Shrock Blasts Walk-Off Homer

With the Nash Central Bulldogs and Fike Demons both tied for fourth place (5-5 record) in the Big East conference standings, Monday night’s matchup in the first round of the Big East tournament at Nash Central certainly contained many far-reaching implications for both programs.

The Bulldogs and Demons both fought resiliently and showed their great will to win while also exhibiting exceptional play throughout the night. Heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, however, the Demons were up 1-0, but with the Nash Central home crowd behind the Bulldogs, the atmosphere bode well for Nash Central.

In light of this, after sophomore Colby Carter was hit by a pitch and after an infield hit by senior John Michael Kelly, the Bulldogs were in business with two runners on base. Then, with one out and with the ball-strike count at 3-2, senior Noah Shrock had what could be his most clutch moment of his Bulldog career as Shrock blasted a three-run walk-off home run to secure the Bulldogs a decisive, hard-fought tournament win.

On top of this, junior Cameron Taylor was outstanding for the Bulldogs as he pitched a complete game while giving up just one run and striking out seven Fike batters. Without Taylor’s dominant pitching performance, the Bulldogs definitely wouldn’t have been in the position they were in heading into the bottom of the seventh inning, and he should certainly be commended for his extraordinary efforts.

After this memorable win, Nash Central was set to move on to the second round of the Big East tournament, but, due to the threat of inclement weather, Nash Central’s second round matchup with Rocky Mount along with the entire Big East tournament was canceled

While the Bulldogs would have liked to continue playing, Nash Central still experienced great success this season, and it’s fitting that Noah Shrock’s final at-bat for the Bulldogs was as momentous as his entire Nash Central baseball career has been.