Hickory Upsets Nansemond River; Going to Finals
Going into Tuesday's game, Hickory knew they were going against Will Hirsch, Nansemond River's ace and the recently named Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year. If they wanted to advance to the finals, they would have to beat him and the second seeded Warriors. They did just that. The Hawks handled the Warriors and were victorious by a score of 12-0, sending them to the Southeastern District Championship game against top seeded Great Bridge.
The Hawks (12-9) came out early, putting their first three batters on base giving them a 2-0 early lead. Gary Ward was fired up and allowed only five hits and pitched 13 strike-outs, defeating the Warriors for the second week in a row. Ward said he was looking for a shut-out to help the Hawks win for the third time against the Warriors and he got it. "I knew if I pitched a good game, the hitting would take care of itself, so I wasn't worried". With one out and the bases loaded, Ward struck out the last two batters, giving the Hawks the shut-out. He said, "there is nothing like ending the game on a strike-out".
The Hawks scored five runs in the fourth and four runs in the sixth, including a two-run double in the fourth and two-run triple in the sixth by Tim Black.
Great Bridge (16-5) had already earned a spot in the Region Finals. They got a strong performance from Taylor Reeves (profiled in Gameday earlier this season) who held the Bruins to five hits. Reeves, and Drew Suttmiller combined for seven hits, five runs and five RBI's to put the Wildcats over the Bruins 10-3.
