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By Leyton Pullin
Carson Atkins came into Friday hitting .500 on the season and he would stay hot as he would go 2 for 2 with a homerun, 3RBIs, and 2 walks as he and the Blue Sox defeated the Bridgewater Reds 6-3. Hunert Mohr would get the start for the Reds and would throw four scoreless innings before Atkins would hit a solo homerun into right center field crashing down onto one of the decks giving the Sox a 1-0 lead. On the other side for the Blue Sox Wes Arrington would toss four scoreless innings before Bridgewater would strike back. Grey Sherfy and Jacob Grabeel would hit back to back singles before Waring Garber would drop a double into the Bermuda triangle in left field and Sherfy would score. Mason Mitchell would hit a 2 RBI single to give Bridgewater a 3-1 lead. Elkton would respond as Jack Marshal would lead off the 6th Inning with a single and would later score after Waring Garber throw to third got away from Mason Mitchell making the score 2-3. Koice Quintanilla would score for Elkton in the top of the 7th to tie the game up at 3-3. Elkton wouldn’t wait long to take the lead as they would draw three straight walks to load the bases then Atkins would hit a 2RBI double to take a 5-3 lead. Jack Bourdon would also score for Elkton to extend their lead to 6-3. In the bottom of the 9th Bridgewater would have a chance as Garber and Mitchell would hit back to back singles with two outs but would end up stranded as Antonio Sosa would strike out looking to end the game. For Bridgewater they drop to 4-5 on the year and Dylan Horne (0-1) took the loss for the Reds after giving up three runs in the 8th Inning. Waring Garber went 2 for 3 with an RBI and 2 walks. Jonathon Sexton also went 2 for 3 with a walk for the Reds. For Elkton they improve to 3-6 on the season as Nathan Rebich gets credit for the win (1-1) and Ben Friedel picks up the save (1). Carson Atkins’ hot night including a throw out from behind the plate on top of going 2 for 2 with 3 RBIs helped lift the Sox over the Reds. Elkton(3-6) and Bridgewater(4-5) will turn around and play each other again on Saturday night at Stonewall Memorial Park in Elkton.
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By Mitchell Broughton
Montezuma came up short in their comeback attempt against Bridgewater, the Reds won 8-6 last night. The Braves, down four heading into the eighth inning, broke their scoreless drought off of an Adam Hackenburg RBI single. Two more hits and a couple crucial errors by Bridgewater drove in three more runs, tying the game at four runs each heading into the bottom of the eighth. In the bottom half of the eighth inning, with bases loaded and no outs, Corbin Lucas steps up to the plate for the Reds. After a ten-pitch battle, Lucas chops one down the third base line, scoring two and breaking the tie. A few batters later, he would go on to score off of a single by player/coach/fan favorite George Laase, putting an end to Montezuma’s comeback hopes. James Madison pitcher Liam Grubbs started the game for Bridgewater on the mound. The Reds’ right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, striking out ten batters in the process. Relieving Grubbs in the sixth, Matt Schobe pitched two more scoreless innings for Bridgewater allowing just one hit and striking out three. Reds’ shortstop Derek Shifflett would score the first run of the game by stealing home in the bottom of the first, just one of his four stolen bases on the evening. Shifflett would finish the game with three hits and two runs scored. In the third inning, Corbin Lucas took the first pitch he saw over the left field wall at Montezuma Ruritan Park for a solo home run, his second of the season (the other also against Montezuma in the first matchup). Montezuma falls to 3-6 on the season. They will host Stuarts Draft on Friday night at Ruritan Park, the Braves won the last matchup against the D-Backs 16-6 in seven innings. Bridgewater gets back to .500 at 4-4 and will “host” the Elkton Blue Sox on Friday at Clover Hill’s Buck Bowman Park. