Game 1 East Regional v. South Atlanta Knights

The Warriors (11-3) started off the East Regional Homeschool Tournament with an awesome display of fire power. Winning by a score of 9-3 over the Atlanta South Knights, the Warriors pounded out 13 hits, including 7 extra base hits: a HR by Chris, triples by TJ, Taylor and Bill, and doubles by Zach, Caleb and Chris. Multihit games for Caleb ( 3-4), Chris (3-4), Taylor (2-4), and Matthew (2-3).

Bill started out pitching the first inning and battled the wind, an error, and some control problems and surrendered two runs (none earned) before giving way to Caleb after 1 batter in the second. Caleb pitched a masterful 4 innings giving up 1 run, on 3 hits. Matthew pitched a scoreless 6th and Thomas pitched a scoreless 7th to secure the win.

Defensively, the Warriors played very well highlighted by an ESPN Web Gem diving catch in left field by Christopher that saved 1 run (possibly 2) and stopped a potential rally for the Knights in the 3rd inning.

This game was a good first step towards our goal of securing a spot in the World Series. Our next game is scheduled for 12:30 on Thursday.

Games 9-13 v. Halifax, Patriots, Hawks and Ravenscroft

Wow! … It’s been over two weeks since I’ve updated the blog. But since that time, the Warriors (10-3) have played 5 games: A 6-0 victory of Halifax academy, losing both games in a double header to the Richmond (VA) Patriots Homeschool team, a victory over the Raleigh Hawks homeschool team, and an exciting come from behind win against Ravenscroft.

Some highlights from each of the games.

The Warriors hosted Halifax on Wednesday, April 1. Bill started the game throwing 4 innings shutout innings (7Ks, 3BB, 2 Hits) before giving up the ball to Thomas (1K, 0 BB, 1 hit) who pitched two shutout innings followed by Matthew who closed the game out facing 3 batters in the seventh. Offensively, Bill was 2-3, Caleb was 2-3 with two RBIs, and TJ had a triple.

On Saturday, April 4th, the Warriors hosted a double header against the Richmond Patriots Homeschool team. The Warriors lost both games, but gained some needed experience against a well coached, good defensive team. In the first game, TJ pitch an excellent three innings and was hurt by some defensive miscues in the second inning. In the second inning the Warriors gave up 3 runs, but only 1 earned run. TJ struck out 4 in 4 innings of work, walked 1, and gave up 5 hits. Chris came in and pitched to only 3 batters. He asked to come out due. He wasn’t feeling well and was dehydrated and nauseas. Caleb came in and finished out the game, allowing only 1 inherited runner to score.

Offensively, in the 1st inning, we ran ourselves out of a potentially big inning by being aggressive on the base paths. In the first, Zach worked a walk, Whit reach on an error and Caleb had an RBI single moving scoring Zach and moving Whit to 3rd. Caleb stole second, but on the throw down, the Patriots executed a perfect fake throw and cutoff to the second baseman who caught the ball behind the pitchers mound, and threw out Whit who was trying to score. Bill was up next hit a sharp ball to third, and caught Caleb off of second, and the TJ hit a nice single but was picked off of 1st base after taking too big of a turn. The Warriors scored a run in the second with Caleb getting an RBI single after Whit singled and stole second. The Warriors scored in the 6th after Josh stroked a single, took second on a passed ball, and scoring after a throwing error by the Patriots shortstop on Thomas ground ball. The final score of the ball game was 4-3 Patriots.

In the second game of the double header, Richmond Bill started off pitching for the Warriors going 4+ innings allowing 5 runs. Matthew came in the after Bill allowed two back-to-back doubles in the fifth. Matthew allowed 1 earned run in three innings. The Warriors had a chance to come back in this game and did come back scoring three runs in the bottom of the 7th but back to back strikeouts to end the games with the bases loaded left a bad taste in the Warriors mouths. Final score, Richmond 7 Warriors 5. Offensive highlights include TJ with another triple, Taylor going 2-3 with a walk and Matthew going 3-4 with and RBI, and Chris coming back (after getting some fluids and food in him) going 2-2 as a late inning replacement. 2 Good games, 2 less than good outcomes on the scoreboard, but definitely a learning process which will hold us in good stead going into the Homeschool regionals.

After the Richmond games, we had a game scheduled for Monday but the rain came and the game was cancelled. After taking off for Easter the well rested Warriors faced another homeschool rival, the Raleigh Hawks on Tuesday 4/14. After having rained on and off up until game time, the game was delay by about ½ hour as a thunderstorm rolled by. The rain delay didn’t seem to mean much to the Warriors as the beat the Hawks 3-0. Bill pitched the entire game giving up only two hits, no runs and two walks while striking out 8.

