BASEBALL: Abingdon Claims Third, While Tazewell Takes SWD Title

BY ALLEN GREGORY
BRISTOL HERALD COURIER
TAZEWELL, Va. – Nathan Hagy has an important job with the Abingdon Falcons.

As one of only two seniors, Hagy is expected to provide offense, defense and leadership for a baseball team that graduated six starters after last season.

“Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect before our first game,” Hagy said. “We have a young team, but we’ve come together and played well. Now, we just want to keep playing.”

The Falcons (18-5) took a vital step in defense of their Region IV title Friday, stopping Carroll County, 14-2, for third place in the Southwest District tournament at Lou Peery Field.

AHS earned the right to host the No. 3 seed from the Piedmont District, Patrick County, in Monday’s opening round of the Region IV tournament. Patrick County (13-7) defeated Magna Vista 14-0 in
Thursday’s Piedmont tournament, won by four-time state champion Tunstall (19-1) for the eighth straight year.

Entering Friday, Abingdon had not collected more than five hits in each of its past three games. That string included losses to SWD rivals, Tazewell and Richlands. AHS coach Mark Francisco felt it was time for a back-to-basics pregame speech.

“Instead of being tight or trying to put a lot of pressure on ourselves, our goal was just to come out and have fun,” Francisco said. “And we swung the bats a little better.”

Abingdon compiled 10 hits against three Carroll County pitchers. Luke Hilt, senior Bobby Webb, and Zach Witt bagged two hits apiece, with Witt sealing the game in the fifth inning with a grand slam off a high fastball.

According to Witt, the scenario for his first career grand slam was dreamy.

“That was my first home run of the season,” said Witt, who has a batting average in .350 range. “It was pretty much picture-perfect.”

Witt said the Falcons took their pregame chat to heart.

“It seems our whole team has been in a slump here lately, but we kind of came out of it today,” Witt said. “We’re just focusing on getting back to the fun part of the game. That’s what baseball is all about.”

Freshman right-hander Heath Shelton, making just his second career start, held the potent Carroll County offense to eight hits by staying ahead in the count and letting his defense make plays.

Francisco wasn’t surprised by the poise of Shelton, a sensation on the Little League and youth league levels.

“Heath works extremely hard on his game year-round, and he just competes,” Francisco said. “Heath did an excellent job in this game, and he’s got a bright future.”

If the Falcons are to make another playoff run, it will be up to Hagy to engineer the charge. In addition to earning rave reviews for his work in centerfield, Hagy has earned six wins on the mound and keyed the offense.

Hagy, who drove in three runs Friday, plans to play baseball at Appalachian Athletic Conference power Tennessee Wesleyan College.

“The past few games have been a little frustrating, so we just tried to keep our heads up and just look forward to what’s ahead,” Hagy said. “We did a lot better job of hitting today, and we had fun.”

And Witt hopes the fun run can lead to another regional title.

“We’ve set ourselves up,” Witt said. “I don’t see why we can’t do the same thing again.”

Leadoff batter Jordan Lamb led Carroll County (11-12) with a pair of singles, while Eric Cox tripled. The Cavaliers, who are led by Tyler Reavis (.375), travel to face a River Ridge District foe Monday.

Tazewell 12, Richlands 3
The late game pitted a pair of Tazewell County rivals. Once again, Tazewell displayed offensive balance en route to a comfortable win and the SWD championship.

The Bulldogs built a 7-2 lead after three innings, and finished with eight hits. Josh Mitchem supplied three hits and three runs for Tazewell, while freshman Zach Wasilewski added two hits and T.J. Taxley homered.

Veteran Tazewell coach Lou Peery features three players hitting over 400, in Tyler Kitts (.472), Wasilewski (.462) and Trey Lambert (.440). Dustin Dean (7-0, 1.55 earned run average) and Trey Lambert are the top pitchers.

Three Tazewell pitchers combined to check Richlands on four hits Friday. Joel Elswick contributed two hits for Richlands, which made three errors.

Tazewell played spotless defense.

“We’ve got a good mix with four seniors, three juniors and five sophomores,” Peery said. “The majority of these kids started last year, so they’ve got a years experience. “Plus, these kids get along well and play hard for each other. Any coach would like that approach.

Tazewell (19-3) will host Blacksburg (13-7) Tuesday night at 6 in regional play, while Richlands (13-8) travels to Bassett (11-10) in a 5 p.m. game Tuesday.