Falcons Improve To 10-1 With Victory Over John Battle

ABINGDON, Va. – Abingdon baseball coach Mark Francisco looked at his young team and smiled late Thursday night. The Falcon boss had reason to be happy.

After Thursday’s 13-3 victory over John Battle, the Falcons have won 10 straight games since opening the season with a one-run loss to Virginia High.
That’s impressive, considering AHS was forced to replace six starters from last season’s Region IV champions.

“I actually didn’t expect this,” said Francisco, who relies on just two seniors. “The kids have just worked hard since the end of last season, and they’ve found a way to win.”

In addition to solid defense, the winning formula for AHS includes a team batting average of .309 along with an earned run average of 1.15.

The Falcons needed just five innings to stop Battle in a game that was originally scheduled for tonight.  Sophomore leadoff batter Luke Hilt supplied a three-run double in the third inning, as Falcons scored 10 runs.

Hilt played at the junior varsity level last season, but was able to watch the Falcons’ playoff run from the dugout as a reserve. The 2008 Falcons posted a 19-8 record en route to the third regional title in school history and first since 1987.

“We’re a little jealous of that team,” Hilt said. “We want to do even better, and that’s what we’re striving for.”

Entering Thursday’s game, Hilt was hitting .364. He padded that average with three hits against Battle.

“I’m just trying my hardest and having fun,” Hilt said. “Not many people thought we could do this well. We’ve got hitting throughout our lineup. It’s like a chain.”

Bobby Webb and Seth Kegley added run-scoring singles for AHS, which played flawless defense.

That was enough insurance for pitcher Zach Witt. The junior right-hander stuck out five over four innings to improve his record to 5-1. Witt, a first-team All-Southwest Virginia selection in 2008, recorded a no-hitter against Cave Spring last Saturday and entered Thursday with an ERA of 0.79.

The maturation process continues for a John Battle team starting six five freshmen and two seniors. One night after making three errors in a 7-4 loss to Clinch Mountain District rival Lebanon, the Trojans (4-8, 1-2) were hurt by four defensive miscues and eight walks.

Battle coach Larry Cannon refused to use inexperience as an excuse.

“We’re not freshmen anymore,’’ Cannon said. “These boys could certainly be playing better than they did tonight. “

The Trojans scored 10 runs in a single inning en route to a recent win over Tennessee High.

“Our guys have it in them,” Cannon said. “It’s just a matter of getting them to believe in themselves.

Abingdon has a fine team that plays with confidence and finds ways to win. That’s what we’ve got to do – find ways to win instead of finding ways to lose.”

Taryn Hayden and Alex Couch led Battle with two singles apiece Thursday. The 2008 Trojans won the CMD regular season season title and advanced to the Region D semifinals behind two first-team All Southwest Virginia picks in Cody Calloway and CMD player of the year Jerry Jones.

Francisco hopes for even more good news Saturday night when AHS travels to longtime rival Virginia High.

“I think some of that success from last season has rubbed off our kids. They expect to do good things,” Francisco said.

John Battle 102 00-3 7 4
Abingdon 21(10) 0x-13 6 0
Blackburn, Hayden (3)  and J. Hughes.  Witt, Nadler (5) and Pope. W-Witt (5-1). L-Blackburn. HR-none.