McDonald comes through

By Brian Hunsicker

Published: May 22, 2008

This wasn’t the plan for Danny McDonald; he was supposed to be Battlefield’s closer when the season began. With Matt Crouse and Evan Scott anchoring the rotation, McDonald was to play a smaller role.

But there he was on Thursday night, taking the ball in the Bobcats’ biggest game of the season, the Cedar Run District championship and a regional berth at stake. And McDonald delivered, put-ting up numbers like one might expect from Crouse or Scott.

McDonald struck out 14 batters, allowed six hits and shut out Stonewall Jackson for five innings in the Bobcats’ 9-2 win. The win means Battlefield (16-7) travels to Cardinal District champion For-est Park on Monday for the first round of the Northwest Region tournament.

The only rough spot for McDonald came in the late innings when he was running low on energy. The Raiders (13-9) scored once in the sixth and seventh innings, just as Battlefield was threatening to end the game early. But his offense had provided him with a lead — eight runs in the first three innings — that was tough to overcome.

“That makes me want to go harder, throw harder, strike out people,” McDonald said of his team’s lead.
The title is the first in the school’s four-year history.

Coach Matt Caudle remembered the program’s first year, when the Bobcats didn’t even get a chance to play in the tournament. Their first-round game was rained out and, being a lower-seeded team, never got a chance to end their season on the field.

“Matt and Evan were the original two, the only two there that year. Their season ended in a classroom with a rainout,” Caudle said. “They’ve come a long ways. They’re some great kids; they’re some awesome baseball players.”

Even from the beginning of a year with high expectations, the Bobcats struggled with their de-fense early. Caudle said the turnaround came early in the district season. After a close loss to Os-bourn, the Bobcats traveled to Culpeper and came away with a nailbiting 7-6 win.

“Evan came in and shut it down,” Caudle said, “and from that point, it just took off.”

It culminated nearly two months later with the Bobcats jumping around, hugging each other ac-cepting congratulations from nearby fans. Their first baseball postseason title had been clinched.