Falcons Ride Momentum into Second Round

In the middle of April, the Falcon baseball team lost three straight games to drop to third place in the conference. The last loss was at North Surry by a single run, and could have quite easily done the Falcons in for the season. Not this team.

The Sandlot Boys turned it around at West Stokes with a 12-3 thumping of the Wildcats that started the current eight game winning streak. The Falcons finished the conference season at 7-3 and entered the conference tournament as a three seed.

In the first round of the conference tournament, Carver failed to produce a team so Forbush got a free pass to the semis. In the semis, the Falcons squared off against the Wildcats for a third time. This one was over quickly as the Falcons routed the Wildcats 16-4 to earn its spot in the conference tournament final. South Stokes upended the Greyhounds of North Surry to setup a #3 vs #4 in the tournament's final game. This gave Forbush the opportunity to leap over West Stokes and secure the 2 seed for the 2A playoffs with a win over South Stokes.

The Falcons were able to get a run in the seventh to overtake the Sauras and claim the WPAC tournament championship, earning the 2 seed out of the conference and overall 13 seed in the West.

The Falcons were paired up with the Warhorses of Owen High School. The Falcons would host this game on Tuesday night in East Bend for a chance to advance to the second round of the 2A playoffs.

Brett Fulk took the mound for the Falcons and set the visiting Warhorses down with ease in the first inning. In the bottom half, Bryson Lee and Neil Hutchens both reached by way of a walk. A wild pitch put Lee on third with Campbell at the plate. Campbell's SAC fly to left scored Lee to put the Falcons ahead early, 1-0.

The Falcon offense extended the lead in the bottom of the second inning with a two-out rally. Williams was hit by a pitch, and Foster and Lee walked to load the bases for Neil Hutchens. Neil came through with a single to left that plated both Williams and Foster to put the Falcons ahead 3-0.

The Warhorses got one back in the third inning to make the score 3-1, but the Falcons pulled away in the fifth to take any potential drama out of the late innings. The final score was 8-1 in favor of the Falcons. Tyler Campbell finished with 2 RBIs while Carson Fulp and Neil Hutchens contributed two hits each in the rout.

The Falcons will travel to face Randleman on Friday or Saturday of this week. This game will be a tough test for the Sandlot Boys, but well within their capabilities if they make plays. Good luck Falcons!

Brett Fulk pitched seven strong innings, striking out nine and only allowing one run to get the win. Fulk kept the Warhorses off-balance for most of the night by mixing his pitches. He really set the tone for most of the Warhorse at-bats.

Carson Fulp comes up with a key play in the third inning on a slow grounder in the hole. Fulp picked up the ball on the dead run and got the off-balanced throw to first for the out to end the threat.