FHS Baseball, 1 - 2 Punch

In baseball and softball, fielding positions are given numbers to make scoring easier. The pitcher receives the number 1, while the catcher is noted as number 2. For the Falcons on Wednesday night, the 1-2 punch (pitcher-catcher) was Tyler Campbell and Carter Foster.

Tyler took the mound for the Falcons against the Cardinals of East Wilkes. Tyler went seven strong innings, allowing only 2 earned runs while striking out 11 batters. He also managed at 2 for 2 performance at the plate with a home run.

Carter Foster was the other half of the 1-2 punch. Carter plays the punishing position of catcher, and deserves some of the credit for his role in the 11 strikeouts. At the plate, Carter contributed to the cause by legging out a double and a triple on the night.

It was the triple that got things started for the Falcons in the bottom of the 1st inning. Foster drove the 1-0 pitch to left field, and sped around the bases. Campbell brought him home two batters later with a two-run shot to center field.

The Cardinals put two runs on the board in the top of the 2nd inning with a little help from the Falcon defense. A hit batter, interference and an error allowed East Wilkes to tie the score at 2 apiece.

The Falcons jumped back out front in the bottom half of the inning with the aid of a couple of walks and back-to-back doubles by Carter Foster and Jamie Sheek. Going in to the 3rd, the lead was back to three (5-2) for the Falcons.

Again, East Wilkes clawed back with one run in the 4th and another in the 5th to make the score 5-4 for the Falcons. That is as close as the Cardinals would come. The Falcons tacked on six more runs for a 10-4 win.

After graduating several seniors, this year's team is proving to be ahead of the curve this early in the season. Next up for the Falcons is a home game against the Rams of Starmount on Friday.

Come out and support the team!

Game Note - For East Wilkes, it was the first game under head coach Bradley Hayes as he had switched over to baseball from softball. An experienced coach with a wealth of knowledge. He will have the Cardinals hitting their stride shortly.

Landreth Cockerham gave the JV Falcons four solid innings to help capture the first win of the young season. The game was knotted up until the 3rd inning when the Falcons finally got on the scoreboard.

The starting pitcher had held the Falcons scoreless over the first two innings, but was pulled before the start of the third. East Wilkes ran several different pitchers to the mound, but none could keep the Falcons off the bases.

Forbush jumped out to a big lead (8-2), and Cockerham kept working out of trouble. The toughest came in the fourth inning when the Cardinals got runners in scoring position, but Cockerham managed to get out of the jam.

Trayton Tuttle relieved Cockerham in the 5th inning, and set the Cardinals down in convincing fashion over the final three innings. Twice the Falcons almost ended the game early, but couldn't come up with the key hit. Still, a good performance from the team as the Falcons finished off the Cardinals 10-2 in seven innings.