The 2009 Madison baseball season drew to a close with a bang but it wasn’t the kind of bang members of the Warhawk nation were hoping for. Rather, it was a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder that caused the District playoff game against Woodson to be suspended with Madison batting in the bottom of the seventh. Ultimately, the game was called denying the Warhawks a chance to rally. On a night of missed opportunities, aggressive mistakes and questionable calls by the umpires, it was the final instance in which coaches, players and fans were all left wondering what might have been. More...
After being rained out Tuesday night, Madison’s Senior Night got underway an hour early on Wednesday to try to dodge the threat of storms but it wasn’t soon enough. Through one short rain delay and three hours, it was only possible to get part way into the bottom of the fifth before the skies opened up and the game had to be suspended with the score tied at three apiece. More...
For the second time this season, Stone Bridge exploded for a big inning to key a victory over Madison. Leading 1-0 in the bottom of the third, the Bulldogs sent thirteen men to the plate scoring eight runs despite getting only three singles in the inning. Combined with the three hit pitching of Nick Fialdini, it was more than enough to give Stone Bridge an easy victory in a game shortened to six innings because of the ten run rule. More...
On a night where Langley ace Joey Zarella pitched a masterful game the Langley bats also broke loose for a barrage of powerful hits including three home runs. The Warhawks jumped out to a 1-0 lead but the Saxons came right back with five runs to seize the lead and never looked back. All in all, it was just not Madison’s night. More...
On a pleasant evening at Madison, the Warhawks scored a pair of runs to break open a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the third and another eight runs in the last three innings to beat the Jefferson Colonials going away. Andrew Bayer and Eli Facenda combined on a five hitter, the Madison defense was flawless and the offense piled up a dozen hits led by Alex Jacquez with three and two apiece from Teddy Turner, Ryan McGuire and Nate Favero. Read More... / Photo Gallery
The Marshall Statesmen held a 1-0 lead from the first pitch in the bottom of the first until the decisive top of the sixth when Madison bunched four consecutive hits to score three runs enabling the Warhawks to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. Playing their fourth game in four days, Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand noted,” I have a lot of respect for Marshall. We executed when we needed to today but we had to dig down deep.” Read More... / Photo Gallery
Four weeks ago the Cavaliers delivered a wake up call to the Warhawks by trouncing them 10-4 at Madison. Tonight Madison answered the call and turned the tables on Woodson with a resounding victory on the Cavaliers’ home turf. Will Clarkson and Eli Facenda combined on a five hitter backed by several sparkling plays in the field. Offensively, Madison scored early and often, combining nine hits with seven walks, a hit batsman and five Woodson errors to produce their highest run total in a game in Virginia this season. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand spread the praise noting, “Will did a great job and so did Eli. The defense was outstanding and we had a good approach at the plate. This was a great team win.” Read More... / Photo Gallery
On a pleasant evening at Oakton, the Cougars jumped out to an early 1-0 lead but Madison chipped away with single runs in the third through sixth innings topping it off with three runs in the seventh to overcome Oakton. Gavin Hilburn pitched his second consecutive complete game victory the day after a Warhawk defeat the previous night. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand saluted the effort saying, “Gavin was outstanding. He pounded the strike zone all night and showed what senior leadership is all about.” Read More.../Photo Gallery
On another chilly night at Madison, McLean’s Sean Fitzgerald pitched as though he was in a hurry to get back in the dugout and put on his jacket. Taking little time between pitches, he tossed a complete game victory, needing only 93 pitches to record ten strike outs. He scattered seven hits and issued no walks other than an intentional one. McLean only managed six hits but bunched three in a three run third and two in a four run sixth. That, combined with flawless defense, was more than enough for the Highlanders on this night. Read More.../Photo Gallery
Less than 24 hours after playing a good game against a quality opponent in a tough loss to Stone Bridge, the Madison Warhawks came away with a narrow victory against a very different opponent. South Lakes came into the game winless in Liberty District competition and with a single win on the season. They are a remarkably young team that for most of the game put only two seniors on the field with three sophomores and four freshmen. Making things tougher for the Seahawks was they were playing their third game in three days. To add insult to injury, the game was played at Madison because the field at South Lakes was once again unplayable. Due to poor drainage, all but one of the Seahawks “home” games have been moved to their opponent’s field. Read More.../Photo Gallery
Trailing 5-1 entering the fifth, the Stone Bridge Bulldogs sent ten men to the plate and bunched five hits and a pair of walks to score six runs in a rally that keyed a come from behind victory. Johnny Bladel pitched a complete game throwing almost 110 pitches and coming up with some timely strike outs and a couple of key double plays. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand noted, “That’s Liberty District baseball. They got some good swings in the fifth. They are the defending champs and they are the team everyone has to beat.” Read More.../Photo Gallery
