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By Tyler Carney
A back and forth game between last year's champion and runner up went down to the wire as the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks bested the Bridgewater Red 11-10. Draft looked more like themselves as they’ve had a rocky start to the season, this game could be a big turning point for the team. The Reds have looked dominant lately and while missing some big names they got out to an early lead as they had a two run first inning to Draft’s one. Drafts one run was driven in off the bat of Cody Bartley on an RBI single. Bridgewater’s two runs came from Josh Tayman on a 2 RBI single. Draft would take the lead back quickly as a three run second would push them ahead 4-2. Those runs would come from a RBI double from leadoff hitter Zach Roberts, and two RBI singles from Grayson Bush and Logan Duff. Draft would continue the scoring with a three run fourth inning and would extend their lead to 7-2. An inning that saw 9 hitters come up to bat for the Diamondbacks would start with a RBI groundout by Bush that would allow the runner on third to score. Right after Duff would hit an RBI single. Calen Owens would get the last RBI of the inning on a fielder's choice as Draft had loaded the bases. The Reds however would get back in it the 5th with two runs. Those runs came from Grey Sherfey on an RBI single and Tayman would get another RBI on a groundout to second. The sixth inning was a big one for the Reds as they also got through all nine batters in the inning. A throwing error by the Diamondbacks first baseman would allow a run to score as the Reds had loaded the bases. The Diamondbacks almost got out of the jam getting two outs but Chris Huffman was up to bat. The MVP candidate would hit a liner to left, an absolute no doubt as the Reds got a grand slam and took the lead 10-7. Draft would tighten up and respond with a 2 run 7th inning off of two RBI doubles from Logan Duff and Cody Bartley. Their defense would hold against the Reds offense and only be down one run going into the 9th. Bush would tie the game on a passed ball as he had made it the third off his own single. Caden Richter would then hit an RBI double to take the lead 11-10 where it would stand with good defense again from Draft. “We finally got quality at bats, our pitching has been good but the difference tonight was the quality at bats,” said Diamondbacks manager Les Sandridge. On that good pitching Trevor Vernon would get the start for Draft and held the Reds to 3 runs throwing 80 pitches. Logan Stump would replace him in the 5th and besides the grand slam pitched well and earned himself the win, he threw 79 pitches. Chandis Goff would close the game, his one inning of work put to bed any hope of a walkoff for the Reds. Goff would earn the save. For the Reds, Joe Christopher would get the start on the mound only giving up 4 runs before being taken out in the 4th. Tyler Jones would come in the 4th and would only muster 2 outs to 4 hits, 3 runs, and 4 walks, he was replaced quickly by Jared Peake. Peake would get out of the jam and go until the 8th keeping the game close. Nick Griffin would come in and finish the game, however he’d give up the winning run giving him the loss. The Reds, now 9-3, will be back in action at home June 20th against their rivals the Clover Hill Bucks who are now 8-2 after their big win vs Elkton. The Diamondback will look too keep their momentum going as they are now 4-7 and will play Montezuma(5-) at home on June 17th.
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By Dean Barker The Montezuma Braves utilized a six-run fourth and a stellar pitching performance from Lance Tate to defeat the Broadway Bruins 6-2 on Friday, June 16. With the road win, the Braves move to 5-5 on the year, while the Bruins fall to 5-4. “Every time he (Lance Tate) gets on the mound and starts the game for us, we know we’ve got a really good opportunity, and that encourages our guys at the plate,” Braves head coach Chris Rush said. “It gives them some confidence in what they can do, so I think all of tonight, we just put everything together.” It was a special night for Montezuma, who retired their late assistant coach Ronnie Brunk’s #30 after the game. Brunk died a year ago Thursday, and the Braves were notified of his passing at Broadway’s field. “A year ago, it was a rough day here, so it was huge to be able to wear that number and come out and perform like we did, come out and just have fun,” Kyle Armstrong said. Armstrong wore #30 in honor of Brunk. “That’s what Ronnie was all about. He loved the game of baseball, and he always had fun.” Lance Tate got the win for the Braves to improve to 2-1, pitching seven shutout innings with just two hits (the only two base runners he’d allow), no walks and nine strikeouts. Tate was perfect through four innings, and didn’t allow anyone to go further than second base all night. Adam Dressler gave up two earned runs in a third of an inning on three hits with no walks and no strikeouts. Derek Ryan pitched a scoreless inning and two thirds with no hits or walks and two strikeouts. “Tonight was one of those nights where everything was working,” Tate said. “Having the defense we had behind us, that’s also a big key, too. That’s a great win, and coming out and hitting the ball early, getting on top, having those runs behind you is always good (when you’re) pitching. Bumby VanMeter took the loss for the to fall to 0-1, giving up six earned runs on five hits with two walks and two strikeouts in three and two thirds innings. Brayden Collier pitched pitched three and a third scoreless innings on two hits with a walk and four strikeouts. Dalton Benson pitched two scoreless innings with one hit, one walk and no strikeouts. After three innings of no-hit baseball for both teams, JT Stevenson broke the ice with a two run single to right. Kyle Armstrong would do the same to make it 4-0, and a two run double from Isaac Sumpter made it a 6-0 game, at which point VanMeter was pulled for Collier. “When we get going and keep them down, it’s kind of hard to stop us once we get rolling,” Gavin Rush said. Back to back triples from Carl Keenan and James Sibert would get the Bruins on the board in the bottom of the eighth, and Grant Landis would double to make the score 6-2. Ozzie Torres was hit to put the tying run on deck, but the Bruins were unable to capitalize. The Braves had six runs on eight hits with no errors and six runners left on. Armstrong and Isaac Sumpter were both 1-5 with two RBIs. Luke Olimpio and Dylan Rankin were both 1-5. JT Stevenson was 2-4 with two RBIs. Gavin Rush was 1-2 with a walk. Tyler Smith was 1-3. The Bruins scored two runs on five hits with three errors and four runners stranded. Keenan, Austin Whetzel and Ethan Burgreen were all 1-4. