Multimedia Package by: Matt Borrelli.

The FHN varsity baseball team lost 8-0 to Howell Central in the first round of districts this past Saturday, May 17 at Zumwalt East. The reason behind the loss was rather simple according to sophomore John Hurayt, an outfielder who started the game in right field for the Knights.

“We had horrible team chemistry,” Hurayt said.

After missing out on a couple early scoring chances, North trailed 2-0 after three innings but then gave up five runs in the fourth. The Spartans never looked back.

“We only had one hit but we also had some errors,” junior Andy Hickerson said. “That opened up the gate for them to get hits, wearing down our pitcher.”

Senior Cody Calhoun threw a one-hit, complete game shutout for Central.

“Calhoun had really good control of all his pitches and he threw decently hard,” Hurayt said.

Despite a disappointing season in which North’s traditionally good baseball team went just 6-21, the Knights entered the game expecting a different outcome.

“We played well against them the last time we played them so I felt good about our chances,” Hickerson said.

Now that the season is over, the players are looking ahead to next year.

“The team will be better next year because there will be better players all over the field and way better chemistry,” Hurayt said.

Hickerson shares these high expectations. “We have a strong class of sophomores that will be juniors next year coming up along with a good mix of seniors,” Hickerson said. “We could be a real force in the GAC South.”

To view the FHN vs. FHC baseball Storify click here.