Leesburg, Va. — The Heritage and Loudoun Valley baseball teams have been neck and neck in the Dulles District standings all season long. As the regular season came to a close, the two squads finished with 6-2 records in the district, leading to a winner-take-all game at Loudoun County on May 26 for the Dulles District regular season title, the No. 1 seed in the district tournament, and an automatic berth to the VHSL Region 4C tournament.
A 106-pitch shutout from Heritage junior right-handed pitcher Mark Van Tuyle and 11 hits from the Pride offense propelled them into a 7-0 win. Van Tuyle struck out 9 while scattering 4 hits over 7 innings of work.
“That was one of the most complete games we played all year,” Heritage head coach Nolan Potts said. “I’m so proud of Mark. He’s been hurt all year, and he’s worked so hard behind the scenes just to be back to pitching games. We know when he gets the ball, he’s going to do his thing.”
Heritage senior first baseman Aaron Van Tuyle kickstarted the Pride’s offense as he went 3-for-4 with two doubles and an RBI from the leadoff spot. Junior infielder Aiden Delaney (1-for-2, 2 RBI) pinch-hit in a big moment in the fifth inning, bringing in two runs with an infield single. Heritage sophomore outfielder Luke Olszewski (1-for-3, 1 RBI), freshman infielder Davin Crain (1-for-3, 1 RBI, 2B), and senior outfielder Jake Koh (1-for-3, 1 RBI) also added an RBI each for the Pride.
“[Aaron Van Tuyle] makes us go,” Potts said. “He’s been in the middle of our lineup the last couple of years, but he’s been hitting lead off this year, because we know he’s going to put a competitive at-bat together. When he’s hitting the ball hard, guys behind him will follow suit. He gets on base so much to put pressure on the defense.”
Loudoun Valley senior pitcher Davis Bush gave the Vikings three innings on the mound, striking out 3 while allowing 4 hits. Bush also added a 2-for-2 performance from the plate with a triple to start the fourth inning. Sophomore first baseman Cole Schaaf (2-for-3, BB) was the only other Viking with multiple hits after going 2-for-3 with two singles.
The game opened up with quality starting pitching and defensive plays for both teams. Bush struck out Heritage junior second baseman Cooper Miskelly swinging, wasting a leadoff single by Aaron Van Tuyle. An easy ground out got Mark Van Tuyle out of the first inning to keep the score 0-0.
Heritage sophomore catcher Erick Flores opened the second inning with a double before Crain moved the runner to third base with a sac bunt. Koh brought the runner in on an infield single to open the scoring with Heritage up 1-0.
Loudoun Valley looked to strike in the bottom of the second inning. With runners on second and third and no outs, the Vikings were in prime position to score, but Mark Van Tuyle struck out two in a row before an unassisted out by Aaron Van Tuyle at first got Heritage out of the inning.
Heritage capitalized on an opportunity in the top of the third inning when Aaron Van Tuyle doubled to score junior courtesy runner Nathan Mix in to increase the Pride’s lead to 2-0.
In the top of the fourth inning, Loudoun Valley brought in senior pitcher Ethan Sanborn to relieve Bush. Sanborn allowed just one runner in the first inning of work to keep the Vikings in the game.
However, the Heritage offense came alive in the fifth inning. Olszewski scored after Miskelly hustled out of the box, leading to an error on the throw. Then, after a hit-by-pitch allowed Flores to load the bases, Crain was walked to bring in senior shortstop Owen Brundage. Delaney brought in the last two runs on his aforementioned infield single
“Our approach has been a lot better the last couple of weeks,” Potts said. “We’ve been working really hard on our approach at the plate. The players have listened and they’ve bought in, and they’re starting to see success. We’re trying to play our best baseball at the right time, and I think we’re trending that direction.”
Loudoun Valley responded by loading the bases in the bottom of the fifth inning. After two Vikings were walked, Schaaf hit a single through the middle with two outs. However, Mark Van Tuyle worked out of the bases-loaded jam after striking out Loudoun Valley senior infielder John Pryes on four pitches.
“I felt great on the mound,” Mark Van Tuyle said. “The team backed me up with the bats, and all my pitches were working. The fastball was here and there, but the off-spread was working.”
Heritage added another run in the top of the sixth after an Olszewski single brought in Aaron Van Tuyle from second to increase the Heritage lead to 7-0.
Loudoun Valley had runners on base in both the sixth and seventh innings, but Mark Van Tuyle was able to get out of both innings as Schaaf hit a ball to left field that sophomore outfielder Ben Bongiovanni caught to end the game and give Heritage the 7-0 win.
Heritage (6-2, 11-11) earned the No. 1 seed in the Dulles District tournament, and now plays Dominion at home on May 29 in a Dulles District semifinal. Loudoun Valley (6-2, 13-8) turns their attention to Tuscarora on May 29 in Purcellville.
“As bad as this season started and as bleak as it was in the beginning, the fact that we’re in a position is a credit to these guys and their work ethic,” Potts said. “We’d love to win the Dulles District tournament too, but knowing that we’re hosting a region game next week is a pretty cool feeling. I’m really proud of them and how they’ve battled through some adversity.”