Offensively, Caleb provided the only offense we needed with a solo HR in the 4th inning. An additional run was manufactured, also in the 4th; Bill hitting a single, Taylor working a walk, Matthew bunting the players to 2nd and 3rd, and Thomas reaching on an error, scoring Mark (who was running for Bill) in the process. In the 6th inning, the Warriors added its third run on a sacrifice fly by Thomas.

Defensively, the play of game happened in the bottom of the 6th. The Hawks got their leadoff man on (and their fastest player); he stole second and took third on Whit’s throwing error on the steal. The next batter was retired, and the #3 batter was up to bat. On a sharp grounder to Zach at third, Zach looked back at the runner twice to make sure he didn’t break on the throw, fired the ball over to Thomas for the out at 1st. The runner on third did break for home. Thomas threw a perfect strike to Whit at home who blocked the plate, got the tag out for an inning ending double play. Perfect execution, scoring threat eliminated, shutout preserved, inning over and game effectively over. Warrior win!

Ravenscoft was the next challenge for the Warriors. After facing each other earlier in the season, the Warriors had revenge on their mind, and Ravenscroft wanted to continue its winning ways against the Warriors. (Coach Harvey could not remember ever beating the Ravens, losing 5 consecutive times).

TJ was on the mound for the Warriors and had a tough outing. He allowed three runs on 4 walks and 1 infield single. In the second inning TJ walked the 1st batter and pulled for Chris. Ravenscroft did not score another run. In 6 innings of work, Chris struck out 9 players, allowed two hits (one was a bunt single), and walked 3. Whit had a great game behind the plate, gunning down two potential base stealers.

Offensively the Warrior struggled for 5 innings scoring only 1 run on Caleb’s RBI single in the first until the fireworks in the 6th. Being down 3-1 after 5 completed innings, Coach Harvey gathered the team together and told them, “Pay attention to the signs, we may be playing a little small ball.” Chris leadoff with a leadoff double in the top of the sixth and Matthew laid down a perfect bunt moving Chris over to third and beating out the throw to first. Thomas hit the ball to shortstop who didn’t make the play. With Matthew on 2nd and Thomas on 1st, Taylor after going 2-2 (double and single) also laid down a great bunt. Ravenscroft threw over to third to try and get Matthew. He slid in head first to beat the throw to set up bases loaded for Zach. After throwing 1 ball to Zach, the Ravenscroft pitcher was lifted. Zach worked the count full and then on a 3-2 pitch drove the ball deep to left field. Going, going,,,GONE, grand slam home run. Warriors up 7-3 and with Chris on the mound, the game effectively over. It was a great game for us.

Tonight’s game against Rocky Mount has been cancelled, so our next game is now our tournament games. The homeschool regional starts on Wednesday and we’re all looking forward to it.

Game 8 v. Lee Christian

The Warriors (7-1) travelled down to Lee County today and beat Lee Christian Academy 15-3. The Warriors sent 8 men to the plate in the first inning, scoring 4 runs and never looked back. Thomas started the game and got the win pitching three shutout innings before giving way to the bullpen.

In the 4th inning, the Warriors sent 10 men to the plate opening up an 8 run lead. Several firsts happened in this game. Luke and Brian both got their first hits, Matthew had his first multi-hit game, Caleb had his first single, Chris hit his first home run and Michael delivered the first room service (or is that dugout service) delivery of popcorn.

After having last week’s Thursday and Friday games cancelled due to the weather it was good to get back out on the field and have a game where everyone contributed. The rest of the week’s schedule looks more difficult. The Warriors face Halifax Academy on Wednesday, Louisburg H.S. on Thursday and finish off with week with a double header on Saturday against the Richmond Patriots.

Game 7 v. Rocky Mount Academy

Another strong performance by the Warriors (6-1) earned the team a 9-2 victory over the Eagles of Rocky Mount Academy. Playing their first away game since their defeat v. Ravenscoft, the Warriors were held in check at the plate for the first 3 innings managing only 2 walks and going down in order in both the 1st and 3rd innings. Meanwhile, the Eagles managed to scratch out a couple of runs on a HR in the second and stringing together two hits in the third.

The Warriors bats came to life in the forth inning where they batted around and scored three runs, highlighted by a double by Bill and a triple by Chris. In the fifth inning, the Warriors sent 11 men to the plate with Zach and TJ both roping RBI doubles, and Chris, Taylor and Matthew each adding RBI singles to the hit parade.

