The Lions fought a tough battle on Thursday night against the Powhatan Indians, but failed to add another win to their record. Lliam Grubbs got the start for the Lions, coming off of an eight strikeout game against Albemarle County. Senior, Tommy Preston got the call for the Indians.
Austin Nicholas led off the first inning for Louisa with a groundout to the third baseman. Preston then recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. In the bottom of the first, Hampden-Sydney College commit Brad Painter was thrown out by catcher Garrett Duerson after a dropped third strike. Matthew Church followed with a groundout to the second baseman. VCU commit Logan Amiss drew a four pitch walk to give the Indians their first base runner of the night. The inning soon ended after Cody Willis flew out to the shortstop.
Jack McDonald led off for the Lions in the top of the second with a hard ground ball to the shortstop for the first out. Tristan Snyder followed with a single to left field. Duerson and Owen Agee nailed back-to-back singles, however the inning ended after Snyder was thrown out at home, Louisa failing to score a run. Jacob Beil led off the bottom of the second for the Indians, reaching first on a dropped third strikeout. Grubbs then recorded three swinging strikeouts, stranding Beil on first.
The Lions scored the first run of the game in the top of the third. Sophomore J.B Lamb led off the inning with a four pitch walk followed by a single from Nicholas, who was picked off at first. Lamb later scored on a wild pitch from Preston. Back-to-back groundouts ended the top of the third for the Lions. The Indians recorded their first hit in the bottom of the third inning after a one out single to left field from Matthew Church. Grubbs then recorded two more strikeouts to end the inning, his eighth of the night.
McDonald led off the top of the fourth for the Lions with a groundout to the second baseman. Snyder then nailed a double to the centerfield fence, his second hit of the game. “My approach at the plate was just take good hacks and try and get base hits,” said Snyder. Tyler Earley went down looking and the inning ended on a pop out to the catcher. The Indians recorded two more hits in the bottom of the fourth, but failed to score a run. Nick Rini flew out to the center fielder for the third out, stranding the runners.
Agee led off the top of the fifth for the Lions with a bunt to the third baseman for the first out. Lamb followed with a single to the shortstop then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Senior Matt West drove an RBI double to center field, giving the Lions a 2-0 lead over the Indians. The top half of the inning ended on a groundout to the third baseman. The Indians scored their first run in the bottom of the fifth after an RBI double from Church, scoring Painter. Grubbs recorded his tenth strikeout of the game to end the fifth inning.
McDonald led off the top of the sixth for Louisa, driving a double to left field, but was stranded after pinch hitter, Kyron Butler, grounded out to the shortstop for the final out of the sixth. The Indians entered the bottom of the sixth inning, looking to take over the lead, and that they did. The Indians recorded eight hits, three walks, and scored twelve runs on the inning, the Lions using three pitchers in the inning. The Indians sent fifteen batters to the plate, Tanner Ritt driving the walk off double to score the twelfth run.
Despite the loss, Grubbs ended the game with ten strikeouts, eight of those in just the first three innings. “Lliam threw a great game,” explained Snyder. “In the sixth inning, they had a couple key hits. Overall, we didn't lose the game, they won the game.” The Lions now stand 14-4 on the season and will face Monticello on Tuesday, previously beating the Mustangs 6-0. Let's go Lions!
