Essex center fielder Hunter Byrd races in to catch a fly ball while teammate Keion Hence watches.
The Essex High baseball team clinched the third seed and a first round home game in this week’s Region 1A tournament following a 7-3 victory over Lancaster at Ashton Field in Tappahannock.
The result allowed the Trojans to finish in third place in the final Northern Neck District standings with a 6-3 record. The Westmoreland at Essex game scheduled for May 21 was canceled due to rain.
In the victory over Lancaster, Hunter Byrd led a 10-hit Essex attack with a 3-for-4 outing. Byrd scored three runs.
Teammates Kyran Howard, Noah Thompson, and Zay Bundy contributed two hits apiece, while Keion Hence doubled to account for the 10th Essex hit.
Thompsongotthewinonthemoundwitha62/3inningouting.He struck out eight, walked two and overcame a rough start when Lancaster scored a pair of runs during its first turn at bat.
Thompson was forced to exit the mound after reaching his pitch limit. Byrd recorded the game’s final out, ironically on a diving catch Thompson made at third base.
The Trojans’ Zay Bundy slides into third base as coach Charles Whitlock awaits the outcome.
“We had the pitching and hitting and our defense was pretty good,” said Essex coach Reed Harmon whose team posted its sixth consecutive win while hiking their overall record to 11-5. “We’re playing pretty well right now.”
After falling behind 2-0 in the first, Essex knotted the score in the home half of the inning. Thompson and Bundy delivered run-scoring singles.
Essex took the lead for good in the second on Byrd’s two-out, RBI single.
In the Essex third, Hence reached on an error, moved to second on an error, reached third on a Bundy single and scored on another Lancaster error to make it a 4-2 contest.
After Lancaster closed to 4-3 in the fourth, Essex answered as Byrd singled and later scored on a wild pitch. Thompson later delivered a runscoring single to make it a 6-3 contest.
Essex posted its final run in the sixth. Byrd reached on an error and later scored on Hence’s double.
“I was a little nervous at first, but this being Senior Night I wanted to put the ball in play,” Byrd said afterward.
Essex third baseman Jamie Segar prepares to throw out a batter at first base.
“That first inning was pretty tough, but I pushed through it and got some good defense behind me,” said Thompson, who threw 73 strikes among his 112 pitches.
“I’ve been struggling at the plate lately, but it felt good to help out my team with two clutch hits,” Howard said. “This definitely closed out my checklist. I won on Senior Night in football, basketball, and baseball.”
The previous day, Essex blanked Westmoreland 12-0 in Montross.
Jay Jeter went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a pair of runs scored to lead the Trojans’ offense. Byrd and Hence scored three runs apiece.
Freshman Jake Richardson went the distance on the mound. He finished with a two-hitter while recording five strikeouts. At the plate, he went 2-for-3.
Essex will next host Middlesex on May 29 in the quarterfinal round of the Region 1A tournament.
“We’re coming together at the right time and that’s always good,” Harmon stated. “I feel really good now that we have that number three seed.”
In other quarterfinals, NND champ Rappahannock hosts West Point, Northumberland entertains Chincoteague, and Lancaster visits Mathews.
Meanwhile, the Essex softball team finished out its season with a pair of setbacks. The Lady Trojans lost to Westmoreland 6-4 and to Lancaster 17-6. Essex finished with a 3-6 district mark and an overall record of 7-10.
Northern Neck District Baseball Standings: Rappahannock 9-1, 15-3; Northumberland 7-3, 13-3; Essex 6-3, 11-5; Lancaster 5-5, 12-8; Colonial Beach 2-8, 6-13; Westmoreland 0-9, 0-15.
Northern Neck District Softball Standings: Rappahannock 10-0, 13- 3; Northumberland 6-4, 11-5; Westmoreland 5-4, 8-7; Lancaster 5-5, 13-8; Essex 3-6, 7-10; Colonial Beach 0-10, 2-16.
Essex’s Noah Thompson fires one of his 112 pitches during the Trojans’ win over Lancaster. (Photo by Adrianna Brown)
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