Coming off one of the longest and most mentally draining days as a baseball coach he can ever remember, Warhill skipper Joe Henzel said his team sorely needed an “emotional high” to rally around.
Friday’s 6-4 come-from-behind win over Poquoson may have been just what the doctor ordered.
On Wednesday, the Lions were forced to forfeit their season opener against York because of what school administration labeled as an inappropriate video the team posted on YouTube of players mimicking the famed “Harlem Shake” dance.
Concerns regarding how his group would refocus only heightened after a less-than-encouraging practice on Thursday, according to Henzel.
As one of the senior leaders of the team, Michael Brumfield helped make sure the Lions would not disappoint their coach again.
Having already pitched six strong innings on the mound, Brumfield made his biggest contributions from the batters’ box in the top of the seventh. With the game tied 4-4, two runners on base and two outs, Brumfield delivered the eventual game-winning two-run double to right field to put the Lions ahead 6-4.
Brumfield then took the mound in the bottom of the seventh and finished off the complete game in style, retiring the meat of Poquoson’s lineup one-two-three, including back-to-back strikeouts to end it.
“I just told myself I had to put the ball in play and couldn’t strike out,” Brumfield said of his game-winning at bat. “It wasn’t trying to help myself [on the mound], it’s all about the team.
“It feels great to put (the forfeit) behind us.”
In light of the trying circumstances that surrounded his team throughout the week, Henzel was equally as impressed with the resiliency his guys showed in battling back from two separate two-run deficits as he was for simply coming away with the win.
“I’m extremely proud of my guys,” Henzel said after the game. “They rocked and rolled with the tide of the game, and it had its many swings. We got down early, then came back to take the lead, they recaptured [the lead], but we never pushed the panic button.
“With Mikey [Brumfield] on the bump, these guys have a lot of confidence that they can get it done. Mikey really wanted to win this thing, and I know the team really needed it after our forfeiture.”
Henzel was also pleased to see his role players step up on an afternoon in which his usual run producers struggled.
The Lions’ second, third and fourth hitters finished the game a combined 1-9 from the plate, but guys like Thomas Richardson, Brumfield and Clay Frost came up huge.
With Warhill trailing 2-0 in the top of the fourth, Richardson sparked a two-out rally with a single to right, and after two straight walks to load the bases, Frost drove in Richardson and Brumfield with a line drive to the outfield that tied the game 2-2.
After Poquoson went back up 4-2 in the bottom of the fifth on Michael Nestor’s two-run double, Richardson raked a double of his own to the outfield gap that plated Hunter Hux, who walked to lead off the frame, before pinch runner Nathan Edwards scored on a wild pitch to the tie the game 4-4.
After Brumfield retired the side in order in the bottom of the sixth, he took the plate in the top of the seventh with two outs and the bases loaded and poked a low outside fastball through the right side of the infield that scored two.
Brumfield then returned to the mound to close things out in the bottom of the seventh, and got three outs about as quickly and efficiently as he had all game.
“It was big to get this one, especially since we had to fight,” Brumfield added. “It was total team effort.”
Warhill 6 Poquoson 4
Warhill- 000;202;2 – 6
Poquoson- 020;020;0 – 4
WP: Brumfield (1-0) 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 6 SO
LP: Pinder (0-1)
Warhill (1-1, 1-1 BRD)- Richardson 2-3 (2B, RBI, run), Brumfield 2-3 (2B, 2 RBI, run), Frost 1-2 (2 RBI)
Poquoson (0-2, 0-2 BRD)- Boutel 1-3 (2 runs), Nestor 1-2 (3 RBI)