Strong pitching and defense contributed to the Warrior’s victory. TJ pitched 4 innings allowing 4 hits and two runs, walking two, hitting one batter and striking out 5. Chris came in in the fifth, shutting the door by giving up no runs, 1 hit, 1 walk, and striking out 5.

The Web Gem defensive play-of-the-game, once again involved TJ. In the fifth inning with the Warriors holding a 9-2 lead, the Eagles came to the plate with the heart of their order up. The first batter walked, the second batter (the #3 batter in their lineup) roped a double over TJ’s head in left field. TJ chased the ball down, fired a perfect throw to the cut off man, Caleb, who then executed a perfect turn and threw a strike from the outfield grass to Whit, to cut the man down at the plate for the first out of the inning. The Eagles, with their confidence deflated, weren’t able to get another man on base for the rest of game.

The Warrior’s next game is scheduled for Thursday, against conference opponent, the Raleigh Hawks, at USA baseball in Cary.

Games 5 and 6 v. Forsyth

Playing a double header at Fleming v. our first conference opponents, the Warriors (5-1) exhibited excellent pitching, hitting and defense to sweep the Forsyth Home Educators, 12-1 in first game and 8-4 in the second.

In the first game, Bill pitched a complete game allowing only 2 hits. He struck out 7 batters over 5 innings and didn’t walk anyone. The defensive web gem of the day came in the fifth inning when the visitors loaded the bases with no outs, and the heart of the order coming up. The Forsyth batter lifted a fly ball to left field where TJ settled under the ball, caught it, and fired a laser to Whit who tagged out the runner trying score. Going from bases loaded no outs, to men on first and second 2 outs, in one play, took the wind out of the opponents, and Bill induced the next batter into a 1-3 ground out to end the game.

Offensively, in the first game, we scored in each inning and batted around in the 4th, scoring 5 runs in that frame. Leading batters in the first game were Whit (2-3), Caleb (2-4), Bill (2-3), and Mark (1-1).

In the second game, Caleb started off on the mound going 4 strong innings allowing 2 earned runs, striking out 2, and walking 2 (erasing one of those walks by picking off the runner on 1st). Chris came in to finish off the game in the fifth inning and earn a save by striking out 6, walking 2 and allowing 2 earned runs.

Offensively, the dramatic moment came in the bottom of the 6th. Forsyth had scored twice in the top of the sixth to come within one of the Warriors, 5-4, and the momentum seemed to be shifting. Caleb started off our half of the inning with a walk. Caleb moved over to second on a wild pitch, and Forsyth decided to intentionally walk Bill. Chris hit a single to load the bases with no out. Matthew came to the plate. The first pitch to Matthew was a wild pitch, scoring Caleb from 3rd and the other two runners moving up. Matthew then laid down a perfect squeeze bunt, scoring Bill and moving Chris to third. Next up for the Warriors was Taylor who worked a walk. Then Josh hit the ball to the infield in a potentially inning ending double play, but, by hustling down the first base line, didn’t allow the defense to double him up which allowed Chris to score. With three runs in, the Warriors had an 8-4 lead going into the 7th inning, they had some breathing room, and Chris was able to close them down with 2Ks and a ground out to end the game.

Next week brings three away games. On Tuesday, the Warriors travel to Rocky Mount to face Rocky Mount Christian Academy; on Thursday, we travel to the USA baseball complex to take on our league opponent the Raleigh Hawks, and we finish off the week with a rare Friday night game against Wilson Christian Academy.

Game 4 v. Greenville

The Warriors (3-1) returned to their winning ways with a 10-0 victory against Greenville Christian. TJ went the distance on the mound with a 5 inning 1 hit effort that saw error free defence, timely hitting, and good situational play. In the first inning, Zach scored on a double by Caleb for the first run. In the second, Brian scored on a sacrifice fly by Chris. In the third the Warriors posted a couple of more runs, and broke it open in the forth inning by scoring 6 runs. The 10 hit effort was highlighted by extra base hits by Caleb (double), and TJ (triple).


Conference play begins Saturday with a double header against Forsyth Home Educators at Flemming. Gametimes are scheduled for 1 and 3.

