By Matthew Atkins

STUARTS DRAFT - Gavin Kandrick wasn’t able to be a part of the Broadway Bruins’ win over Stuarts Draft on Saturday, so he made sure to make the most of his at bats in Sunday night’s 13-3 victory.
 
Facing the Diamondbacks for the second night in a row, the Bruins took home their second consecutive slaughter rule win, thanks in large part to Kandrick’s bat.
 
“It’s what I work for all summer. It’s a great feeling,” Kandrick said of his performance on Sunday night. “It’s a great W for our team for sure.”
 
Kandrick had a career night, hitting two grand slams and driving in eight runs for Broadway. His home runs were the first two of the season for the second-year catcher and his RBIs on Sunday more than doubled his season total.  
 
After reaching via walk in his first time up and popping out to the third baseman in his next plate appearance, Kandrick hit his first home run in the top of the fourth inning to give the Bruins a 5-0 lead.
 
“I was kind of struggling. I was trying to do too much with that first at bat,” Kandrick said. “That was my approach going forward, try to simplify the game, slow it down a little bit, and just take my time, and that’s what happened.”
 
The Diamondbacks closed in on the lead in the bottom of the fourth, scoring three runs, but the Bruins wouldn’t allow any more than that as Calen Owens was thrown out trying to score on a Will Hass single.
 
Kandrick came back up to the plate in the fifth inning with the bases loaded again. After taking a few pitches, he crushed another home run ball over the fence, breaking the game wide open for the Bruins.
 
Broadway went on to score seven runs on four hits in the inning. Stuarts Draft starter Tyler Wilcher had trouble finding the zone, walking three batters in the fifth and eight total. Three of the batters who scored for Broadway in the fifth inning reached on walks.
 
The Bruins added another run in the top of the sixth as Kandrick scored on an RBI single by John Ackerman, his third time crossing the plate in the game.
 
Broadway starter Cole Holsinger pitched four innings against the Diamondbacks, allowing three runs on four hits. Holsinger struck out two batters on the night.
 
With the win, the Bruins improve to 8-1 on the season and extend their winning streak to seven straight games. The Bruins are currently in first place in the Western Division, just ahead of the Clover Hill Bucks.
 
Up next for Broadway, the Bruins will travel to Montezuma tonight to take on the Braves, who are currently 2-5. Tonight’s game is a makeup of a game that was originally supposed to be played on June 18. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

By Nick Stevens

BRIDGEWATER- It was a classic Saturday night in the Rockingham County Baseball league last night as the Bridgewater Reds defeated the Clover Hill Bucks 10-2 at Ray Heatwole Field.
 
The bleachers were packed, the country ham and pork tenderloin sandwiches sold out early, and the action on the field was thrilling.
 
After surrendering a quick 2-0 lead, Bridgewater starting pitcher Derek Shifflett was nearly unhittable through his final seven innings of work. After tagging Shifflett for a few base knocks up the middle of the diamond, Clover Hill hitters struggled with the breaking pitches of the former James Madison University pitcher.
 
Shifflett allowed just six hits and two runs across his eight innings of work.
 
In what was a back-and-forth game early on, Bridgewater routinely threatened with runners on base, proving unable to break through and add any insurance after taking a 3-2 lead.
 
All that changed in the sixth inning as Tucker Garrison and Corey Murphy sent back-to-back solo home runs over the outfield fence. Garrison’s drive was a deep shot to straightaway center, a no-doubter as soon as it left the bat. Murphy continued to energize the home crowd with his home run just seconds later, slamming off the right field scoreboard.
 
According to Pointstreak, it was Murphy’s first hit of the season.
 
Jared Talley closed out the contest with a quick 1-2-3 ninth inning, pushing the Bridgewater Reds to 3-2 on the season.
 
