Brunswick Academy - Viking Yearbook (Lawrenceville, VA)

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Season Saver T he sun beamed its warmth on everyone, but few smiled back. Storm clouds of worry shadowed many minds; fans crossed their fingers and hoped for a miracle; the players seemed to wonder if it was real . . . something would go wrong, for sure. The last inning popped up, and the Vikings still led the first-place Mecklenburg team. Homers by Mike Gibbs and Mack Daniel had padded the lead, but now it was up to the defense. Carroll Moseley put his 10 strike- outs on the line, and the Vikings set the Knights down for good. BA had won, 9-6. At least the season was not a complete failure record-wise. Sometimes it seems you can’t win for los- ing — just ask the ’76 baseball team. They had their ups, but boy, did they have their downs. Sometimes they could pinpoint their prob- lems — such as injuries or sore arms — but much of the time it was the “invisible” troubles that dragged the Vikings down. To rekindle competitive spirits, the Vikings traveled to Courtland for a pre-season scrim- mage with Southampton. Superior pitching and defense by both sides forced a scoreless deadlock until the eighth inning, when SA pushed across the triumphant run. The crack of wood resounded over Amelia’s field as the conference season began. A Mack Daniel homer in the first inning led the BA eight-run barrage, but Amelia wasn’t exactly silent. Aided by errors, the Patriots managed to round up 15 runs. Mecklenburg dropped anchor on the team’s sinking spirits by also capitalizing on BA mistakes. The guys fought back and chopped down MA’s lead, but ran out of innings. Coach Mike Lynch and the team tried to change their misfortunes, but to no avail. (continued on page 19) BAS, MAS TOP: PUTTING everything into his pitch, Bernard Nash throws a strike. BOTTOM: DUI ING A time-out. Coach Mike Lynch gives the team a pep talk and some extra pointers. 16— Doing— Baseball

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MOUTH OPEN and deep in concentration, Cathy Frazier puts a little extra arch on a pitch against semifinal opponent Prince Edward. FIRST ROW: Sonja Slaw, Gail Clary, Cathy Frazier, Pat Norwood, Susan Cross, Beth Barkley, captains Martha Robinson and Terri Howerton, Terry Slaw. BACK ROW; Cindy Harrison, Wanda Tatum, manager Julie Frazier, statistician Angie Clary, Nancy Spence, Coach Gwen Walton, Nancy Prince, Kathy Spence, Bonnie Daniel, Lynda Nor- wood, Mary Watts, Stacy Harrup. Not pic- tured: Connie Newsome. H uguenot restored the Ladies’ confidence, as everyone contributed to BA’s second win, keeping them in reach of the playdowns. Though neither team played that well, BA almost flipped Mecklenburg’s lid in their second confrontation. The girls proved they weren’t quitters by erupting with three last- inning runs to force the game into extra in- nings, but they fell asleep in the eighth and unalertly gave MA the game for the second time. The team shrugged off their disappointment by pulverizing the Rebels from Huguenot, but it couldn’t muster the same explosive offense for the finale at Kenston. The crummy de- fense was blamed (for the most part) on the bumpy diamond, but the lack of offense was inexcusable — BA connected for only three hits the entire afternoon. By some fantastic miracle BA squeezed in- to the tournament playdowns with a 3-7 record. But boy, did the fourth-place Vikings have a surprise in store for the undefeated York team. The girls had finally plugged into power — the power of determination; never had they wanted to win more than on May 1 1 against a seemingly complacent York team. The first three frames quickly slipped by as both teams, rain-soaked and “bugged” with mosquitoes, played most superb defenses. BA broke through with six runs the fourth and padded their lead with three more in the fifth. Pitcher Cathy Frazier baffled York batters until the sixth, when the girls gave them four runs. The Vikings almost had the game in the bag, but YA came back in the seventh with three more runs with no outs. BA buckled down then and locked up the season’s upset to take them to the tourna- ment semifinals at Prince Edward. BA vied Prince Edward for the shot at the championship, but by the second inning the Vikings were doomed. The Wolverines’ nine unearned runs held up, for by the time the girls had found their pride and zeal and had ignited a comeback, torrents of rain ex- tinguished BA’s chances — the game was declared official after 4 ‘ z innings, the season was over, and for the first time in four years, BA didn’t make the finals, to the despair of all. Doing — Softball — 15

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BELOW: DIGGING HARD, Carroll Moseley tries to beat out a bunt. LEFT: STANDING AT EASE in the coaching box, Tex Whitley contem- plates the Kenston defense. BOTTOM: FRONT ROW: Greg Christopher, Warren Moody, Mike Gibbs, Charles Cross, Mike Wright, Charles Finch, Carroll Moseley, manager Paul Townsend. BACK ROW: Statisticians Becky Wright and Debbie Allen, Mike Daughtry, Chris Barker, Mack Daniel, Bernard Nash, Tony Veliky, Greg Jones, Tex Whitley, Curtis Brickell, Coach Mike Lynch. Not pictured: Heath Lucy. Doing — Baseball — 17