The Varsity Baseball team is coming to the end of its regular season, going into playoffs with a strong 11-10 record. The final week brought a mix of challenges and growth, giving the team a chance to learn from losses and come away prepared for the postseason.
Head Coach Galvin Morris reflects on the regular season, saying, “I’m proud that these guys keep showing up, keep getting better and keep working on their craft. From day one, I told them that if you do the little things right, the big things will happen, and I think they’re starting to understand that, so I’m proud they’re listening to me. We just need to keep doing what we’re doing and get better every day we come out here on the field and we’ll be ready [for playoffs].”
On Monday, May 12, Briar Woods turned in a complete team performance to beat the Dominion Titans 7-0 on the road. Junior pitcher Nick Donatella commanded from the start, tossing six shutout innings while allowing just two hits, walking none and striking out three. Junior Jack Rogers came in to close out the seventh, preserving the shutout and finishing off a dominant night on the mound. The Falcons spread their offense across five innings, scoring twice in both the first and seventh frames, and adding solo runs in the second, third and fifth. Senior Gage Strucko drove in two runs and scored twice, while sophomore Blake Mingo continued his strong stretch at the plate with two hits, three RBIs and a run scored. Senior Max Lawson and juniors Noah Martin and Liam Heffernan each chipped in multi-hit efforts to pace a well-balanced Briar Woods lineup. The win marked the Falcons’ third shutout victory of the season and continued their momentum heading into the final week of regular-season play.
Coach Morris shared, “We had a good pitcher, we had good hitting, and we executed everything well. We did all the little things right and because of that, we won the baseball game.”
On Thursday, May 15, the Falcons capped off a dominant night with a 10-3 win over the Potomac Falls Panthers, completing a doubleheader sweep at home. Senior pitcher Sean Tracey delivered a strong start, going five innings while allowing just three hits, two unearned runs and striking out five. The Falcons wasted no time getting on the board, putting up five runs in the bottom of the first inning to take an early lead. Senior Sam Wheeler led the offense with three RBIs, while Mingo scored three runs. Junior Gavin Sylvester and Senior Max Lawson chipped in with two runs apiece. Senior Jacob Eckhaus and sophomore Daniel Sanchez closed out the final two innings on the mound, with Sanchez striking out the side in a scoreless seventh to seal the win.
Max Lawson commented, “My takeaways from our game against Potomac Falls are to not take any team for granted because you can always learn from every game, and don’t play down to the competition and keep your foot on the gas.”
On Tuesday, May 20, the Falcons came up short on Senior Night, falling 3-1 to the Independence Tigers in a tightly contested matchup. Tracey delivered a solid start for the Falcons, allowing just two earned runs over six innings on six hits, with one walk and one strikeout. Sanchez pitched the seventh, surrendering one run on one hit and two walks. Briar Woods got on the board early with a home run from Lawson in the bottom of the first, but Independence junior Eddie Ridolfi settled in from there, tossing a complete game while holding the Falcons to four hits and striking out three. Tracey helped his own cause at the plate with two hits, while Heffernan and Lawson added one apiece. The Tigers plated runs in the third, sixth and seventh innings to gradually take control and hand Briar Woods the loss on their Senior Night.
“Any loss is tough, but the kids battled. Independence is one of the top teams in the state of Virginia. They scored three runs against us, but the way the boys played on the field and competed on Senior Night, and how the underclassmen were playing hard for the six seniors, was [admirable],” Coach Morris mentioned.
Briar Woods closed out the regular season on a high note, with a commanding 12-3 road win over the Independence Tigers on Friday, May 23. Sylvester powered the Falcons’ offense, driving in five runs on three hits. He delivered a two-run single in the sixth inning before breaking the game open with a bases-clearing triple in the seventh. Sylvester’s standout performance at the plate helped send the team into the postseason with renewed momentum.
Donatella expressed, “I feel like everybody is close and we all fight together to come back from losing games and we come together as a team to solve the problems from previous games and work hard to earn wins together as a team. Our new coach holds us more accountable, and I think if we hold more responsibility, then it creates a better team chemistry, and I think we’re better prepared [for playoffs] this year.”
The boys’ next game will be a district tournament game against Stone Bridge on Tuesday, May 27, at 6:00 pm. Make sure to come out and support your Briar Woods Falcons!
