Lafayette Baseball Recap

After the conclusion of the Winter sports season comes the arrival of springs sports. Tryouts have finished and teams have been chosen, one of them being the Lafayette Baseball team, a program trying further improve upon last season’s accomplishments of district and regional champs.

Only losing two seniors to graduation from last year’s team, the team of returners, and draws on performances from five veteran seniors – Blake Townsend, Kevin Cole, Luke Hanson, Price Whitaker, and Tristan Hiestand. Talent from the sophomore class could bring some offensive ability from players such as Austen Townsend and Elijah Matthews. Combined with some other returners from last year, the Rams have a strong case to repeat last years season and go even further.

Looking at the competition across the district, nothing seems to have changed. Tabb and New Kent will be in the hunt to win out in the playoffs as both teams are in the same division as Lafayette, Region 3A. Teams such as Grafton and Smithfield will also pose a threat, with them being included into the schedule this year. However, it does look like it is yet again the Rams’ region to win. With the combined experience of playing together and the success in the playoffs, Lafayette looks good to have a solid season.

Last week, the Rams had their opening week, taking two wins from two close games. On Wednesday, the team traveled to take on Grafton and their Lynchburg-committed pitcher. After a few rough innings, the Rams fell behind, but late into the game came back to win their first of the season 11-7. Two days, later, the Rams stuck out a W against York 2-1 after scoring two runs in the bottom of the 7th. The following weekend, the Rams played a doubleheader against out-of-district competition Rappahannock, taking both games four-three and five-four. The Rams closed the weekend 4-0. This week, the Rams must face the toughest section of the schedule, with Tabb at` home, then traveling to New Kent Friday.

The Rams took on a handful of division one players from Tabb, but fell behind 4-1 going into the last inning. After recording an out, the Rams got three runners on, and then Tristan Hiestand came up big with a two-run double. A handful of RBI’s later and the rams tied the game at four, taking things to extra innings. After a solid defensive inning, the team would get a chance to win it in the bottom of the 8th. A single from senior Luke Hanson started things off, followed by a Blake Townsend bunt. The Rams would be unable to score for the next two batters however, and had 2 men on with two outs. Kevin Cole would walk the game off with a single to right to cap off a great team win and move the Rams to 5-0.