The Reds return to action tonight as they head up the road to New Market to take on the Shockers. As for Clover Hill, the Bucks fell to 6-2, dropping out of first place in the division after a Broadway win last night. The Bucks return to the friendly confines of Buck Bowman Park tonight to battle the Elkton Blue Sox. 

By Matthew Atkins

GROTTOES - After not getting a hit since May 29, Grottoes first baseman David Wood led his team to victory as the Cardinals defeated New Market 4-2 on Saturday night.
 
“I just had a good game, came up confident in every at bat,” Wood said following the win. “I did my job, had guys on the path and got them around.”
 
Due to all of the rainouts and postponements, Wood had only played in two games this month prior to Saturday night, going hitless both times. He proved his worth this time though, knocking in all four of the Cardinals’ runs and finishing 2-for-4 from the plate.
 
His biggest hit of the night came in the bottom of the sixth inning. With the game tied up at 1-1, Wood came up to bat with runners on first and second. He swung at the first pitch he saw, driving the ball into the left field corner and allowing two runs to come across the plate.
 
“Well they’d been pitching outside all game, so I went up expecting outside,” Wood said about his at bat in the sixth. “I just went right with the pitch and just lined it right down the line.”

Wood drove in another run on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the eighth inning to make the score 4-1 in favor of the Cardinals. His performance on Saturday night gave Grottoes the advantage it needed to win the game, but the team came close to losing it.
 
Ty Bennett led off the top of the ninth inning with a single for New Market, reaching second on a throwing error by the Cardinals’ right fielder. Bennett came around to score on an RBI single by Josh Tayman in the next at bat, cutting the lead to 4-2.
 
Shockers’ first baseman Zach Stiles reached on a walk before Sterling Jennings and Billy Quinn each struck out for the first two outs of the inning. Right fielder Ty Michaud singled to keep the game alive for New Market, leaving the Shockers’ hope in the hands of Joseph Rutherford.
 
Rutherford already had three hits on the night and had scored the only New Market run of the game as he stepped up to the plate with a chance to tie it. Grottoes reliever Dustin Garst got him to a 2-2 count before unleashing his breaking ball to get the strikeout and end the game.   
 
Josh Pittman picked up the win for the Cardinals, tossing 7.1 innings and giving up just one run on six hits. Pittman managed to strike out five Shockers in the victory.
 
With the win, Grottoes improves to 3-3 on the season and remains in first place in the Eastern Division. The Cardinals have the night off on Sunday before hosting Bridgewater on Monday night.
 
Monday’s matchup will be the first time the two teams face off this season. Grottoes and Bridgewater have met each of the past two years in the playoffs, with Grottoes sweeping Bridgewater in the 2016 quarterfinals before the Reds returned the favor in the 2017 semifinals.
 
Monday’s game is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. at Shifflett Field. 

By Matthew Atkins and Dwyer Neal

Friday night featured three RCBL games in action, including the ESPN Harrisonburg Game of the Week between the Clover Hill Bucks and the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks.
 
The game pitted two of the most successful teams in recent history against each other in an early season matchup.
 
As they’ve done all season long, the Bucks kept the game close in the early innings, taking it to the bottom of the fifth knotted up at 2-2.
 
With two outs and runners on first and second, Clover Hill centerfielder Drew Easter launched a 2-0 pitch over the outfield wall to give the Bucks a 7-2 lead.
 
Easter was the hero of the game, finishing the night 3-for-4 with two home runs and four runs batted in.
 
“I was feeling pretty good after my round of BP today and I was just trying to get something up in the zone that I could handle and get the barrel on it,” Easter said about his approach at the plate on Friday night. “I just wanted to get ahead in the count, it was a 2-0 pitch, he left it right across the middle, and I just put a good swing on it.”
 
Cody Swisher had a solid night offensively as well, going 1-for-3 with two runs scored. Swisher also reached twice via walk.
 
Clover Hill starter Nick Corbin picked up the win, pitching five innings and giving up just two runs on four hits. Corbin struck out five batters in his outing.
 
With the win, Clover Hill moves to 7-1 and remains in first place in the Western Division.
 
 Bridgewater 4, New Market 3
 
The Bridgewater Reds picked up a home win against the New Market Shockers, improving to 3-2 on the season.
 
The Shockers kept the game close, keeping it tied 3-3 until the bottom of the ninth.
 
Bridgewater managed to keep the Shockers from getting any runs in the top of the ninth, but the Shockers couldn’t do the same in the home half of the inning
 
Alex Stover hit a walk-off single that scored Josh Wright and gave the Reds the winning run over New Market.
 
Tonight, Bridgewater stays at home as the Reds host the Clover Hill Bucks in the second matchup between the two teams this season.   
 
“It’s going to be a good game, we’re excited,” head coach Robert Sherfey said about tonight’s game against Clover Hill. “We always look for that, that’s our rival and we let them get away from us last time. But this time we’ll come back with a little bit more grit.”
 
Broadway 5, Grottoes 4
 
In another close game Friday night, the Broadway Bruins and Grottoes Cardinals went into the bottom of the ninth inning all tied up at four runs apiece.
 
With the bases loaded and two outs, Bryce Turner stepped up to the plate for the Bruins. After a first-pitch strike, Grottoes pitcher Spenser Davis threw four straight balls to walk Turner and allow the winning run to score.
 
With the win, Broadway improves to 6-1 on the season and is just a half game behind Clover Hill for first place in the Western Division.
 
Saturday Slate
 
New Market at Grottoes at 7:30 p.m.
 
Stuarts Draft at Broadway at 7:30 p.m.
 
Clover Hill at Bridgewater 7:30 p.m.
 
Montezuma at Elkton at 7:30 p.m.

By Dwyer Neal

ELKTON – The Montezuma Braves bounced back from their loss on Wednesday, taking home a big 2-1 win on Thursday night against the Elkton Blue Sox. The Braves improved to a 2-4 on the season and will see the Blue Sox once again on Saturday night.

The Braves and the Blue Sox kept the runs to a minimum. In the first three innings, no runs were let in.

 The Braves changed that the top of the third when Cade Templeton brought in the first run of the night, making the score 1-0 until the bottom of the ninth.

The Blue Sox managed to tie the game bottom of the ninth when J.J. Loker brought in their one and only run of the night.

This action-packed ballgame went into extra innings. In the top of the tenth, Brett Jones hit a big home run to bring in the winning run for the Braves.

The Blue Sox could not answer back to Jones’ home run bottom of the tenth, and Elkton dropped to 1-4 on the season.
​
Up Next- The Montezuma Braves will travel to Elkton’s home turf once again on Saturday, June 16. First Pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Stonewall Memorial Park. 

By Dwyer Neal

MONTEZUMA- The Elkton Blue Sox took a big win on Wednesday night against the Montezuma Braves. The Blue Sox beat the Braves at Ruritan Field 8-5, advancing to 1-3 on the season.

The Braves got a run in early by Trent Abernathy, giving them the lead going into the second inning.

The Blue Sox answered back in the top of the third inning bringing in a run from Chris Smith. Cameron Stanley hit one of his two home runs of the night top of the fifth, a grand slam that gave the Blue Sox the first big lead of the night, 5-2.

“Swing it a little bit better. I had a rough game two games ago, just trying to level off my swing, have a good approach,” Stanley said about his mindset going into last night’s game.

The Braves answered back by bringing in three runs from Brett Jones, Kyle Matthews, and Jordan Brake in the bottom of the fifth, keeping the score tied 5-5 going into the top of the sixth. 

The Blue Sox pulled away in the last three innings of the night. Jack Decker scored on an RBI single by Trent Miller in the top of the seventh.

The Blue Sox hit back-to-back home runs in the top of the ninth to put the game away. Stanley hit his second home run of the night, followed by teammate Jack Decker hitting another home run, making the score 8-5.