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 starts, but a typical Buck Bowman Park sun delay is expected to push back the first pitch between the Blue Sox and the Reds. FINAL: Montezuma 6 Bridgewater 8. Winning pitcher: Brett Tharp (2-0). Losing pitcher: Lance Tate (0-1). — Around the County League: Chase DeLauter continues to showcase why he was a freshman All-American at JMU, pitching four innings with five strikeouts and one earned run while also hitting a two-run home run for Broadway. The Bruins defeated Stuarts Draft last night 9-2. New Market’s Calvin Pastel’s go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth inning would go on to propel the Shockers over the Elkton Blue Sox 13-12. This was the Shockers’ second straight game ending in late-inning heroics, pushing them ahead of Bridgewater into fourth place in the league standings. In Grottoes last night it was Cam Irvine who capitalized a six-run bottom of the ninth rally for the Cardinals with a walk-off three-run home run, sending the Clover Hill Bucks home with a devastating 9-8 loss. Irvine would finish the game with three hits, two doubles, three RBIs, and one swing of the bat to keep Grottoes in the three-way tie for first place. Follow the RCBL on Twitter for more news, scores and updates — twitter.com/RCBLonline By Leyton Pullin
On Wednesday night the New Market Shockers defeated the Elkton Blue Sox 13-12 in a game that featured at least one run scored in each inning. New Market would get it started in the top of 1st as Henry Delavergne would open the game with one of his four singles on the night and would eventually score on a fielder’s choice giving the Shockers a 1-0 lead. In the 2nd New Market would add another as Delavergne would hit a RBI single to left field that would score Matt House, 2-0 New Market. New Market would extend their lead to 3-0 as Calvin Pastel would single and later score in the top of the 3rd. Elkton would answer in the bottom half of the inning as Tucker Hensley would reach base on a walk and later score. They would tag on a J.J. Loker 2Run Home Run tying the game at 3-3. New Market would reclaim the lead as Delavergne would single for the third time and later score giving the Shockers a 4-3 lead in the top of the 4th. Elkton would once again answer as Elliot Erkel would draw a walk and later score on a Lee Carneal RBI single along with a three RBI double by Jack Marshall down the right field line taking their first lead 7-4. In the top of the 5th Matt House would single then score cutting the Elkton lead to 7-5. New Market would add four more runs in the top of the 6th as Boucher, Pastel, Bennet, and Estep would all score to make the score 9-7 Shockers. Elkton would strike back in the bottom half as Jack Marshal would rip a RBI single scoring Mack Rexrode to set the lead to 9-8. In the top of the 7th New Market would score two with a sacrifice fly by Pastel and a RBI by Bennet extending the lead to 11-8. After the 7th inning stretch New Market would work two quick outs but then would quickly find the bases loaded as J.J. Loker would hit a Grand Slam giving Elkton the lead back 12-11. New Market would tie it up as Matt Moon would draw a walk and his courtesy runner Haden Madagan would core on a pass ball tying the game at 12-12. In the top of the 9th Calvin Pastel would hit a no doubter solo home run as the go ahead run 13-12. Elkton would strand a runner on second as Pastel would close the game for New Market. For Elkton they drop to 2-6 on the year and hold on to the 7th spot in the league standings. J.J. Loker would go 2 for 4 with 2 Home Runs and 6 RBIs for the Blue Sox. Jack Marshall would add 4 more RBIs and Mack Rexrode would be awarded the newly created silver walker as he walked four times from the lead off spot for the Sox. Elkton (2-6) will travel and take on Bridgewater (4-4) Friday night at Buck Bowman Park at 7:30. The Shockers improve to 4-3 on the year. Bennet and Pastel would each pick up three RBIs and Henry Delavergne would go 4 for 6 with 4 singles to lead New Market. Michael Prosperi would pick up the win and Pastel would get the go ahead home run and the save (1). The Shockers (4-3) will play host to the Grottoes Cardinals (6-2) on Friday in a highly anticipated matchup of two of the youngest teams in the league. By Megan Phelps Former UCLA baseball player, Billy Craig, is a proud father of six kids. Two of which are currently playing this season with the RCBL. One of Billy’s sons, Ben Craig, had originally planned to join the RCBL earlier this season and transition