The Hornets are back again for their last regular season series of the 2022-23 school year against Alpharetta High School. This was their last chance for them to make playoffs, but unfortunately, they didn’t make it all the way through. The boys still played their hardest and best to finish out the season. 

Game 1 of the series was on Tuesday April 19. This game was very important for many reasons, one being it was the Hornet’s senior night. The five seniors graduating this year are Catcher Ryleigh Slaughter, Pitcher Trip DoVale, Outfielder Caleb Parmele, Outfielder Steven Vrolijk, and Infielder Brayden Whitworth. Two being that this was their last chance to make playoffs. 

The starting pitcher for this game was Trip DoVale, with Junior Ryan Travis coming in at the end. 

All the way through the fourth inning, neither team had scored, until Trip unfortunately gave up a run to Alpharetta, putting the Raiders up 1-0. 

Once again, nobody scored in the 6th inning, until came the 7th where Ryan gave up a run as well to the Raiders, giving them the win 2-0. 

This was a letdown for everyone, especially the seniors considering this was the game they needed to possibly make playoffs, but the Hornets had another chance to take the win over Alpharetta with the Double Header they had against them on Friday, April 22nd, at 5:00 and 7:30 pm. 

Earlier in the series, I spoke with the head coach of the team, Coach McCarthy. 

Game 2 of the series was incredible. Sophomore Adam McKelvey was on the mound, and he did not disappoint. Earlier in the series, Head Coach McCarthy said that McKelvey was one of his star players. 

McCarthy said, “Sophomore Adam McKelvey has been hitting very well with two homeruns in the last week or so he has been doing great.” 

The complete starting lineup for this game was Brayden Whitworth as the designated hitter, Colby Cather on 2nd base, Steven Vrolijk in right field, Adam McKelvey pitching, Caleb Parmele in center field, Lawson Jarrett in left field, Emmett Lovings on 1st base, Eli Macdonald catching, Grant cook as shortstop, then Colin Phillips on 3rd base.                       

Starting off in the first inning of the game, Steven Vrolijk hit a 2-run homerun bringing him and Brayden home, putting the score 2-0.  

There were no changes in the second inning keeping the score the same, but the third inning was a big one for the hornets.  

To start off the inning, Caleb Parmele hit a single letting Vrolijk score. Then Lawson Jarrett hit a ground ball to an Alpharetta infield letting it slip through his hands, as well as letting Bridger Douglas (pinch runner) and Parmele score. Lastly, Emmett Lovings gets an RBI bringing Jarrett home. The score after this crazy inning was 6-0 Hornets. 

After those amazing plays, you wouldn’t think it could get any better, but it does. In the fourth inning, Cather hits a single letting Grant Cook score. Then, McKelvey hits another 2-run homerun, letting him and Cather score. Unfortunately, Alpharetta did score this inning by a homerun, bringing the score 9-1 Hornets. 

In the 5th inning, Colin Pillips replaces McKelvey on the mound and McKelvey takes over 1st base. The hornets were unsuccessful scoring wise in this inning and gave up three points to the Raiders. 

To close out the game, the hornets scored two more times in the 6th inning and the raiders 4 more times. This brought the score up to 11-8. Then Roswell secured the win in the 7th inning with a single by Whitworth, brining pinch runner Chris Elko all the way home. 

The final score of the game was 12-8 Hornets. This makes the series record 1-1. 

The next game started late due to the first game running long, but Will Petteys was the starting pitcher for this game. 

The entire starting lineup for this game was Whitworth on second base, Cather on third base, Vrolijk playing center field, McKelvey as the designated hitter, Parmele in left field, Jarrett in right field, Lovings on first base, Cook playing shortstop, and Slaughter catching. 

The game started off on the rougher side with 2 raiders scoring, but the Hornets came back in the second inning. Cook singled letting McKelvey score, Whitworth then hit a ground ball out letting Lovings and Cook score. Alex Johnson then replaced Petteys. Unfortunately, after this, two more raiders score. 

The next inning was scoreless keeping the score at 3-4 Raiders. 

In the fourth, the Hornets found a way to get back up. Whitworth bunted to let Cook score, then the Hornets loaded their bases while Parmele was walked, letting Whitworth score. This put the Hornets up 5-4. 

Next inning, Alpharetta scored three times bringing the score to 5-7. Graham Penniger then replaced Johnson on the mound to hopefully help his fellow Hornets out. 

Nothing happened in the 6th inning, then in the 7th the hornets scored again. Lovings hit a homerun, but unfortunately this wasn’t enough to give the Hornet the dub. 

The final score was 6-7 Raiders, giving them the series. 

While the last series of the season was long and hard for these hornets, they did their very best they could to finish out this season strong. Even though they did not get the outcome they would’ve wanted, they still had an awesome season full of great plays and memories. This team will for sure be missed, but the Hornets are already ready for another great season next year.