Over the weekend, the Hargrave Tigers earned a pair of key victories over Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy (20-18) and Randolph-Macon Academy (17-16) to boost their overall record to 5-6 heading into the home stretch.
Starting on Friday afternoon in Bedford, VA, the Tigers showed a strong level of persistence and perseverance. Heading into the top of the fifth inning, Hargrave, who previously defeated Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy 14-4, found themselves trailing 6-0. Ironically enough, the Tigers have been feast or famine this season and have yet to play a full seven innings, either in victory or defeat. So as the game unfolded Friday evening, Hargrave found themselves not only going the distance but in an extra innings battle with the Ospreys with neither team giving an inch until the final out in the bottom of the ninth where the Tigers emerged with the 20-18 victory. “It was an incredible game,” stated Head Coach Frank Thomas ’87. “I’ve been a part of a lot of Hargrave Baseball games over my career and this one is up there with some of the most exciting games I’ve witnessed. I’m so proud of our efforts today!”
Unfortunately, the Tigers had little time to celebrate the win as they hit the road early Saturday morning to head to Front Royal, VA for a matchup with Randolph-Macon Academy. It was on Saturday afternoon that the youngest members of this Hargrave squad were able to continue to make their mark on this 2021 campaign. During a furious comeback, the Tigers were paced by “Tank”, Dean Friedburg ’25 (Virginia Beach, VA) who poured in three extra base hits for Hargrave. It was in the bottom of the seventh when David Arthur ’25 (Newport News, VA) showed true guts on the mound, battling through a number of jams. However, this Hargrave team seems to have a flair for the dramatic and with the bases loaded for RMA, Friedburg snagged a smoking hot line drive at third base, making his case to be on the Sportscenter Top Ten, to lock down the 17-16 victory.
Hargrave wraps up the final week of the regular season with a pair of conference matchups starting on Tuesday May 4th as they head to Martinsville, VA to square off with Carlisle School. Game time is set for 4:30 PM.