into a travel league. His goal was to come out and play about 3-4 weeks before the high schoolers started playing, transition to travel ball, and finish the season out with the RCBL. Due to the new COVID schedule, their times collided and he had been unable to participate until recently. Ben signed with the Elkton Blue Sox where his brother, Will, has been playing since the start of the 2019 season. After moving from Richmond, Billy wanted his family to stay local and not have to worry about traveling for baseball. The RCBL was the perfect solution for his son Will. A week before Will was about to start the 2018 season, he suffered a dirt bike injury. They thought that would only delay his start with the county league, but he accumulated a blood clot that made him sit out for that season. Luckily, Will was able to resume his plans and return for the 2019 season. His dad said, he thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere, playing with his teammates, and was excited to return this year. A challenge for many players was not having regular season baseball. Will plays for Spotswood High School and was ready to start pitching. Unfortunately, the season was canceled, and he had to, “shut things down” for a few months. Billy says, “What makes this year special is that everyone has been sitting for so long. As a fan, and a dad, getting to continue to come out here and watch them is a huge blessing.” This season has been more competitive and exciting for fans. Due to the roster expansion and players coming from different leagues and D1 schools, Billy says his son Will has not gotten much playing time. He is hopeful his son will get the chance to prove himself to the older guys as the season progresses. Billy reflects on his time at UCLA and gave some advice for playing competitive baseball. His first piece of advice is to always work hard and to go all out on the field. His second piece of advice is, above all else, have fun. Lastly, he says to respect coaches, umpires, and authority figures. Billy continues and says that the players have grown up in that environment and he believes that behavior will stick with them in life. Billy has noticed that more people have come out to the games this season. He has brought plenty of fans himself, saying he has many friends and family who have come out to watch the games. He says, “This is one of the best things that is happening in the valley right now, and we are so thankful that they were committed to making this happen.” He has been excited about the new guys coming in and learning about where they have played, and where they are playing now. He continues with saying that the RCBL is a special community with rich history where guys of all different age groups get the opportunity to learn and play. By Josiah Schulz
Tuesday night was the debut of an epic matchup between two elite pitchers and current teammates for the James Madison University baseball team in Justin Showalter and Hunter Enstminger. “We knew they pitched a great pitcher in Showalter. We knew we couldn’t let him get into a groove, or else he’d do to us what he does at JMU: mow people down.” Said New Market Shockers’s coach Nolan Potts. “We had a lot of confidence in Hunter. Being that they’re teammates, there was a competitive rivalry going on. I knew how bad Hunter wanted to win this game and he really showed out tonight. Tonight, however, it would be Enstminger who would emerge victorious in the long-awaited matchup. Entsminger, contributing six strikeouts, would hold the notoriously strong hitting and potent offense of the Bridgewater Reds to just one run until relief pitcher Haden Madagen closed the night, posting 6 more strikeouts and no more runs in the 6-1 victory against Bridgewater. Showalter’s pitching was not lackluster, holding the shockers to only one run for an entire 5 innings. Late in the 6th, however, Ty Bennett would really turn things on and ignite a flame for the Shockers that would melt away their cold hitting so far in the game. “Especially early in the game, it was very close. It was just a very good pitching matchup. I just knew that if I was aggressive early in the count, I could get something going for us, and that’s what I tried to do.” Bennett said with a smile. Bennett began the game with his first two at-bats both