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Young Vikings battle back in baseball opener
Adam Reed drove in seven runs and Beattie Southerland picked up the victory in relief as Loudoun Valley seesawed back from a six-run deficit to claim a 14-10 opening-night victory versus Westfield Tuesday at Fireman's Field in Purcellville.
The Bulldogs put up eight runs in the first two innings, but Valley hitters knocked around two Westfield moundsmen in the third and fourth frames to stake a five-run cushion before Southerland closed the door.
"It says that we'll battle you the whole game," said coach Wayne Todd of his club's win over a perennial contender out of the Concorde District.
Todd observed that the Vikings "didn't play our typical game."
"We're not supposed to make all those errors, but we did," Todd said, glancing at the left side of the field which produced four of Valley's five errors.
"But we got the right people up at the right time, got timely hits."
Ten of Valley's runs were driven in by seven two-out hits.
Reed used the entire field in collecting his two doubles and a triple. The lefty-swinging junior sat out last season with a broken right throwing elbow.
"That's what we've got to have out of Adam," Todd said. "He's one of the guys that we've got to get runners on for. We'll be okay if that happens."
Sophomore shortstop Daniel Fleming contributed two hits and three RBIs, and junior second baseman Iain Mottice reached base four times.
Southerland, a sophomore righty making his varsity debut, came on in the fourth in a 9-9 game with the bases loaded to induce Richie Brown to an inning-ending pop-up to second.
He finished off the Bulldogs, collecting five strikeouts in his three-and-one-third innings of work, including getting Westfield's 6-foot-5 power hitter Matt Snyder looking at an inside fastball for the second out with two runners on base in the last inning.
"He didn't walk anyone," Todd said of Southerland. "He had really good control of two pitches tonight. He threw it like I called it."
"I was nervous in the beginning, but I stayed focused," Southerland commented.
Valley, with three seniors dotting the roster, enters the 2008 season with a near total overhaul of their roster as a result of graduation.
"Being a young team has nothing to do with how we play," Southerland said.
"It's a huge morale booster," Reed said. "We just beat a really great team, and it feels great."
The Vikings host Osbourn Park Friday at 6 p.m.
| Baseball | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Runs | Hits | Errors |
| Westfield | 3 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 2 |
| Loudoun Valley | 2 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | X | 14 | 10 | 5 |
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