HAHIRA – The Valwood Valiants (11-5, 5-1 District 3-AAA) have been on a roll as of late, having won six in a row.

Their latest victim was the Terrell Academy Eagles. The Eagles (6-8, 1-5 District 3-AAA) were no match the Valiants as they rolled to a 10-0 win in five innings.

Valwood head baseball coach Robert Shipman credits his team’s maturation for the Valiants’ recent success.

“They are coming together,” Shipman said. “If I could sum it up in one phrase, they’re maturing. They’re learning how to do their jobs and pull for one another. It’s not about one individual’s success, it’s about everybody. When everybody contributes, we will be a tough team to reckon with.”

Freshman pitcher Matthew Kerrigan made sure the Eagles stayed at bay throughout. Kerrigan threw a season-high 10 strikeouts and gave up just one hit in a complete game. Kerrigan also led the Valiants offensively with three RBIs.

Shipman believes that Kerrigan’s business-like approach to the game gives the Valiants’ defense an edge.

“What I really like about [Kerrigan], never mind the pitches, is his demeanor on the mound,” Shipman said. “He’s all business. ‘Hey, let’s go ahead and let’s challenge the guy. Let’s get it going.’ It’s easy to play defense behind him because he gets the ball and throws it. There’s no lollygagging or messing around.”

The Valiants wasted no time getting on the board. A single from Kerrigan brought home freshman center fielder Maddox Coile to give the Valiants a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.

Valwood tacked on two more runs in the second inning. With the bases loaded, junior shortstop Dalton Smith was hit by a pitch, sending junior right fielder Jack Drew home. A hit from Kerrigan made it 3-0 as junior second baseman Cory Backe reached home.

After a scoreless third inning, the Valiants erupted for four more runs in the fourth inning.

A sac fly from Kerrigan allowed Coile to score his second run of the night. However, the Valiants were then faced with two outs.

Enter freshman third baseman Dywan Powell.

Powell helped keep the inning alive, driving a double to left field following a wild pitch from Eagles pitcher Quindon Wright. That allowed junior first baseman Conner Hutto to reach home to make it 6-0.

It would be the first of two critical hits from Powell.

Shipman believes that Powell is starting to find his groove in the batter’s box.

“He has done a great job the last two weeks of swinging at pitches more in the strike zone, swinging at pitches he can hit, and taking advantage of his counts, especially when he’s ahead in the count,” Shipman said. “Early on in the season, I think he was pressing a little bit. He was swinging well out of the strike zone, and it was not affording him the opportunity to make good contact. Now, he’s sitting on pitches, and he has an idea on what he wants to do. … He’s had some pretty big hits the last five games to tell you the truth. We’re not going to win it all without him.”

By the time the fourth inning ended, the Eagles found themselves trailing Valwood 7-0.

The Eagles broke up Kerrigan’s no-hitter bid in the top of the fifth when shortstop David Kile had a single down center field. Still, Kerrigan shut down the Eagles’ offense from there, tossing three straight strikeouts.

The Valiants then finished off the Eagles in the bottom of the fifth with another offensive burst. Powell capped off a three-run inning with a double to left field to bring home Hutto for the game-sealing run.

While he’s pleased with the winning streak his team has put together, Shipman is concerned about his team with spring break on the horizon. Still, he believes his team will remain ready to go when they resume play.

“I think we’re playing really good baseball, but I hate that, we’re going on spring break and we’re going to have a week layoff,” Shipman said. “[However,] I don’t think these guys will forget how to play good baseball by the time we come back and head to St. Simons and play a little round robin over there.”

Additionally, Shipman is not taking the Valiants’ trip to St. Simons lightly as postseason implications loom large.

“This is by all means a business trip,” Shipman said. “Now while we’re there, when we’re not on the baseball field, we’ll find something to do, some way to relax. But when we go to the baseball field, I’m confident that we’re going to get these guys ready to go and that they will be ready to play.”

UP NEXT

The Valiants will be back in action on April 6-7 when they travel to St. Simons for a round robin tournament. The Valiants will first play the Bradwell Institute Tigers on April 6 at 6 p.m.

The Valiants will then play a doubleheader on April 7, facing the Liberty County Panthers at 4:30 p.m. and the Frederica Academy Knights at 6:30 p.m.