The Madison Warhawks exploded for eight runs in the seventh inning to break open a close game and defeat the West Ashley Wildcats 16-6 on their home field. Chris Powers, Will Clarkson and Alex Jacquez combined to limit the Wildcats to six hits while the Warhawk attack featured eleven hits led by Rhett Morrisette with three and Ryan McGuire and Clarkson with two apiece. McGuire, Clarkson and Joe Corrigan also belted homers. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand commented, “Chris did a nice job on the mound and we had a good approach at the plate today.” Read More.../Photo Gallery
In their final game of the 2009 Hanahan Invitational Tournament in Charleston, South Carolina, the Madison Warhawks quickly jumped in front and led wire to wire against the Hanahan Hawks on the host team’s field. In the process, three similarities between Chicago and Charlotte were noted: both start with “Ch;” both can be very windy; and both have small ballparks. However, if Wrigley Field is a bandbox, the field at Hanahan High School is a shoebox. The outfield fence is at most a consistent 300 feet from foul pole to foul pole. Though the fence is double tiered from straightaway left to straightaway right, it is not just a short porch, it is a short wraparound porch. Read More.../Photo Gallery
On a chilly night at West Ashley High School, the hottest thing on the field was the right arm of sophomore pitcher Orgen Martinez who tonight looked like Pedro Martinez in his prime. The pitcher for Krop High threw 118 pitches in a complete game effort giving up only five hits and striking out ten. The Warhawks wasted good pitching efforts from Danny Cate and Eli Facenda who pitched much better than the statistics showed. Three of Krop’s most damaging hits were seeing eye bloopers and Madison contributed to their own downfall with a couple of damaging errors in the field as well as some mental errors. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand summed it up by saying, “I tip my hat to Martinez, he got better as the game went on. It would have been nice to get another couple of runs in the first inning. We didn’t capitalize on some opportunities and they got some breaks.” Read More...
Madison began the Hanahan Invitational Tournament in Charleston, South Carolina in dramatic fashion rallying for eight runs in the third inning to overcome an early 6-0 deficit. In winning 11-6, the Warhawks beat the Unicoi Blue Devils from Erwin, Tennessee. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand noted that, “We beat a great team tonight, a tough draw for the first round. We gave them some runs early but the effort was there and nobody panicked.” Read More...
The Madison Warhawks shocked the previously undefeated Langley Saxons by breaking open a close game with a five run sixth to win 6-0. The victory was led by brilliant shut out pitching from Andrew Bayer and Eli Facenda, a 3 for 3 night at the plate by Alex Jacquez, daring base running and stellar defense. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand summed it up by saying, “Every district win means something. Andrew was tremendous for us. Alex made some nice adjustments in practice and came up big; that’s why he’s a Division 1 scholarship player.” Read More.../Photo Gallery
The Madison Warhawks put together a solid all around effort on a mildly chilly evening at Thomas Jefferson in defeating the Colonials 8-3. Danny Cate and Gavin Hilburn combined to limit Jefferson to just three hits while the Warhawks offense chipped away scoring runs in five different innings. The top three Madison hitters in the lineup, T.J. Ehrsam, Jonny Graham and Scott Bernier each had a pair of hits as the Warhawks garnered ten hits as a team. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand said, “We did a good job on the road tonight, very workmanlike. Lots of guys had a good approach at the plate.” Read More...
On a night marred by intermittent drizzle, Woodson rained on the promising start to the Madison 2009 season. The Cavaliers jumped to an early 2-0 lead and never looked back in mounting a 15 hit attack led by Kirk Lewis and Connor Reilly with three hits apiece. Matt Patrick, Brendan Breslin and John McGillicuddy each had two hits as every Woodson batter except one had at least one hit. Head Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand summed it up by saying, “I tip my hat to Woodson. They are a young team like us and they swung the bat aggressively.” Read More.../Photo Gallery
In a game marked by stunning momentum swings, the Madison Warhawks essentially took two of three “games within the game” from the McLean Highlanders by a combined score of 9-7. The Warhawks won the first three innings 8-0, the Highlanders surged back to win the next three innings 7-0 and then Madison rebounded to win the thrilling final inning 1-0. Coach Mark “Pudge” Gjormand summed it up by saying, “Any win is a good win in March against a District opponent. We beat a really good team tonight.” Read More.../Photo Gallery
On a calm but frigid night, the young Madison Warhawks defeated the senior laden Marshall Statesmen by a 7-0 score. Madison played errorless ball behind the three hit pitching of Gavin Hilburn and Andrew Bayer. The Warhawks broke open a 2-0 game by scoring five runs in the bottom of the fifth to put the victory on ice. Scott Bernier and Ryan McGuire had two hits apiece to lead a ten hit Warhawk attack. Seven of those hits came in 4-1/3 innings against Greg Goldsmith who shut down Madison in an 11-1 defeat last year. Read More.../Photo Gallery
Madison High School seniors Alex Jacquez and Ricardo Perez commit to play baseball at Lehigh University. Located in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, Leigh University plays Division I baseball in the Patriot League along with Army, Bucknell, Holy Cross, Lafayette and Navy.
