The FHS baseball team has made quite the turnaround compared to last year’s season. Last year, the team only had four wins with 16 losses and was twelfth in the Northwestern District. However, the baseball team has now more than doubled their win total from last year with 12 wins and only two losses as of May 2. The team is second in the Northwestern District and has reached the top five teams in the class 3 state division, top 50 in all of Virginia and top 25 in the DC Metro Area, per MaxPreps. This season, FHS baseball is looking to make a deep run in the state tournament following the very impressive start to the season.
“As of right now, we’re playing around how we expected and we came into the season with high hopes,” said senior Hunter Gray. Despite the rough previous season, the baseball team entered into this one with a positive outlook. Gray attributed the turnaround to growth, stating, “Last year was definitely a growing year, so this year is definitely going to be where that growth pays off.” Last year, the team was on the younger side, while for this year the team is overwhelmingly full of upperclassmen, with some new players from other high schools further strengthening the roster.
The season began with a four game win streak, until they were halted by Brentsville District High School. Brentsville will be the team to beat this year as they hold the number one position in the Northwest District. During the rematch game, FHS fell to Brentsville again, and these have been FHS’ only two losses. Gray said, “So far this year, we’ve only had a couple little things happen in games that have cost our two losses, but it’s just really inconsistency. Some days will have one part of the team working well while the others not, and if we can really mesh those two together, I think that’s a success.”
Major triumphs throughout the season have been the team’s wins against Kettle Run High School (KRHS) and Liberty High School (LHS). FHS managed to complete the sweep against KRHS by beating them twice and beat LHS once in the one game that was scheduled between the schools. An incredible feat was when FHS beat Manassas Park High School 44 runs to 0.
The baseball team is optimistic about a deep run in the state tournament. Despite a slow restart following the spring break, the team has continued with their blazing momentum. Currently, the team is on a five game win streak and hopes to carry this momentum into the postseason tournament. The regular season ends on May 14. Gray ended with a good attitude, win or lose, saying, “No matter who we play, we’re always going to go out and play our game.”
