SALEM When Hanover took the field against Liberty Christian their second straight meeting in the 4A state championship game and the third meeting the past two years the Hawks knew the Bulldogs were coming out for Hawk blood.

Unfortunately for Hanover, Liberty Christian got a lot of it.

The Bulldogs took advantage of an uncharacteristically shaky outing for Hanover starting pitcher Antonio Balducci, tagging him for eight runs in 1 innings and coasting to an 8-5 victory over the defending champions.

It was Liberty Christians first win over the Hawks in three tries.

The big deficit 8-1 after two innings put Hanover off its game.

We just put ourselves in a hole getting down a two- and a six-spot there in the first two [innings]. Thats baseball, Hanover coach Charlie Dragum said. It was tough to play our game because we couldnt run as much, couldnt bunt as much. It just took us out of our stuff. When youre down that many, you dont want to get thrown out on the bases and give them outs. It just makes it really difficult.

Balducci left in the second inning with one out, one runner Liberty Christians Kyle Horton on and the Hawks down 7-1. Nick Zona was called in for relief and became one of the bright spots on the Hawks day. While he walked the first two batters he faced and gave up a sacrifice fly that scored Horton, that run credited to Balducci was the last run the Bulldogs would score in the game.

Zona gave up four hits and three walks, striking out three while getting Liberty Christian to hit into three groundouts and three flyouts.

I was just trying to put zeros on the board all day, just trying to give us a chance, Zona said. The only way I could win out there today was to put up zeros.

He kept it simple on the mound.

SALEM, Va. -- Hanover third baseman Camden Grimes (11) celebrates hitting a double in the second inning of the Hawks' 8-5 loss to Liberty Christian in the VHSL Group 4A championship game at Salem Memorial Ballpark on Saturday, June 10, 2017. Grimes went on to score Hanover's first run of the game.

Its just you versus the batter, and you try to get him out, he said. Its the only way to dumb it down. If you get him out, its good for your guys. If he gets a hit, its bad for your guys.

Getting the Hawks out of the second inning without any more runs, and then getting them through the third without allowing Liberty Christian to score gave the Hawks some momentum, but there was still a lot of work to do.

Youve got to get the job done offensively, too, and stop the bleeding somehow, Zona said.

He did his part, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored.

Third baseman Camden Grimes also played a big role in helping Hanover mount a comeback. In the fourth inning, he caught a pitch off Liberty Christian starter Austin Roach and drove it over the left field fence to score himself and Parker Chenault, a courtesy runner for catcher Michael Warley who had walked.

Hanover will lose a number of starters to graduation, but Dragum feels good about what hell be getting back.

I think next year were going to be really tough, he said. I think were going to be legit on the mound. I think were going to have a bunch of arms and a lot of our offense back. I think we could have a really nice year next year.

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Liberty Christian jumps on Hanover baseball team in 4A state final - Richmond.com