In one week, Madison has shut down teams that can hit, rapped around a respected pitcher -twice - and overwhelmed the competition. The trick for the Warhawks is to play this way for another two months. The concern for others is that they might.

``They're awesome,'' Westfield coach Chuck Welch said. ``They're big, strong and deep. They're deep on the mound, they have solid defense. They've got everything.''

That Madison won the Vienna Inn-vitational wasn't a surprise. But the manner in which it did it was. The Warhawks hit Centreville ace Chuck Mellies hard in two games, including a 15-3, five-inning win in Wednesday's championship. On Monday night, Madison defeated Westfield, 8-0.

The Bulldogs have scored a combined 37 runs in their other four games.

Here's the rub: Madison's supposed No. 3 pitcher, junior Josh Canova, shut down Westfield, limiting the Bulldogs to one hit, striking out 11.

In 30 innings at the varsity level, including last season, Canova has yet to allow an earned run.

``That kid was around the plate with everything,'' Welch said. ``What I'd like to see is how Madison handles a close game or a loss and how they come back from it. They're riding high and it's a football-like atmosphere over there. It's good and it's intimidating.

``But you've got to see what happens when the wheels loosen up a little bit because they are going to at some point. No one goes through this undefeated. But they give me the impression of being fighters.''

Madison beat Mellies, a second-team All-Journal selection last season, on March 22, recording 13 hits in the 4-0 win. Mellies pitched most of the game on Wednesday. Joey Lewin, Andrew Baerd, J.J. Hollenbeck and B.T. Good all homered. Matt Foley, who is batting around .800, nailed two balls off the top of the fence that fell back toward the field.

``We're hitting the ball on the nose,'' Madison coach Mark Gjormand said. ``The most impressive thing is that these kids will get better. I'm excited to see what happens when the weather warms up.''

Hollenbeck is 2-0 on the mound; Canova, Pat Brown and Kaven Moniri each are 1-0. Madison second baseman Fred Haden returns this week after missing last week with a bad shoulder. The Warhawks play at Marshall on Wednesday.

``I'm having so much fun watching them play because they bring it every day,'' Gjormand said.

-Talk about balance: Westfield's top four offensive players represent every grade level. The Bulldogs (4-1) are led by sophomore outfielder Louis Ullrich and freshman shortstop Brandon Snider, who are batting .546 and .529, respectively. Junior Ryan Cunningham is hitting .353 with nine RBI and senior Chris McGough is batting .385.

Larkin leads Herndon

Herndon senior left-hander Nate Larkin couldn't pitch last season because of a sore shoulder. He's quickly reminded everyone just how good he can be.

In three outings, Larkin has pitched a six-inning no-hitter, a two-hitter and allowed no hits in another four-inning stint. In 15 innings, he's allowed only two hits and no runs.

The no-hitter, which came last week against Langley, was the school's first in at least 10 years. Larkin also struck out 10 in the 10-0 win.

Thursday, he beat McLean, 8-0. The only hits: a swinging bunt and a soft liner. Ryan Selestay homered for Herndon (5-1), his second of the season.

Also, in two scrimmage outings, Larkin allowed only two hits.

``He took a whole year off so he ought to be ready,'' Herndon coach Alan McCullock said, jokingly. ``But the difference between Nate this year and two years ago is that he can throw his breaking ball for a strike at any time. Before, people were waiting on his fastball because he couldn't throw a curve for a strike.''

Larkin was an All-Concorde District first baseman last season, but, when healthy, it's his arm that will help Herndon contend. And his maturation on the mound has allowed him to help even more.

``Growing up, he never had to do that because he could just throw his fastball and beat everybody,'' McCullock said. ``He's not going to throw it 95 miles an hour so he's become more of a pitcher. I couldn't be happier. Good for him.''

Larkin and the Hornets should face a strong test on Tuesday. They play at South Lakes, who could counter with ace Asher Demme.