resulting in strikeouts. This would not discourage Bennett, giving the Shockers two consecutive RBI’s and would eventually lead the Shockers to their dominant victory. “Ty is just a competitor.” Exclaimed coach Potts. “He hurt his finger at work and was playing with a sort of cast wrapped around it. Being a veteran on this team, he wanted this victory as much or more than any guy here tonight. What he brought to the game tonight was very important, even with only 9 good fingers” When asked what the team’s mentality was going into this game tonight, Bennett responded by saying: “We knew that (Showalter) would come in and throw strikes. We knew if we could get ahead in the count early and attack his fastball we’d be successful. I believe that’s what we did tonight and I’m proud of my guys for achieving that.” By Mitchell Broughton
The Diamondbacks, the lone winless team in the County League, stay that way for the time being as Stuarts Draft falls to the Montezuma Braves in seven innings last night 16-6. The issues seemed to come from the mound as six Stuarts Draft pitchers saw action but none found a rhythm. Jacob and Josh Matheney in a little over three innings, allowed nine hits, 12 runs, and only struck out three. Offensively, Stuarts Draft did not look as bad. Three D'Backs sent balls into the cornfields beyond the Ruritan Park walls — Jack Pausic, Cody Bartley, and Tyler Wilcher. Pausic drove in three runs in the contest and scored twice himself. After Monday’s 10-1 loss to Elkton, Montezuma found their plate presence again. PJ Hanisak went 4-for-4 on the evening with two doubles, a triple, and five RBIs. Second baseman Jacob Haney pitched in with a double that drove in two and a solo homerun in the following inning. VCU-commit Andrew Ward had himself another impressive outing on the mound. The left-handed pitcher went four innings with three hits, three earned runs, and seven strikeouts. Coming in for relief, Derek Ryan only allowed a hit and two walks while striking out two of his own. Stuarts Draft falls to 0-5 on the season and will travel to JMU’s Eagle Field tonight to play the Broadway Bruins. Montezuma, now 3-5, will stay at Ruritan Park tonight but as the away team against the Bridgewater Reds. Both games are scheduled for 7:30 first pitches. FINAL (in 7 innings): Stuarts Draft 6 Montezuma 16. Winning pitcher: Andrew Ward (1-0). Losing pitcher: Jacob Matheney (0-1). — Around the League: Broadway got the best of Grottoes, shutting out the Cardinals 8-0 to take the regular season series. Natty Solomon had himself a night with a double, homerun, and three RBIs. Adam Riggleman (2-0) pitched six innings for the Bruins, striking out five and giving up only three hits. Coaches on the mound lead the way for Clover Hill as the Bucks defeat Elkton 5-2 at Stonewall Memorial Field. Kevin Tysinger gets credited for the win and Justin Getz goes more than four innings with no hits, one walk, and six strikeouts for Clover Hill. Another long outing for Justin Showalter wasn’t enough for Bridgewater to outlast New Market. The Shockers defeated the Reds 6-1 with help in part from Ty Bennett who had a momentum-shifting RBI double for New Market. Follow the RCBL on Twitter for more news, scores and updates — twitter.com/RCBLonline By Leyton Pullin
The Broadway Bruins blanked the Grottoes Cardinals 8-0 on Tuesday night at Eagle Field. Adam Riggleman got the start for the Bruins of Broadway but would face some problems early with two down in the bottom of the first as Dyaln Nicely would single up the middle for Grottoes followed by a Jacob Merica walk but they would both be stranded as Riggleman would sit down David Wood for one of his five strikeouts on the night. Broadway would strike in the bottom of the 1st as Chase Delauter would hit a RBI single scoring Travis Reifsnider to give Broadway a 1-0 lead. The Bruins would put up a four spot in the bottom of the 2nd as Natty Solomon would hit a RBI double scoring Tanner Skidmore to give the Bruins a 2-0 lead. Tyler Ault would follow with a RBI single of his own to score Solomon. Reifsnider would score on a Grottoes error and Josh Jones would drive in Delauter to give Broadway a 5-0 lead. Riggleman would take over putting up 6 scoreless innings for Broadway and would eventually take the win for the Bruins. Much like their first