“Kind of keep the motivation rolling, we got some momentum right now. We play these guys two more times in a row, so it’d be nice to go ahead and finish out the series and if we could win two more games through the series that’ll be real big for us,” Stanley said about going into the next couple of games.

Up Next – The Montezuma Braves will travel to Elkton’s home turf on Thursday, June 14. First Pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Stonewall Memorial Park. 

By Matthew Atkins

BROADWAY - Broadway Bruins head coach Justin Getz doesn’t remember the last time his team was in first place. But after their 5-4 win over New Market on Tuesday, he’s happy to be there now.
 
“It feels good. I can not remember a time that we’ve been there,” Getz said. “Coming from two wins, three wins, fighting to get two wins a couple years ago, it feels really good for the guys who have been around for a little while.”
 
Broadway came into Tuesday night half a game behind Clover Hill for first place in the Western Division, but some late-inning heroics gave the Bruins the edge they needed.
 
Taking on New Market for the third time this season, Broadway struggled to get any offense going early in the game.
 
The Shockers scored first in the top of the fourth on an RBI single by Nick Goode. New Market plated two more in the top of the sixth, increasing their lead to three runs.

It wasn’t until the bottom of the seventh that Broadway was able to get anybody across the plate. Dan Fry hit a two-RBI single to give the Bruins their first runs of the game. In the next at bat, John Ackerman hit a single that bounced off New Market pitcher John Bentley and scored another run, tying the game.
 
The Shockers took the lead back in the top of the eighth, but Broadway wasn’t done yet.
 
In the bottom half of the inning, Bryce Strawderman hit the ball to left field, where Nate Jaye dropped it, allowing a run to score. Jaye threw the ball to third baseman Josh Tayman, who tagged third base for a force out before throwing it to second for another force out. Due to the two force outs, the Broadway run did not count and the score went back to 4-3.
 
The controversy lasted for a few minutes as coaches from both teams talked it over with the umpires to figure out what had happened. The call from the umpires elicited lots of jeers from the crowd, but the decision had been made.
 
The Shockers couldn’t get anything going in the top of the ninth and sent the Bruins to the plate facing their last three outs.
 
During Kevin Rush’s at bat, ball four got away from the catcher, allowing Dan Fry to score from third to tie the game at four runs apiece.
 
With two outs and runners on first and third, Matt Meiser stepped up to the plate. Meiser made contact on a 1-1 pitch to drive home Boo Dean and secure the 5-4 walk-off win for Broadway.
 
“That was incredible. That was everything we asked for,” Getz said of Meiser’s last at bat. “He knew the situation and he knew the pitcher, he’s seen him a couple of times. He really stepped up when we needed him.”
 
With the win, Broadway improves to 5-1 on the season. Their next matchup comes this Friday as they host the Grottoes Cardinals at 7:30 p.m.
 
New Market will be back in action Friday as well as they travel to Bridgewater to take on the Reds. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

In two games with the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks this week, Will Hass hit .556 with three home runs and seven RBIs.

All of Hass’ home runs came in the Diamondbacks’ matchup against Montezuma on June 5. Hass went 3-for-5 on the night and drove in six runs in Draft’s 12-1 win over the Braves.

His first home run of the night was a grand slam in the top of the second inning. He followed it up with solo home runs to lead off the fourth and fifth innings.

On June 7 against Grottoes, Hass was 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI.

The Diamondbacks are back in action Tuesday night as they host Bridgewater at the Diamond Club in Stuarts Draft. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Logan Morrison had the pitching performance of the season on Friday night against Bridgewater. The Bruins starter pitched six innings, giving up just one run on three hits and striking out 14 batters, a season-high in the RCBL.

With the win, Morrison improved to 2-0 on the season with a 1.00 ERA. He is second only to teammate Cole Holsinger with 19 strikeouts on the season.

