BRISTOL, Va. – Virginia High was ready to play some baseball.
“We have been so eager,” Virginia High pitcher Jordan Dixon said. “We have just been dying to get out here for the past month and a half. We are happy to finally be back on the field.”
It showed too, with the Bearcats opening the season with a 12-0 five inning win over Union in the Bristol Fellowship of Christian Athletes Tournament on Friday night at DeVault Stadium.
“We have been practicing since February 18th and I felt like these guys were a little eager, hungry to get out and compete in a game,” Virginia High coach Mark Daniels said.
Virginia High (1-0) will play Licking Valley, Ohio in the FCA semifinals today at 1 p.m. Win, and the Bearcats were expected to host the championship game against either Tennessee High or Lebanon at 4.
Maybe not, thanks to the VHSL restrictions on the number of games teams can play.
“With the 20-game restriction we have got, we may play the game at 1 o’clock tomorrow and let Licking Valley move on because we play at the beach next week,” Daniels said.
Virginia High, which finished with five hits, took advantage of six hit-batsmen, five walks and four errors, scoring three runs in the first and six in the fourth against the Bears (4-1), who lost for the first time this season.
“Virginia High came to play tonight and we did not play,” Union first-year coach David Wyrick said. “Hats off to them, we saw a really good pitcher and they did a great job. They came to play today.”
While Dixon was stingy on the mound, allowing two doubles and three walks, in addition to striking out eight, the Bearcats made the most of those hits. Justin Lewis drove in two with a double in the first, and six runs crossed in the fourth on one hit, that being a two-run single by Austin Davidson.
“One through nine, we have got a pretty big physical team that can hit,” Dixon said. “We are all pretty experienced. We have all been playing the last three years, and we have a lot of good newcomers.”
John Clifton added a two-run double in the third.
“A solid effort by Jordan on the mound, when you don’t give up any runs,” Daniels said. “His command wasn’t where we were hoping it would be, but for the first game of the year I thought it was excellent.
“We picked up some runners there, scored every inning. It was a good start against a good baseball team. They have played this week and have got down in their pitching a little bit and we understand that. We had some really good approaches at the plate.
“A good win to start the year.”
Union (4-1) managed a one-out double by Hunter Anderson in the second and a one-out double from Ethan Hall in the fifth. The Bears left four runners in scoring position, including second and third with one out in the fourth before Dixon struck out the next two batters.
“I felt decent. I feel like I really didn’t have my best command, but I had the curveball working today,” said Dixon, who struck out three batters in one inning and two in two others. “Other than that, I thought it was a pretty OK start, not too bad.”
Virginia High took advantage of its opportunities. Five of the six batters plunked by pitches scored, and three of the five batters that walked crossed the plate as well. .
“When we scrimmaged them we left a lot of runners out there,” Daniels said. “It is good baseball. If you start leaving runners in scoring position with less than two outs, it will come back to bite you.
“The thing about this game tonight, it was a good night. We play tomorrow and it is a different ball game.”
Union played Unicoi County in a consolation game after the loss to the Bearcats.
“We come to play and we are okay,” Wyrick said. “We got punched in the mouth early today and we kind of took it.”
Virginia High will leave Sunday for its annual visit to the Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Bearcats will return having played more games than just about any other Virginia school in the area.
“We haven’t played, but we are getting ready to play a lot in a short time,” Daniels said. “We will be in six or seven games next week, but we are ready. We will see what this club is going to be made of.”
“It is going to be like six or seven games in six days,” added Dixon. “That is not bad. We are excited about it. We are ready for it.”
“We have been so eager,” Virginia High pitcher Jordan Dixon said. “We have just been dying to get out here for the past month and a half. We are happy to finally be back on the field.”
It showed too, with the Bearcats opening the season with a 12-0 five inning win over Union in the Bristol Fellowship of Christian Athletes Tournament on Friday night at DeVault Stadium.
“We have been practicing since February 18th and I felt like these guys were a little eager, hungry to get out and compete in a game,” Virginia High coach Mark Daniels said.
Virginia High (1-0) will play Licking Valley, Ohio in the FCA semifinals today at 1 p.m. Win, and the Bearcats were expected to host the championship game against either Tennessee High or Lebanon at 4.
Maybe not, thanks to the VHSL restrictions on the number of games teams can play.
“With the 20-game restriction we have got, we may play the game at 1 o’clock tomorrow and let Licking Valley move on because we play at the beach next week,” Daniels said.
Virginia High, which finished with five hits, took advantage of six hit-batsmen, five walks and four errors, scoring three runs in the first and six in the fourth against the Bears (4-1), who lost for the first time this season.
“Virginia High came to play tonight and we did not play,” Union first-year coach David Wyrick said. “Hats off to them, we saw a really good pitcher and they did a great job. They came to play today.”
While Dixon was stingy on the mound, allowing two doubles and three walks, in addition to striking out eight, the Bearcats made the most of those hits. Justin Lewis drove in two with a double in the first, and six runs crossed in the fourth on one hit, that being a two-run single by Austin Davidson.
“One through nine, we have got a pretty big physical team that can hit,” Dixon said. “We are all pretty experienced. We have all been playing the last three years, and we have a lot of good newcomers.”
John Clifton added a two-run double in the third.
“A solid effort by Jordan on the mound, when you don’t give up any runs,” Daniels said. “His command wasn’t where we were hoping it would be, but for the first game of the year I thought it was excellent.
“We picked up some runners there, scored every inning. It was a good start against a good baseball team. They have played this week and have got down in their pitching a little bit and we understand that. We had some really good approaches at the plate.
“A good win to start the year.”
Union (4-1) managed a one-out double by Hunter Anderson in the second and a one-out double from Ethan Hall in the fifth. The Bears left four runners in scoring position, including second and third with one out in the fourth before Dixon struck out the next two batters.
“I felt decent. I feel like I really didn’t have my best command, but I had the curveball working today,” said Dixon, who struck out three batters in one inning and two in two others. “Other than that, I thought it was a pretty OK start, not too bad.”
Virginia High took advantage of its opportunities. Five of the six batters plunked by pitches scored, and three of the five batters that walked crossed the plate as well. .
“When we scrimmaged them we left a lot of runners out there,” Daniels said. “It is good baseball. If you start leaving runners in scoring position with less than two outs, it will come back to bite you.
“The thing about this game tonight, it was a good night. We play tomorrow and it is a different ball game.”
Union played Unicoi County in a consolation game after the loss to the Bearcats.
“We come to play and we are okay,” Wyrick said. “We got punched in the mouth early today and we kind of took it.”
Virginia High will leave Sunday for its annual visit to the Mingo Bay Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Bearcats will return having played more games than just about any other Virginia school in the area.
“We haven’t played, but we are getting ready to play a lot in a short time,” Daniels said. “We will be in six or seven games next week, but we are ready. We will see what this club is going to be made of.”
“It is going to be like six or seven games in six days,” added Dixon. “That is not bad. We are excited about it. We are ready for it.”
