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Tuesday night saw the start of Liberty District play as Marshall traveled to Herndon to take on the 2022 State Runners-up. Both teams started righthanders, with 2024 James Beasley going for Herndon and senior Nicholas Robinson for Marshall. The first inning was an experience, as the teams combined to score 14 runs in the frame. There were quite a few seeing grounders and flares falling in for both teams as both offenses papercut the opposing pitchers to death. After 1, Marshall held an 8-6 lead. 

Herndon knotted it up in the bottom of the second when senior Owen Gormley doubled to deep centerfield. The Hornets eventually took a lead that they pushed out to 10-8. The Herndon offense was slowed down a bit when junior lefty Vincent Salvo came into the game, stringing together some zeroes and allowing Marshall's offense to respond. Salvo launched a double in the top of the fourth and came around to score a tying run after a few Herndon errors. Marshall capitalized on a few more errors and extended its lead to 13-10. 

Salvo held the Herndon offense in check and senior infielder Liam Willson (Wake Forest) came on for Herndon in the fifth, shutting down Marshall as the game finally picked up some pace and started moving into the bottom of the sixth. Willson got Herndon within one with a mammoth 2-run home run to start the bottom of the sixth. The Hornets would tie the game when sophomore Brayden Humphreys rolled a ground ball through the middle of the infield for an RBI. With the bases loaded and no outs, Marshall went to the pen for junior Noah Grossman, who was able to get three straight strikeouts, but Herndon took a 14-13 lead on a passed ball during those at-bats. 

Senior righty Sam Fairhurst (Catholic) was able to work a pretty quiet seventh for Herndon to nail down the save and give the Hornets a 1-0 start in District play.

Marshall 

 

 

 

 

 

Vincent Salvo LHP / 1B / Marshall, VA / 2024 Salvo has an athletic frame with strength present. He throws from a low three-quarters arm slot from a very short arm action. Throws with some intent. Crossfire in his delivery hides the ball until release and creates a lot of deception, makes his fastball play up. Fastball was low 80s to high 70s, with late armside run that also had some depth to it. Showed ability to throw to both sides of the plate for strikes. Breaking ball had good armspeed and late sharp 10/4 break, tunnels very well off of his fastball.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Herndon 

 

 

 

Liam Willson SS / 3B / Herndon, VA / 2023 Willson is Wake Forest commit and a physical monster. He was All-State as a running back for Herndon this year and it shows in his physicality. He has some arm strength on the infield but defensively he is probably a better fit at third base at the next level. A switch hitter, who doesn't get to hit right-handed much during the high school season, he got to hit from both sides of the plate multiple times in the evening. From the left side, he had a rolled over one hopper to first that the first baseman bobbled and Willson was able to use his straight-line speed to reach base on. His last at-bat of the night was in the bottom of the sixth, and he jumped on the first pitch of the at-bat, absolutely crushing a missile of a line drive home run to dead center. He has a fast bat from both sides, and does a good job of getting his strength to show at the plate as well, home run power both lefty and righty and showing some of that power to all fields now as well.