The Bruins next matchup comes tonight as they take on the Cardinals at Shifflett Field in Grottoes. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

By Nick Stevens

BROADWAY - The Broadway Bruins won a combined four games between 2015 and 2016. Last season, the Bruins took a big leap forward, winning five of their final 10 games to finish with 11 wins, ahead of Montezuma in the Western Division standings.
 
Fast forward to June 10th, 2018 and the Broadway Bruins are playing some of the best baseball in the RCBL and coming off a 5-3 victory over the previously undefeated Clover Hill Bucks.
 
The Bucks went deep into their pitching staff for Saturday night’s contest, electing to start Jesse Showalter. While Showalter pitched well, Broadway’s offense was unstoppable, throughout the night.
 
The Bruins racked up 12 hits, a combined seven hits came from Brady Duff, Boo Dean, and John Judy.
 
A Bryce Strawderman sac-fly and Brady Duff RBI-single gave the Bruins a quick 2-0 in the second inning, before Boo Dean and John Judy chipped in RBI-singles in the 3rd to put Broadway up 4-1.
 
Dan Fry tripled in the fourth inning, bringing in the Bruins’ fifth run of the night, as Broadway relied on their pitching staff for the rest of the evening.
 
It appeared as if Clover Hill was going to continue to do Clover Hill things and mount a large late-inning rally, however, outstanding defense and smart pitching by the Bruins ended that threat. The Bucks loaded the bases in the eighth with one out but ultimately stranded all three runners.
 
They challenged again in the ninth. A Johnny Wood walk and Ross French single put two on with no outs and the heart of the Clover Hill lineup awaiting Bruins’ pitcher Cole Holsinger. Holsinger doubled up Drew Easter and Wood on a pop-up bunt attempt by Easter. He ended the night with a strikeout of Blake Sipe.
 
Despite the loss, the Bucks did see a number of positives. Ross French recorded four of the five Clover Hill hits on the night and Austin Knicely and Eric Yankey combined for five shutout innings in relief of Showalter.
 
The Bruins now sit at 4-1, right on the heels of the now 5-1 Clover Hill Bucks. Broadway returns to the field tonight at 6:30 against the Montezuma Braves. Clover Hill is off until Tuesday night when they travel to Grottoes to take on the Cardinals. 

By Matthew Atkins

MONTEZUMA - This weekend has been a tale of two nights for the Bridgewater Reds. Following Friday’s 9-1 loss against Broadway, the Reds flipped the script and defeated Montezuma 11-1 on Saturday night.

“Tonight we came in with a different mentality,” Reds head coach Robert Sherfey said following the win. “It’s time to get up and go. A little more pep in the step and the boys showed it tonight with the bats, so good game for everyone.”

The Reds started the scoring in the top of the first when Kevin Bocock crossed the plate on an RBI single by Josh Wright.

Bridgewater kept the runs coming slowly but surely, building up to a 4-1 lead through six innings.
Tyler Bocock started the game on the mound for the Reds, limiting Montezuma to just one run on six hits. Bocock walked one batter and struck out four.

After the Braves scored their only run of the game in the bottom of the sixth, Bridgewater broke the game wide open with a big seventh inning.

Four walks and four hits allowed the Reds to send seven runners across the plate, increasing their lead to 11-1. Tyler Bocock led the inning off with a walk before stealing home for the first run of the inning. He later came up to bat again in the seventh, scoring Logan Phelps on an RBI single.

The Braves batters were retired in order in the bottom of the seventh and the game ended due to mercy rule.

Tyler Bocock finished the game 2-for-4 from the plate with a run and two RBIs. First baseman Tucker Garrison was 3-for-4 on the night, scoring twice and driving in two more runs.

Bridgewater improved to 2-2 on the season with the win while Montezume fell to 1-3.

The Reds next matchup comes tonight at Stuarts Draft. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.

The Braves will head up to Broadway to face the Bruins tonight. First pitch at that game is also set for 6:30 p.m.