Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Brian Pitts
Enterprise Record

Davie’s JV baseball team and visiting Lake Norman were tied at 3 after four and a half innings, but the War Eagles gritted their way to a 6-4 victory on March 11.
Davie took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth, a two-run uprising that was sparked by Tanner Steinour’s one-out single. The tie was broken by Noah Potts’ sac fly. Preston Young would score with two outs to give Davie a 5-3 lead.
Davie got an insurance run in the sixth. With Tay Settecasi on second with two outs, Michael Saunders came through with a pinch-hit RBI single.
“Michael hasn’t gotten much time, but he came in and got a good hit,” varsity coach Joey Anderson said. “We have to see what we’re going to have for the future and see what they’re going to do in certain situations.”
Steinour (1-2), Potts (1-2), Taylor Shenberger (1-2, walk), Settecasi (1-1, walk) and Saunders (1-1) had the Davie hits. Blake French was 0 for 1 but scored twice and stole two bases.
Anderson showered praise on Steinour and Shenberger.
“Tanner and Taylor both have very good swings,” he said. “As far as a varsity-style swing, Taylor’s pretty close – and Brandon Forrest. Everybody wants a ballplayer like Tanner. He’s one of those guys who’s always going to be dirty. He’s always going to try to do the right thing. He’s fast and athletic. He’ll try to bunt, he will try to hit-and-run and he’ll hit one in the gap. He’s a catcher but we let him run for himself. He can fly. He ran indoor track this winter. If he’s not the fastest on the team, he’s pretty close.”
On the mound, Easton Sanders walked six in three innings but compensated by not allowing a hit and holding the Wildcats to one run. Ian Patton impressed in relief by striking out eight in four innings and only giving up one earned run.
“Easton did a very good job, especially for his first outing as a starter,” Anderson said. “Easton stepped up and Patton’s pitching was real nice to see.”
Davie 16, Wheatmore 5
Davie took complete command with an eight-run inning as it steamrolled Wheatmore on the road on March 12.
It was 1-1 before the War Eagles erupted for eight in the top of the third. They did the massive damage with six hits and three walks. For good measure, they poured across six runs in the fifth and final inning.
The offensive ringleaders were Brandon Forrest (3-4, two runs, four RBIs, walk) and Potts (2-3, two runs, three RBIs, walk, double, triple).
“Brandon is still going through an injury, so he’s only allowed to play a certain amount of innings,” Anderson said. “We’re building him up to where he can play the whole game.
“Potts is a big kid. He has very good potential. We’ve been working on a few things with him at the plate, trying to fix a little bit of his bottom half. When he gets a hold of it, he’s got power. He has made a position change from third base to first base and we’re developing him into a closer role.”
All three pitchers were effective as Davie outhit the Warriors 11-4. Potts and Mason Boger tossed two innings each before Nick Cannon worked a 1-2-3 fifth.
Davie 7, LN 6
French may have been the MVP in the second win in three days over Lake Norman, this one being held at Rich Park on March 13.
French went 2-3 with a home run, two RBIs and a walk.
“Blake is an athlete,” Anderson said. “He’s one of the most athletic guys we have out there. He could be very beneficial in the future. He has speed and plays a very good outfield. We need him to be more consistent at the plate, but he’s swinging a hot bat right now.”
Forrest (1-3, three runs, double, walk), Potts (1-4), Sanders (1-4, two RBIs) and Austin Samuels (1-3) enabled Davie to match Lake Norman in hits, 6-6.
The War Eagles led by scores of 3-1 and 7-3 before having to hold on in the sixth and final inning. With Davie clinging to the 7-6 lead and runners at the corners and two outs, Cannon got a strikeout to secure the fourth straight win for Davie (5-3).
After Levi Block held the Wildcats to one earned run in three innings, Cannon earned the save by working the last three frames.
“Levi threw real well in the fall,” Anderson said. “Levi has been doing a good job of listening to the older guys and trying to work on his craft.”