SFCS Middle School Baseball Finishes Strong

          May 11, 2012 - The Shannon Forest Christian School (SFCS) Middle School Baseball team (2-5) made great strides last week after opening with a 12-0 loss to closing the week with a 6-3 win and a 3rd place finish at the Ashville Christian Academy (ACA) tournament in Asheville. 
          The Crusaders (3-7) ended last week with a disastrous 14-1 loss to Carolina Day School. The Crusaders high expectations for this seemly close match-up quickly diminished as the defense combine 9 errors with 9 walks to allow the game to get away early. "The players were unfocused and performed poorly across the board," said SFCS Coach Mike Pulllias. "It started in warm-ups and stayed with us through the last inning. As a coach I have to take responsibility for such a team-wide let down and see that it doesn't happen in our season finale," added Pullias.
          In the season finale, the Crusaders brought aggressive play and fundamentally sound baseball against Our Lady of the Rosary (OLR), resulting in an overpowering 12-0 victory. As the team's only 8th Grade members, playing in their final Middle School game, Braden Tuttle and Will Maddox dominated the game on offense and defense. On defense, Tuttle's pitching overpowered OLR en route to a no-hit shut-out, while Maddox provided another exceptional game at catcher. On offense, the two combined for 3 hits including a 1st inning, 3-run home run by Maddox. Nick Gray stepped with a solid game replacing Tuttle at first base. "It's always nice to see the team get rewarded for a strong effort," said Coach Pullias. "Will's home run set the tone early and Braden's sustained leadership on the mound helped keep us focused. It was a great day and a great way to end the season."