Following a disappointing loss to the Harrison Hoyas, the NC Warrior varsity baseball team anxiously awaited their last home game of the season against the Marietta Blue Devils. The game also featured NC’s annual senior night, which honors the Warriors’ senior student athletes on their team and thanks them for the years of dedication to the baseball program. 

The last region game of the 2021 season started off strong with the Warriors gaining a run in the first inning. The Blue Devils quickly countered them, scoring two runs in the second inning and maintaining their short lived lead until the third inning when senior catcher Harry Ford hit a home run, adding two runs to the Warrior scoreboard.

Secure in their lead, the Warriors utilized impressive defense in order to prevent the Blue Devils from scoring any more runs for the rest of the game. After helping the Warriors gain a comfortable lead, junior pitcher Jacob Mann retired from the mound and allowed Magnet senior pitcher and outfielder Tyler Gorsuch to replace him in the fourth inning. 

Gorsuch protected the lead and advanced it further by gaining a run off of junior Sammy Rose’s hit in the sixth inning. Bringing the final score to 4-2, the game came to a close and after the teams shook hands and congratulated each other on a game well played, the senior night festivities commenced. 

While the seniors walked around the bases they spent their high school careers on, underclassmen looked on, admiring their progress and thinking on what baseball will look like once they graduate. 

“The seniors were leaders and guided us through the whole season, especially for the underclassmen, and left big shoes to fill. Next year when they are gone I’m gonna try to approach the game the same way they did as well as apply what they believed in to incoming underclassmen. I will miss them in the locker room and just being around them,” junior shortstop Logan Bare said.

As the seniors walked the bases one last time, announcers detailed their next steps in life. With senior Harry Ford committed to Georgia Tech University, senior Trevor Lovett committed to Georgia Highlands College, and Magnet senior Tyler Gorsuch undecided on his next steps,  the NC baseball program bids farewell to their 2021 class.

“Baseball has taught me that failure is okay, but that it’s more about getting back up than it is how you got down. It has taught me to be patient because of playing behind a couple good players before I really got to play consistently. Then there’s always quality over quantity because good reps are 10x better than a bunch of pointless reps,” Gorsuch said.