Boys Varsity Baseball Rounds Out the Season

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Brendan Moore, Junior Writer

The seniors may be out of school, but they are not off the baseball field yet. The Falcon baseball team had their district playoffs this week. If they won two games they would head to the Regionals. The Falcons first task was to take down rivals Stevenson who went 27-6 on the season.  

This game started Saturday morning at Dakota. Stevenson was starting their “ace” pitcher who threw a no-hitter last Wednesday against Chippewa Valley. Senior Nolan Hood started pitching for the Falcons. Ford started the game at the plate in the top of the first inning.  Senior Ian Cleary started a rally with a walk. Senior Chance Kirkwood moved him over to set up an RBI single for sophomore Noah Bright. Later in the inning, senior pitcher Nolan Hood hit a single to bring home two runners. Ford had a 3-0 before Stevenson answered back with two runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning. Due to storm clouds approaching, the game was postponed. The weather never cleared up, so the game would be continued Monday morning on June 3.

After a Sunday afternoon practice, the Falcons were ready to take down the Titans.  Nolan Hood would take the mound once again as Ford was still up 3-2 in the third inning. The game remained 3-2 until the seventh and final inning. The Falcons had to get three more outs to head to the district final. With runners on first and second base and two outs, the Titan batter hit a line shot to senior Ian Cleary in left field that dropped for a base hit. The runner from second was rounding third and on his way home to tie the game. Cleary’s throw was on the money for the catcher, sophomore, Noah Bright to tag him out. The Falcons won on that play and advanced to the district final. Senior pitcher Nolan Hood has thrown two straight complete games on the mound to end his high school career. The Falcons were ready to take down the Dakota Cougars in the final.  

The Falcons started senior Chance Kirkwood on the mound against Dakota. The defense struggled behind Kirkwood, making a couple of errors. However, sophomore Kyle Revere made a highlight reel diving catch in shallow right field in the sixth inning. This outstanding catch did not lead to an offensive rally at the plate. The Falcons failed to score a single run against the Cougars in this game. Ford recorded only four hits including two by Nolan Hood. Dakota scored three runs in the first inning and never looked back, winning 5-0. They will head to the Regional playoffs. Pitcher Chance Kirkwood took the loss giving up six hits and four earned runs in two innings. Sophomore Brendan Seman pitched five innings without giving up a run.  

The Falcons finished with 22 wins and 17 losses on the season. There were many highlights of the season including a senior night win 13-3 win and a walk off win at Jimmy John’s Field against Eisenhower. The Falcon baseball team will be back and hungry for a district title next spring.