The first leg of a back-to-back went about as good as could be for Danville baseball on Tuesday against Lincoln County.

Brady Morse celebrated his 16th birthday with a one-hitter on the mound, striking out 11 batters. He allowed two total baserunners in five innings of work, then helped his cause with three RBIs at the plate.

“He had a good day. It’s always good to play on your birthday, and he’s had to do that all his life with a spring birthday,” Danville head coach Paul Morse said. “I was pleased with him, he hadn’t thrown since last Tuesday against Bryan Station. He was fresh and he really attacked the zone. We had him at like 87 percent strikes on the day. He mixed his pitches up, hit his spots and did a great job.”

Brady Morse was the key cog in the Admirals’ 11-0 victory in five innings. He was clinical on the mound, needing just 58 pitches across five innings and threw 81 percent of his pitches for strikes.

“In districts, we just want to go out and take care of business,” Brady Morse said. “Always throw strikes, not to walk batters and just get them out any way I can. As long as we go out there and win games, it doesn’t matter.”

The Admirals got the win and are now 1-0 in 45th District play. They’ll visit Lincoln today in game two of the back-to-back, and coach Morse said he wants to see a similar approach at the plate: Danville walked 11 times on Tuesday.

“That’s what I told them after the game, it had nothing to do with the score on the board,” coach Morse said. “I think our approach at the plate was the best it’s been in any game this year. We didn’t chase bad pitches, we took walks when they were there. When they did throw strikes, we took good swings to hit them. All but that one inning, I thought we had really good at bats. Hopefully that will help them understand that what we preach to them is how to play.”

Cayden Shaver and Christian Howe each walked three times, helping Hunter Baxter (3-for-3, 2 RBIs) and Brady Morse drive in runs.

The Admirals scored three runs in the first inning before exploding for six runs in the second. There were no home runs — Preston Barnes and Baxter were the only two players with an extra-base hit.

Brady Morse said that it’s the top of the order that sets the tone, led by seniors Shaver and Jacob Crank.

“We have three really good seniors that come out and make sure we set the tone, get runs on the board and make sure we play hard and play the right way,” he said.

Danville’s been training for the district grind this season — it’s year two of the back-to-back district games — and at 15-1, the Admirals are one of the hottest teams in the state.

“We’ve played a lot of games in a short amount of time, trying to train ourselves to be ready for postseason play. I love the way we’ve done it with districts, going back-to-back days. I think it prepares us for postseason, and you get the better overall teams, see what’s going on instead of seeing just one power pitcher. I think it’s good and prepares our district for the region as well.”