Make no mistake, Conference 29 is a tough baseball conference. It’s a battleground where every team is going to be tested every night.
There are no free wins in Conference 29.
Lucky for Western Albemarle’s squad, the Warriors’ head coach had a pretty good idea of what they were getting into as the No. 2 seed even if this is only the second year of conference play.
“We were in the Valley District for a long time before the Jefferson was formed,” said Western coach Skip Hudgins. “I told our guys yesterday this will be a typical Valley District team. They’ll swing the bats, they won’t beat themselves, and if you think because they’re the seventh-seed this is going to be a cakewalk our season will be over tomorrow.”
The Warriors were up to the task against Stuarts Draft Friday night, battling for a 4-2 victory in the conference quarterfinals.
Derek Domecq threw a complete game for the Warriors to snag his fifth win of the season and third complete game effort as a freshman. Domecq struck out five and didn’t surrender a single walk while scattering seven hits.
“Derek did a really nice job,” Hudgins said. “He’s done everything and been everything more than we could’ve asked for as a ninth grader.”
He also helped himself a little at the plate.
Western trailed 1-0 going into the fourth, but Dylan Weiss got a run started with a leadoff single and Domecq dropped in a single into shallow right field. Weiss sprinted home from second inning and crossed the plate to even the game at 1-1. Shortly thereafter, Josh Casteen blasted a double to the centerfield fence to plate a second run.
Western added two more runs in the fifth, building a 4-1 lead when Stevie Mangrum ripped a double to plate Sam James and Henry Kreienbaum brought Mangrum in with an RBI single.
With a 4-1 lead, Domecq took the mound in the top of the seventh. He struck out the leadoff batter, but Stuarts Draft managed to scratch across a run, but with a fielder’s choice and a groundout, Domceq closed the door.
The Warriors will now face Monticello, who beat Fort Defiance 9-7 in the semifinals Tuesday night at Waynesboro High.
