The Lions lost a tough battle against the Fluvanna Flucos on a beautiful Friday night. Austin Nicholas started on the mound for Louisa and sophomore Kevin Ward got the call for Fluvanna.
Dashon Carter lead off the top of the first inning for the Flucos, grounding out to the third baseman, Tristan Snyder. Nicholas recorded his first 1-2-3 inning on the mound and would lead off the bottom of the first for the Lions.
In the bottom of the first, with one out and Nicholas on first after a hit by pitch, Ward allowed back-to-back singles to Lliam Grubbs and Jack McDonald to give Louisa a 1-0 lead over Fluvanna. Ward then recorded two outs and the inning was over.
Hits from Fluvanna bats dominated the top of the second. Singles from Cameron Shields, Trey Lyons, Kevin Ward, and Noah Brown allowed three runs to score. Brown was then brought in by a sac fly from Carter to give Fluvanna a 4-1 lead. Ryan Groome ended the inning on a fly out to the left fielder, Caleb Turner. Ward recorded a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout in the bottom of the second to hold Fluvanna’s lead to 4-1.
Nicholas recorded his second 1-2-3 inning of the game in the top of the third with only four pitches in the inning. Ward struggled in the bottom of the third, walking back-to-back batters, however, the Lions failed to score a run in the inning.
Once again, Nicholas pitched another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth inning, throwing just eight pitches, however Fluvanna still secured their lead.
With one out in the bottom of the fourth, Garrett Duerson nailed a single to right field to start a Louisa rally. Back-to-back walks to Caleb Turner and J.B Lamb loaded the bases. Matt West then drew a walk to score courtesy runner, Kyron Butler. With two outs, junior Kyle Algieri came in to relieve Ward for Fluvanna. Lliam Grubbs reached on a error to score Turner. With a 2-0 count, McDonald ripped a base clearing triple to put Louisa ahead of Fluvanna 6-4. “I just read the pitch out of his hands,” explained McDonald. “I expected a curveball and he just left it hanging. I turned on it and just went with it.”
Nicholas once again held Fluvanna scoreless in the top of the fifth inning, allowing one baserunner on a walk to Ryan Groome. Algieri allowed one hit in the bottom of the fifth to Turner, however Louisa failed to score after stranding Tuner in scoring position.
Fluvanna offense shortened the Lions’ lead in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, sophomore Andrew Ward ripped a single to left field. The next at bat, Shields hit an RBI double to left field scoring Ward. Nicholas ended the inning with a strikeout to Addison Davis.
Nicholas led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to left field. Courtesy runner, Travis Pleasants, then advanced to second base on a wild pitch from Algieri. Grubbs then nailed a single to centerfield which scored Pleasants and put Louisa ahead 7-5. Louisa’s offense stranded Grubbs in scoring position, and the inning soon ended.
After six strong innings, Junior, Owen Agee came into the game to relieve Nicholas in the top of the seventh. Agee walked the first batter and hit the second. Back-to-back singles from Jacob Critzer and Kyle Algieri scored three runs, putting Fluvanna ahead 8-7 over Louisa. Fluvanna ended the inning leaving bases loaded. Algieri secured the Fluvanna win with a 1-2-3 seventh inning with two strikeouts.
Although the Lions lost a tough game, Nicholas pitched one of his best games all season. “He battled through adversity,” explained McDonald. “He kept his head in the ball game.” When asked about his pitching, Nicholas responded, “It was more commanding my fastball tonight. They were really aggressive and I had to keep it on the outside.”
Louisa now stands 8-2 on the season. They are set to play on Tuesday night against Powhatan County at 7:30. Also on Tuesday night, the baseball field will be named after coaches Joseph Bradford and Bill Pelot. “Coach Pelot has taught me everything about pitching,” explained Nicholas. “I hadn’t pitched for awhile before I met him.”
“Pelot and Bradford have been really inspiring,” explained McDonald. “They really know their stuff and have been really helpful.” Let’s go Lions!
