As the calendar shifts to Spring, the Hargrave Tigers are out in full force on the diamond with four games under their belt over the past 13 days! With a younger roster under Head Coach, Frank Thomas ’87, the Tigers are making daily improvements in the face of a difficult 2022-23 schedule. Below are some brief recaps of Hargrave’s first four games:
Game 1: Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy (Friday March 10th)
The Hargrave Tigers opened their season at historic Fuller Field against the Ospreys of Smith Mountain Lake Christian Academy, a familiar foe for the Tigers over the past three baseball seasons. In front of a great home crowd, the Tigers battled through some early season miscues and outside of one less than ideal inning, Hargrave turned in a strong performance despite being defeated 7-4. This young group showed promise in their season opener!
Game 2: Miller School (Monday March 13th)
Hargrave kicked off the week with their second game of the season and their first game in BRAC conference play at Miller School in Crozet, Virginia. Miller, who has risen to both state and national level prominence over the past several years under outstanding leadership, was primed and ready to take on the Tigers and ultimately defeated Hargrave by a final score of 18-0. Even in the loss, a pair of young players, Miles Rountrey-Gentle and Michael Delaney, showed great potential in the field and at the plate! The loss moved the Tigers to 0-2 on the year, 0-1 in conference play.
Game 3: New Community School (Tuesday March 14th)
The Tigers’ third game of the season also doubled as their first back-to-back as they hit the road again and made their way to the state capital of Richmond, Virginia to take on New Community School as part of a two game agreement dating back to last season. After all the miles traveled in the past two days, Hargrave came out sluggish in the early part of the game, spotting New Community School an early lead that the home team would never relinquish en route to a 12-2 victory. Hargrave fell to 0-3 on the season but continued to show growing ability in all facets of the game.
Game 4: Blue Ridge School (Tuesday March 21st)
The Tigers took the trip up 29 North for their second BRAC conference matchup of the young season at Blue Ridge School. Despite some unfortunate mishaps, Hargrave never quit in their 16-5 defeat. Aiden Dykstra, Fred Bossart, and Miles Rountrey-Gentle all provided standout performances for the Tigers at the dish, on the mound, and in the field! The loss moved Hargrave to 0-4 on the year and 0-2 in BRAC play.
The Tigers are back in action at Fuller Field on Friday, March 24th as they host BRAC Conference opponent, Covenant. First pitch is slated for 4:30 PM.