matchup with the Cards, Manager Chip Abernathy would go to Josh Bell after Riggleman left the game and he would put in a 3-inning relief effort with no hits and 3 Ks. The Bruins would put up a run in the 7th and then two runs in the 8th from a Natty Solomon 2-Run Home Run to push the score to 8-0 in favor of Broadway. For Grottoes they drop to 5-2 with both of their losses coming to Broadway, this sets up an all-important matchup with the Clover Hill Bucks on Wednesday as 1 game separates the top two teams on the RCBL. That game will take place at Shifflett Field in Grottoes at 7:30 on Wednesday. Broadway Moves to 5-2 on the year. Manager Abernathy seemed confident in his pitching 1-2 punch his team has developed, “[Riggleman and Bell] complement each other real well…. I wish I could throw those guys every night.” For Riggleman he moves to 2-0 on the year with 0 ER on the year in 3 appearances. Bell has thrown in 2 games both against the Cards and has a 1.26 ERA with 7Ks. Broadway will play host to Stuarts Draft(0-5) on Wednesday at 7:30. By Megan Phelps On Friday, July 3rd it was Christmas in July at Buck Bowman Park. Clover Hill had strung up lights around the stands and it was a sight to see! Christmas in July has been held at Clover Hill for about 5 years now. It is a long-standing tradition that brings joy to the fanbase. Not only does it bring joy to the people attending the game, it also brings it to those in need. Toys for Tots is an organization that gives donated toys to needy children at Christmas. Clover Hill puts on Christmas in July as a fundraiser for Toys for Tots. Chris Cofer originally initiated this event because he wanted to see the stadium covered in Christmas lights. Whitney Cofer says, “He always had the craziest ideas. He thought how cool would it be to light up the ballpark with Christmas lights? And we couldn’t really figure out a reason to do that, and then he said let’s do Toys for Tots.” Clover Hill fills at least three tubs full of donations for the organization every summer. She says the Clover Hill community is always looking for opportunities to give back and this is another way for everyone to help. Whitney says that Clover Hill enjoys being different and doing things that no one else is doing. Christmas in July is not something you see every day. She enjoyed seeing the excitement on her husband’s face when they lit up the ballpark for the first time. If you missed the lights don’t worry because the stadium will be lit for the rest of the season. Whitney is proud of her community and their efforts to give back. Austin Nicely Comes Up a Few Feet Short of the Cycle but Leads Grottoes in Broadway Rematch7/6/2020 By Mitchell Broughton
One of the single most difficult achievements in sports is batting for the cycle — one player hitting a single, double, triple and home run in one game. Last night, during the Grottoes Cardinals 7-4 win over the Broadway Bruins, Austin Nicely appeared to be on his way to statistical glory. After a weather delay at JMU’s Eagle Field, Austin Nicely started off the game in the top of the first with a single to right field. In his second at bat in the third inning, Nicely’s line drive shot through the right-center gap drove in two runs and landed him at third for a triple. In the top of the fifth, he doubled down the left-field line and later scored off of a two-run home run by Keegan Woolford. After three at-bats Austin Nicely was just a home run short of completing the cycle. In the top of the ninth, Nicely came up to the plate and crushed a fly ball to deep right field, carrying over Broadway right fielder Austin Martin’s head and landing just shy of the wall at the warning track for his second triple of the game. Nicely finished the game going 4-for-5 with two triples, a double, two RBIs, and scoring himself three times. Other Cardinals pitched in offensively as well. Jacob Merica had two hits, a double, a stolen base and a run scored. Shortstop Isaiah Blanks also had two hits and a double, but drove in a run. A trio of pitchers out of VCU, Justin Sorokowski, Mike Dailey and Jack Masloff, took the mound for Grottoes. Individually, the most impressive outing came from Dailey, striking out five in three innings giving up only two walks and one hit. In total the Cardinals pitching core struck out 