After celebrating senior night in Louisa, a pitchers dual took place between the Warriors and Lions, with only six combined hits on the night. Tristan Snyder got the call for the Lions, coming off of a strong outing against Fluvanna County. The Warriors would rely on Radford commit, Derek Domecq, to face the persistent Louisa line-up.
Junior, Wyatt Hull led off the top of the first for Western with a hard ground ball hit to second baseman, Owen Agee, for the first out. Snyder recorded the second out on a three pitch strikeout to Brendan Campbell. The inning ended after senior Chris McGahren grounded out to the third baseman.
Austin Nicholas led off for Louisa in the bottom of the first with a hard hit ball to the left fielder. Nicholas advanced to second after Matt West was hit by the pitch, but was thrown out on a fielder’s choice. Domecq would retire the next two batters on back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
Snyder continued his dominance in the top of the second, striking out the side on three swinging strikeouts. Tyler Earley led off the bottom of the second for the Lions with a walk, who advanced to second after Kyron Butler reached on an error from the shortstop. Agee followed with a bunt single to load the bases. Nicholas reached on an error to score a run, followed by two groundouts to end the inning, the Lions taking a 2-0 lead over the Warriors.
Once again, Snyder threw a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the third, retiring one batter on a strikeout and Junior, Devin Powell ended the inning with a lineout to the first baseman, Snyder holding on to his no hitter. Domecq faced just three batters in the bottom of the third, recording his fourth strikeout of the game.
Snyder carried his perfect game into the top of the fourth, recording three groundouts to finish the inning. Kyron Butler led off the bottom of the fourth for the Lions with a single to centerfield and advanced to second on a wild pitch from Domecq. Agee bunted back to the pitcher for the first out, but advanced Butler to third. Butler then scored on another wild pitch form Domecq to give the Lions a 3-0 lead over the Warriors.
Snyder allowed his first base runner of the night in the top of the fifth on a walk to Domecq. To break up the no hitter, Garrett Payne followed with a single to centerfield. Snyder then recorded his sixth strikeout after Jacob Lively went down swinging. Jack Masloff followed with a fielder’s choice for the second out. Senior, Luke Tenuta followed with a strikeout to end the inning while Snyder held the Warriors to no runs through five innings. Domecq faced three batters in the bottom of the fifth, recording his fifth strikeout of the game.
Snyder recorded his eighth strikeout of the game in the top of the sixth, facing just three batters on eleven pitches. Snyder then led off the bottom of the sixth inning for the Lions with a huge double to the centerfield fence. “I was just trying to make contact tonight,” said Snyder. “I guess I got lucky.” Snyder advanced to third after a groundout from Earley. Domecq then recorded back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.
The Warriors recorded their second hit of the night in the top of the seventh inning after Payne ripped a two out single to right field, however, Snyder then recorded the third out, and secured the win for the Lions. Snyder finished the night with eight strikeouts, two hits, and one walk. “I’m feeling really good,” said Snyder. “I was having fun tonight.”
The Lions improve to 14-3 on the season and will now face Powhatan on Friday night at 6:00. Let’s go Lions!
