Aaron Adkins pitched a complete game with eight strikeouts in Hanover’s 6-1 victory over Henrico to earn the Capital District championship.

Beau Flinchum was 2 for 3 with a double, and Laine Denton had a double and two RBI for the Hawks. Adams Toombs, Landon Prentiss and Seth Cutler-Voltz were each 1 for 3 for the Warriors.

For the team that is known by star pitcher Jake Mayers, Adkins said the outcome of the title game should get people to see that Hanover is more than a one man team. “I’m really out to prove myself and show that we have two different pitchers,” Adkins said.

“He is obviously real good,” said Hanover head coach Charlie Dragum. “When we put him out there we have confidence, we feel like we have two number ones.”

For the Hawks’ beating Henrico brought some measure of revenge for a disappointing loss last season. “We saw them take the trophy on our field last year and we just wanted to get it back and get some momentum going into regionals,” Adkins said.

With the district title win, Hanover will now host defending state champion James River in the opening game of the regionals on Tuesday, May 27 at 7 p.m.

Adkins feels the team is where it needs to be at this point of the season. “I think we’re peaking at the right time and we’ve got a lot of momentum going into regionals,” he said. 

“Three weeks ago, I felt like we really hit our stride as far as becoming team,” Dragum said.

In last year’s regionals, James River barely beat Hanover then went on to win the state, so the Hawks’ have eyed a rematch with the Rapids all season. “We really want another shot at James River,” Adkins said.

In some cases, a drive for revenge could put too much pressure on a team, but Dragum is unsure whether that will play a factor in the regional opener against James River. “I don’t know,” Dragum said. “We really like the draw because we feel like we’ve got something to prove. We played a very good game against them last year and got beat. I don’t think we’re going to be lacking for motivation. It was a draw that we wanted, they’re good, we’re good, we’ll just match up and see what happens.”

Hanover’s Jake Mayers was named Capital District Player of the Year, while Charlie Dragum picked up Coach of the Year honors.

Henrico————————————- 000 000 1 - 1 5 2
Hanover————————————- 021 012 x - 6 9 1
Thornton, Bateera (3), Prentiss (6) and Mansfield; Adkins and E. Mayers. L: Thornton
Records: Henrico 16-6; Hanover 17-5