The season ended for the Wakefield Warriors and Yorktown Patriots with close first-round losses against Concorde District high-school baseball teams in the 6D North Region baseball tournament.
Wakefield’s May 23 loss was particularly notable because the Warriors (12-11) fell 7-6 in 10 innings to the host and heavily favored Madison Warhawks, the 2021 Virginia High School league Class 6 state champions. Madison entered the game with an 18-4 record and was the top seed from the Concorde District. Wakefield was the fourth seed from the Liberty.
Wakefield trailed 3-0 through three innings, then took a 4-3 lead by scoring four runs in the top of the fourth and was ahead 5-3 entering the bottom of the sixth. Madison tied the score at 5 with two in the bottom of the sixth, then Wakefield went ahead 6-5 in the top of the seventh on Keegan Mahoney’s solo homer off Madison’s hard-throwing ace Bryce Eldridge. It was the first homer off Eldridge this season.
Madison tied the score at 6 in the bottom of the seventh, then won with a run in the bottom of the 10th.
“Wakefield came in with nothing to lose, ready to play and prove something. They played great and poised, showed toughness and we had to fight for everything,” Madison coach Mark Gjormand said.
Mahoney singled off Eldridge in the 10th, when Wakefield had runners on second and third with no outs, but didn’t score. Eldridge struck out three straight batters to end the threat.
In the fourth inning, Beau Branch smacked a two-run homer to pull Wakefield within 3-2, then Charlie Grove added a two-run single to give the Warriors a 4-3 lead. The advantage because 5-3 in the sixth when Malachy Meryweather doubled, was sacrificed to third by Peter Boerstling and score on Grove’s single. Boerstling doubled earlier in the game.
Wade Bringham started on the mound for Wakefield, with Mahoney and Mason Bull pitching in relief.
Yorktown (13-8) lost to the visiting Oakton Cougars, 4-2, in a May 23 first-round region game.
“Their pitcher [Tanner Vislay] threw well, but we made a costly error early that gave them a couple of runs in the first inning,” Yorktown coach John Skaggs said.
Kyle Langley had an RBI triple for Yorktown and Isaac Hobbs a sacrifice fly to drive in the Patriots two runs. Yorktown was retired in order in the seventh.