11, walked three and gave up seven hits. For the Bruins, Liam McDonnell pitched four innings in relief. McDonnell gave up five hits, no walks and two runs, but struck out seven. At the plate, Chase DeLauter had two hits and a triple and Tanner Skidmore hit a two-RBI double in the bottom of the eighth in an attempt to close the score gap. Grottoes stays tied for first with Clover Hill at 5-1; Broadway moves to 4-2 and third place in the league standings. Both teams will meet again for the deciding rubber match of the 2020 season on Tuesday at Eagle Field. FINAL: Grottoes 7 Broadway 4. Winning pitcher: Justin Sorokowski (2-0). Losing Pitcher: Trent Abernathy (0-1). Saving pitcher: Jack Masloff. — Around the League: Clover Hill completed its regular season sweep over Bridgewater, defeating the Reds 16-8 last night at Buck Bowman Park. The other two games, New Market vs. Stuarts Draft and Montezuma vs. Elkton, were postponed due to the weather and will be rescheduled to tonight. Follow the RCBL on Twitter for more news, scores, and updates — twitter.com/RCBLonline By Mitchell Broughton
It was Christmas in July last night at Buck Bowman Park and the Clover Hill fans not only got the gift of a 8-5 win over Bridgewater, but also a treat of witnessing some star performances. On the mound for the Bucks were fan-favorites Nick Corbin and Eric Yankey. Corbin started out the game. Throwing five innings, he struck out four and gave up five hits and two runs. Coming in for another save opportunity in the eight inning, Eric Yankey did what he does best. Yankey finished the game with five strikeouts, no walks, and just two hits — amounting to his second save of 2020. On offense, it was all Tyler Bocock. The shortstop reached base on all five of his appearances at the plate. In the bottom of the fourth, with two outs and bases loaded, it was Bocock who stepped up to the plate and sent a blast over the left field wall for a grand slam to break the 3-3 tie. Bocock finished the game with two hits and five RBIs. Also stepping up at bat for the Bucks were Bryce Suters and Blake Sipe. Suters, a JMU commit, had a double in the second inning, successfully stole three of the team’s seven stolen bases, and scored twice. Sipe at center field had two singles and scored twice as well. For the Bridgewater Reds, George Laase had quite the game in front of a group of spectators that one would assume to be his personal fan club by the cheers. Laase started out the game in the top of the first with a 2-RBI double to right field, scoring himself off of a Tanner Moyers sac fly. Derek Shifflett was also crucial to the Reds last night, going 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Shifflett also came in to pitch to regain control of the seventh inning, striking out two batters. Bridgewater moves to 3-2 on the year with both losses to Clover Hill. The Bucks improve to 4-1 and are now in a three-way tie for first place with Grottoes and Broadway. These two teams will face off for the final time in the regular season on Sunday July 5 at Buck Bowman Park, where Bridgewater will be the home team to the “visiting” Clover Hill Bucks. FINAL: Clover Hill 8 Bridgewater 5. Winning pitcher: Nick Corbin. Losing pitcher: Tyler Showalter. Saving pitcher: Eric Yankey. — Around the County League: Two rather exciting games also took place last night. At Rebel Field in New Market, Matt Meiser’s go-ahead RBI double in the top of the ninth propelled the Broadway Bruins (4-1) past the New Market Shockers (2-3) for the second time this season 9-6. Broadway’s Tyler Ault was 5-for-5 on the evening with a double and Chase DeLauter had two hits of his own, including a triple in the third inning that scored two. Luke Estep had a RBI double for the Shockers. Late inning heroics continued in the County League as Montezuma’s Jeremy Wagner had a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth to win the game for the Braves over the visiting Elkton Blue Sox 14-13. Wagner finished the game with three hits and five RBIs. Lee Carneal and Will Decker combined for five hits, 6 RBIs and 5 runs for the Blue Sox. That game moved Montezuma (2-4) ahead of Elkton (1-4) in the league standings. Follow the RCBL on Twitter for news, scores, and updates — twitter.com/RCBLonline |
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