As the Briar Woods JV Baseball team is well into their season, Coach Reilly mentions what he hopes to accomplish and focus on, stating, “develop the guys, their baseball skills and get them ready for varsity. We’re trying to teach the guys certain things they’ll need to know to be ready for the next level.”
Sophomore infielder and pitcher Nick Donatella shares what he thinks will help make the team successful, saying, “on the field, we tend to not yell at each other if we make a mistake, so just trying to build each other up and stuff like that [will make our team successful].”
The Falcons had a strong showing in their first game of the season against Tuscarora on Tuesday, Mar. 12. Both the Falcons’ offense and pitching proved to be too much for the Huskies to handle, as they defeated Tuscarora 11-1. Falcons’ pitching shut down the Huskies offense, only allowing one hit across five innings and the sole run being unearned. Sophomore pitcher Bryce Stanford delivered a strong start for the Falcons and earned the win, after pitching three innings and striking out five. Freshman pitcher Dani Jensen was equally impressive, pitching the final two innings, not allowing any hits or runs and matching Stanford’s five strikeouts. On the offensive side, the Falcons went 11 for 23 and showed patience at the plate, drawing eight walks. Big contributions came from freshman shortstop Blake Mingo and sophomore right fielder Liam Heffernan, each driving in two RBIs and notching two walks. Sophomores infielder Noah Martin and catcher Catch Nickerson also had a good day at the plate, each going two for three to help the cause.
Coach Reilly reflects on Briar Woods’ win against Tuscarora, saying, “we started a little bit slow on that one, but the guys came around about third or fourth inning and we really started hitting the ball hard. I’m very lucky I have an exceptionally talented team this year.”
Following the win against Tuscarora, Briar Woods beat the Loudoun Valley Vikings 4-2 on Tuesday, Mar. 19.
“Winning the first couple of games against [Tuscarora and Loudoun Valley] felt great. It was like a preview for, hopefully, the rest of the season,” sophomore infielder Kian Denton said. “We kind of just destroyed them in those games,” he continued.
The very next day, on Wednesday, Mar. 20, the Falcons won against the Heritage Pride 12-3, and after a long spring break, the Falcons went up against the Battlefield Bobcats on Friday, Apr. 5, coming away with a 6-1 win.
Donatella reflects on the wins and the rest of the season, expressing, “we’re a good team, so I think we should be able to win more games. I’m looking forward to winning more and being a better teammate.”
Continuing their winning streak, Briar Woods handily defeated the Riverside Rams on Monday, Apr. 8, winning 13-2. Pitcher Nick Donatella established the tone of the game with a strong start, allowing only one earned run and striking out five in four innings, coming away with the win. Leading the way on a potent offense, catcher Catch Nickerson went an impressive three for three, with three RBIs, and shortstop Blake Mingo contributed big as well, going two for two, with two RBIs.
Most recently, the Falcons flew away with a 15-5 win against the Loudoun County Captains on Tuesday, Apr. 9. Freshman pitcher Daniel Sanchez came out throwing hard, striking out 9 in 3.1 innings which earned him the win, and right fielder Liam Heffernan went a perfect four for four, knocking in four runs.
Denton mentions who he thinks will be the toughest team the Falcons will play against, explaining, “Freedom, because we played them last year and they were really good. They’ve always been a really solid team.”
With the Falcons undefeated since the start of the season, Coach Reilly addresses the Briar Woods Student and Staff body, concluding that “we’re going to give you guys a lot of wins and hopefully, we’ll play a fun round of baseball and people will want to come watch.”