Game 3 v. Ravenscroft

The Warriors were handed our first loss last night in a tough game against Ravenscroft. We faced some solid pitching and while we were able to put the ball into play well, we had a hard time coming up with the hits when we needed them, stranding four runners in scoring position. Ravenscroft was not overpowering but were able to string together a few hits and were helped by a few Warrior errors. We were missing some key players, but overall the players stepped up and gave a good showing against our first real tough competition. Of particular note was a solid game at second base by Brian, and a 2 for 3 outing at the plate by Mark. A bouncer off the wall in center by Bill and a ground rule double in left center by Caleb were also impressive. This was a good game for us and the first of an upcoming string of games against strong teams. We’re finished getting our feet wet and now it’s time to plunge in game by game as we move towards the East Regionals at the end of April.

Game 2 v. Wilson Christian

A great night to open our home field. - With temperatures hovering around 60, a full moon partially obscured by the clouds, and Caleb Clark in the announcers booth, the Warriors took it to Wilson Christian 12-2, completing the game in just 5 innings.

Caleb, making his first start of the season put two strong innings together without giving up a run. Chris pitched 1 inning and gave up 1 run while striking out 2. Matthew came in an pitched the final two innings giving up 1 run and striking out 4.

The Warriors also were strong at the plate, batting around in the 1st and sending 11 batters to the plate in the second inning.

Defensively, the Warriors played error free baseball highlighted by Chris making an ESPN web gem diving catch in center field in the first inning.

Next game at Ravenscroft on Thursday.

Game 1 v. Durham Academy

Great Game - We won 9-0.

What a difference 3 days make. After getting 3 inches of snow on the ground Monday and therefore, postponing Tuesday's original season opening game to a later date, waking up this Friday with expected temperatures of around 70 at game time was enough to get any baseball fan's blood pumping.

The weather did not disappoint, and neither did the team.

Pitching and defense wins championships and we got both today. Bill and Thomas combined for a 4 hit shutout which was called after 6 innings due to darkness. And with the exception of one tough hop for Caleb at shortstop we played error free ball.

In the first inning the Durham pitcher shut us down, but in the second inning we batted around, scoring 3 runs. We tacked on two in the 4th, one in the fifth, and 3 in the 6th.

As a team we hit .444 for the game and had on on-base percentage of .541.

Multi-hit games for Zach, Whit, Thomas, TJ.

We're still learning how to run bases and left a few runs on the basepaths, but overall a very satisfying beginning for out season. Next up - Our Home Opener v. Wilson Christian at Flemming on Tuesday 3/10 at 7PM.

Post Scrimmage Report 2-25-09

The first scrimmage is now behind us. We lost 14-6. Some observations...

1. We have depth at pitching. - We pitched six pitchers...Caleb, Bill, TJ, Thomas, Matthew, and Zach. All of the boys looked good. Cardinal Gibbons is a good hitting team.
2. Caleb and Thomas both had multi-hit games. (Caleb was 2-2 single, double, walk and Thomas was 2-3).
3. Until the last inning we had only 2 Ks and we were putting the ball in play.
4. Defensively, we played OK. We had some good plays and some errors, some of which could be attributed to 1st game nerves.

Coach Harvey made good use of the free substitution rules that a scrimmage situation gives us. All players got at least one at bat, and everyone also got into the game defensively. We batted 10 players all game long, and at one point we batted 11. Our primary goal was not to win the game, but rather get everyone into a game scenario and hit against quality live pitching.

The team accomplished it's goal and we're looking forward to our next outing.

Our next schedule practice is at Flemming on Saturday. Depending on the weather and the availability of Wake Christian, we may be scrimmaging.

Baseball Spring 2009 begins !!

The Wake County Homeschool Warriors kick off their season on 2/25 with a scrimmage against Cardinal Gibbons.

After losing 6 seniors from last year's WCHS Warriors' Varsity team (three of whom are playing at the next level), the makeup of this team was unknown heading into winter workouts and spring training. After six weeks of practice, we can now say that the Warriors, behind a roster of 15 players and pitching staff that goes 8 deep, are poised for another successful year.

Returning this year from last year's team are: Whit Harvey, Caleb Furlough, Zach Boyd. Players that are coming up from last year's middle school team are: Matthew Carlson, TJ Hogan, and Christopher Donaldson. Players who played two years ago for the Warriors' Middle School team are: Will Conley, Thomas Sherrer, Josh Rudd. Players new to the program are: Bill Clark, Chris Nelson, Brian Hicks, Luke Harvey, Taylor Stephens and Mark Hood.

Caleb Clark initially penciled in as one of our starting pitchers returning from last year, had to undergo surgery on his arm this winter and will have to miss this spring season.

The Warrior website is wchsbaseball.com. This site lists the entire schedule, has last minute changes to the schedule, and also information about the Middle School program.