Fort wins after big fourth

Stuarts Draft third baseman Chris Henkel tags out the Indians’ Kody Kiser on Tuesday in Stuarts Draft.

By: | News Virginian
Published: May 07, 2008

STUARTS DRAFT – Draft Senior night was going well for the Cougars. Players were given T-shirts from their youth baseball coach with their former jersey numbers and nicknames before the game. Smiles were exchanged on the field during the pre-game ceremonies.
Those smiles quickly faded after Fort Defiance rallied for four runs at the top of the fourth and rode on to win the Southern Valley District match 6-4 on Tuesday night.
“We hit the ball well tonight and we played a solid game,” said Draft coach Josh Podgorski. “We are looking to get the third seed [in the district tournament] on Thursday night when we play at Rockbridge.”
Draft was leading 3-0 heading into the fourth inning, but pitcher Cameron Cook walked the No. 1 and No. 2 batters and Fort took the 4-3 lead. Cook looked rattled on the mound.
“It was not my best night,” Cook said. “I think we made better contact tonight at the plate, but was not one of my best performances, but as a team we played well.”
Draft tied the game and Cook lived on the edge most of the night. Fort took advantage of it. Leadoff batter Sean Britt smashed the ball over the right-field fence for the go-ahead run. Pitcher Blake Sipe shut down the Cougars and their hopes of a second seed in the Southern Valley.
“My coach used to tell me never let your highs be high or your lows be to low,” Podgorski said. “I think that we will do well against Rockbridge.”
There were many highs and lows for the Cougars this season, but they are looking to the future.
Zac Marion said his team was not going to be nervous or worry about playing Rockbridge.
“We just need to stay focused on what we need to do,” said Marion who was 2-for-2.
Podgorski said that his team is hitting the ball better and is in a good position to get the third seed.
“We have two more district games, we know what we have to do if we are going to win,” Podgorski said.
Marion agreed that his team is ready and able to battle it to the end.
“Yea, I think that we are going do well against Rockbridge, we played against them before, so we’re not too worried,” he said.