Buckingham County baseball senior Daniel Farrish had been waiting for the chance to step on the mound for the Knights.
“He’s been wanting this moment and I’m at a loss for words, he threw a heck of a game,” said Buckingham coach John Toney.
Farrish and sophomore Kayne Wooten delivered on the mound, combining to allow just a single run, six hits and ring up seven strikeouts.
In turn, Buckingham delivered at the plate enough to make that effort stand up, beating East Rockingham 3-1 to capture the Region 2B championship and a home game in the Class 2 state tournament quarterfinals. It’s the second straight region title for the Knights, who went 20 years without a playoff win until breaking the drought in 2021.
“I’ve been waiting for a long time for this, to go out there and just pitch my game and it worked out for us,” Farrish said. “(Catcher Holden Tyson) plays a big role for the whole team, settles you down and makes me really throw my game.”
The Knights put up a pair of runs in the first inning with Nic Allen knocking in the first run before a catcher error allowed Eli Bryant to score during the next at bat. Buckingham’s offense then went quiet while Farrish and Wooten held East Rockingham at bay.
“That calmed my nerves a whole lot, once I got those two runs I was ready to get locked in,” Farrish said. “I was very impressed with (Wooten), very happy for him. He closed it out well.”
After East Rockingham finally scratched out a run in the top of the fourth on a wild pitch to cut the lead to 2-1, Justin Gunter responded immediately in the bottom of the third with a single to centerfield that brought home Jacob Carter. Buckingham missed an opportunity to expand the lead further when they stranded a pair of runners two at bats later, but Wooten made sure that was enough as he closed out the game on the mound.
“For a tenth grader that has been on JV and varsity all year to come in like that to close it, it just takes your breath away,” Toney said. “It was awesome.”
The Knights will now face a Randolph Henry squad that they’ve beaten twice already Tuesday at 4 p.m. at home.
“We’ve got something going in this program and the future looks just as bright as the current does,” Toney said. “I feel very good at the direction of this program.