By Luke Nadkarni / Scrimmageplaycva.com contributor
Fork Union Military Academy got a two-run homer from Grant Bodison and Adam Hackenberg pitched a complete-game shutout in a 7-0 shutout win over visiting Covenant on Friday afternoon.
Hackenberg went the distance, scattering six hits over seven innings while striking out seven Covenant batters. He also helped himself at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI for the Blue Devils, who improved to 12-7 on the season with the win.
“[Adam] threw strikes, and he always throws hard,” FUMA coach Rodney Carter said. “He kept [Covenant] off balance with his curveball.”
FUMA struck early and often, starting with Hackenberg’s sacrifice fly to plate Boddison in the first inning. Hackenberg drove in the Blue Devils’ third run as well in the second inning, when he rapped a single to drive Boddison home yet again. That RBI came after Bodison doubled home Brent Lowry, who had reached on a walk.
Bodison wasn’t done, belting his two-run homer over the left-field fence with two outs in the fourth to stretch FUMA’s lead to 5-0, giving Hackenberg more than enough cushion. Five of the Blue Devils’ seven runs came with two men down.
“We’ve not been producing with two outs very well recently,” Carter said. “The past four or five practices we’ve been working on getting the bat on the ball, and our strikeouts are down because of that.”
The Eagles’ only serious threat came in the top of the fifth inning, when Jake Haney drew a walk to open the inning and was followed by consecutive singles from Matt Sykes and Joel Wright. But Hackenberg struck out the next batter and induced a comebacker from Matt Shobe that turned into a 1-2-3 double play and snuff out Covenant’s greatest chance at touching the scoreboard.
“Adam’s got a good defense behind him,” Carter said. “He knows they have his back. That lets him pitch with confidence.”
The Blue Devils added more insurance with two more runs in their half of the fifth on a sacrifice fly be Brennan Rhodes and a Covenant error. Hackenberg fanned three Eagles in the final two innings to complete the shutout.
FUMA returns to action Tuesday when it travels to Collegiate. Covenant hosts Greenbrier Christian Saturday morning.
