Middle School Baseball

In the Dugout

Luke Brasel

2007 Season Summary

Coming off a 1-win season, the expectations were shakey for the Middle School baseball team. Fortunately, no one inside the locker room listened. During the first week of practice, the players decided that they wouldn't settle for anything less than an HVAC championship. They finished one win short.

The Panthers stormed out of the gates with two wins in the first week of the season, dropping Grassland and BGA, both on the road. Trey Brassfield and Connor Maitland picked up the wins, respectively. A 10-hit performance saw the Panthers race past Ensworth to pick up their first league win. Maitland struck out 5, and 6th grader Dylan Hall had 3 hits. Matt Williamson pitched well enough to take down rival CPA, 10-5. The Panthers ran into trouble against Page in a 9-7 loss, which previewed the future championship game.One has to wonder how a win in this game would have affected the end of the year tournament.

BGA rolled onto FRA's campus looking for revenge. They didn't get it. The Panthers pulled out an exciting game in the late innings. Jackson Wills pitched the Panthers to another league win versus USN. Next up was Woodland Middle. Elliot Jackson drove in 3 runs and Jake Wallstedt came in to shut the door on a WMS rally and the Panthers improved to 3-1 in the league. Andrew Woodfin took control of FRA's date with rival DCA. Woodifin pitched for his first victory of the year in a game too exciting for the coaches to take. A 4-2 losing effort to Brentwood Academy saw Jake Wallstedt throw the best pitching performance of the year. Jake threw 75 pitches and only 13 of them balls.

The regular season end finally came against Brentwood Middle in a must-win for playoff seeding. The Panthers rose to the challenge, winning 10-6, securing the #2 seed in the HVAC tournament.

The playoffs began in a rematch with Brentwood Middle. Jake Wallstedt took the mound and promptly went to work on some talented hitters. Jake pitched the complete game, his second in two weeks. FRA broke a 0-0 tie in the 3rd with 5 runs. That would be all they needed. They stopped BMS's rally at 3 runs and the pitching duel lasted over the last 4 innings. FRA advanced to the finals in the 5-3 win. The championship at Page Middle looked like a defensive battle until late in the game. Matt Williamson started the game for Panthers. Blake Lundgren launched a solo homerun in the 3rd to give FRA an early lead. Unfortunately, the lead did not last. The Panthers played their hearts out, but fell 5-1.

This was a special group of players that took the field for FRA this spring. With an 11 win and 5 loss year, they have set a new precedent for FRA middle school baseball. This year's 8th graders did more than win games, they instilled a sense of pride back into the program. Their leadership will be sorely missed. Coach Brasel and Coach Neblett are very proud of them and look forward to continuing the winning legacy of 2007!