

*Fellow senior, Nolan Parker Henry drew two Walks, scored two Runs, had an RBI, had a Stolen Base and hit his first career Triple in the bottom of the 4th.  He also made a nice sliding catch in centerfield on a tough low line drive off of a Warrior bat.  It was a big day for Mr. Henry. 

*Junior, Travis Caleb Royston hit a screaming ball into the left-center gap for an impressive long Single in the 3rd inning.  Royston also made a nice play at Third Base, going across to First Baseman, McKinley Wayne Kuhn to collect the out.  

*Junior catcher, Morgan Lyons knocked in two runners with a double down the LF line in the bottom of the 5th.  Lyons also threw out two Warrior runners attempting to steal 2B.  

*Junior, Collin Morgan recorded his first Hampton hit of his career, a line drive bullet up the middle in the 4th.  

*Chance Point had a busy day, as the rookie made a putout at Second Base on a pickoff move from Owens where Point had to dive for the ball and managed to hang in tough to receive the ball and tag the Happy Valley runner, stopped a ball on a highlight real dive to his glove-side on a ball destined for Right Field, stole two bases (he reached twice on HV errors), scored a run, and collected a sacrifice bunt, advancing First Baseman, Kuhn to 2B before Kuhn was replaced by a Pinch Runner.  

*Sophomore OF, Brody Hicks collected his first base knock of the season, tomahawking a ball to Right Field in the bottom of the 2nd. 

*2020 graduates, Landen and Weston Street, and Alice Lloyd College freshman baseball player, Dalton Rouse were at the ballpark on Saturday.  

*The Bulldogs travel on Monday, March 22 to Providence Academy for a rematch with the Knights after the Knights blanked the Bulldogs 10-0 on Opening Day.  First pitch is scheduled for 4:30.