FPD wins decisive Game 3 over Strong Rock to reach state semifinals

After being homeschooled for several years, Harrison Strange wanted his final year of high school to be at, well, a high school.

And he wanted to be on the baseball team. He chose FPD, so he met with and then threw for veteran head coach Greg Moore.

“He’s just been awesome,” Moore said. “The very first day, all he said was, ‘I just want to be on the team and get a chance to help, anywhere I can.’”

Mission accomplished.

Strange gave up one hit — a leadoff chopper infield single — and got out of a key jam later to lead top seed FPD to an 11-1 five-inning win Friday over Strong Rock in the rubber game of a best-of-three to advance in the GIAA Class 4A playoffs.

“I don’t think he was trying to be the hero,” Moore said. “He wasn’t trying to strike everybody out. I mean, the ball was in play. He did such a good job.”

The 30-2 Vikings had to respond from some rarities: a challenged day offensively and an 8-5 loss on Wednesday that prolonged the series.

“We didn’t really have a lot of very positive bats, to be honest with you,” Moore said of the loss. “But even more than that, we just weren’t very patient, got ourselves out a lot.”

Moore got what he expected in the clincher to move on to the semifinals next week against Athens Christian, a 9-1 and 20-4 winner Friday over Tattnall.

Strange improved to 8-0 and dropped his ERA to 2.29 after walking four and fanning three on 75 pitches.

And his final inning was a notable one. Three walks followed a leadoff out, and led to a conference amid mumbles in the stands to make a change.

“He just told me just put it there, just throw strikes,” Strange said. “I’m putting it in play there, let our defense work.”

Strange was confident he wasn’t going anywhere.

“He trusted me,” Strange said. “He knew I was going to get it done. I trusted myself. I was just stoked to be able to pitch this game.”

The five-inning complete game by Strange brought joy to the Vikings dugout

“Certainly the highlight of the day,” Moore said. “Listen, these kids are tight, man. They’ve been together a long time. And they accepted him, pulled him in. … I’m really proud of them for the way they accepted him and got him in the mix.”

And Strange has fit in on the field with one of the most talented teams in the state, helping avoid a stunning upset in the even series.

The veterans who were off on Wednesday were basically back on two days later.

Conner Strandmark went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and was the second most popular Viking when he ended it with a two-run single in the bottom of the fifth to invoke the mercy rule.

Harrison Keenan also went 3-for-3 and Sam Bryant 2-for-3, joining Strandmark for an 8-for-12 day from the bottom three spots in the lineup. Wyatt Waters added two hits and Tinsley Lewis had two RBIs.

“I thought in general the approach at bat today was really good,” Moore said. “They were patient, they were waiting on things they could hit. Pregame in the batting cage was the best it’s been all year. They were locked in.”

But they started off emptier than expected, wasting two runners to open the first and getting only one after getting the first three on in the second.

FPD managed two in the third, on a fielder’s choice and infield single, despite four straight batters reaching base.

The Vikings’ defense showed some leaks in the fourth with three errors that led to a Patriots run to pull within 3-1.

Then Strong Rock’s opportunity to rally came and went when Strange got out of that three-walk mess after a caught stealing and strikeout.

“It’s been awhile,” Strange said of the last time he walked three straight. “I was just hoping they were going to chase, and then I’d put it there, hoping they’d put it in play.”

And he knew the offense’s knockout punch was coming.

“It was a blast,” Strange said. “I didn’t really even get nervous. I was like, I know this team.

“I know once we get hot, it’s going to be hard to stop us.”

That came in the game-ending bottom of the fifth, starting off with Strandmark’s homer to left-center.

After four singles – including a sweet  bunt  by Bryant – and two walks, a fielder’s choice and an error, Strandmark ended the game with a rope down the left fieldline for two runs and a 10-run lead,

“My job today was to make sure they understand baseball can be cruel again,” Moore said. “If we don’t do a little bit better job of doing some things that we just didn’t do very well in Game 2.”