The Fort Chiswell Varsity Baseball Team lost their first game of the season last week and dropped their first MED game this week to the Grayson Co. Blue Devils 4-3 in Grayson on Monday. FC led the entire way as Owen Jackson started the fire in the first inning with a double and later scored on a double from Cooper Davis as the Pioneers took an early 1-0 lead even though it felt like the Fort should have gotten more as the bases were loaded with one out and the Devils escaped with a double play.
These kinds of things seemed to happen throughout the game as many linedrives were caught or balls that were hit really hard just didn’t find the ground. It seemed that the only constant for the Fort was Owen Jackson as the sophomore struck 14 Blue Devils in six complete innings while only surrendering two hits, one walk, and no runs. Despite the lights out performance on the mound the Pioneers failed to capitalize in key situations with bases loaded and multiple runners on in just about every inning and only plated the one run until the top of the seventh inning when Mac Phillips and Cooper Reynolds each singled scoring runs to make the score 3-0 FC going into the bottom of the seventh where the Devils took advantage of Jackson’s absence on the mound due to pitch count numbers and plated fours runs on two walks and three hits one being a two out base clearing triple by Grayson’s Ward. This was followed by a walkoff single by Weatherman that sealed the 4-3 victory.
With the loss, FC drops to 11-2 on the year. Jackson, Davis, Reynolds, Phillips, and Cam Ward recorded the only hits for the Fort as they really struggled with the slower pitching that the Blue Devils threw at them. Grayson’s starting pitcher, Bryant surrendered four hits and two runs over six innings.
