The Fountain Hills High School baseball team went 0-3 in tournament play to start the season last week. The Falcons only have two varsity returners in seniors Andy Lloyd and Zack Langer, but the young players got their first chance at the varsity level and head coach Bob Langer has his varsity lineup set for the rest of the season.

Zack Langer missed two of the games due to illness, and the Falcons felt the void he left at short stop defensively, and they also missed his offensive output. Sophomore Ty Langer hit his first varsity homerun on Friday against Paradise Honors, but otherwise the Falcons struggled to hit the ball. Bob Langer said there was a “ridiculous amount” of strikeouts over the weekend.

“We struggled big time,” Bob Langer said. “I was starting four or five freshmen. We had kids hurt, kids ineligible, kids sick. We played well, but we struggled in a couple of innings defensively and gave up too many runs.”

The Falcons traveled to Shadow Mountain for the Cougar Classic Baseball Tournament, and they lost their season opener 10-5 on Thursday, Feb. 24. Lucas Williams and Brogan Hardison, a senior who was homeschooled last year, pitched on Thursday and Saturday.

Sophomore Nathan Hughes did most of his pitching on Friday, Feb. 25. The Falcons lost at Paradise Honors 10-4 but, outside of one inning, the game was even. The Falcons couldn’t get out of an early hole they dug for themselves when they allowed six runs in a single inning.

The Falcons faced a dominant Scottsdale Christian Academy team on Saturday, Feb. 26, and lost 8-0. Bob Langer said the last tournament game was their worst performance on the week, and it was mostly an effort issue.

Langer knew these tournament games were going to be an extension of the Falcons’ preseason practices. He knew that the faster pace of live games would affect his young athletes, and Langer wanted to check their temperament and watch their reactions.

According to Langer, the Falcons struggled defensively and didn’t make catches or stops he’d seen them manage regularly in practice. He thought it could be nerves, but the mental errors led to defensive breakdowns. For instance, the Falcons had three errors in one inning against Paradise Honors, which allowed for their six-run inning.

The Falcons have settled their varsity roster and will practice on hitting this week. The team travels to Valley Christian tomorrow, Thursday, March 3, and play at 4 p.m. The JV team has a match against Valley Christian earlier, so the JV players can stay and watch the varsity game.

After Valley Christian, the Falcons have the Phoenix Country Day School (PCDS) Desert Classic tournament this weekend. On Friday, March 4, the Falcons play Parker at 11 a.m. and Horizon Honors at 1 p.m. Both games will be played on Bourgade Catholic High School’s campus.

On Saturday, March 5, the Falcons play PCDS at 9 a.m., and then finish the tournament against Joseph City at 1 p.m. Both Saturday games will be played on the PCDS campus.

Next week, the Falcons have a double header at Payson on Tuesday, March 8. The Falcons will play the Longhorns at 3:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. The Falcons will play Arizona College Prep for their last game before Spring Break. The Falcons will travel to Arizona College Prep on Friday, March 11, and play the Knights at 3:45 p.m.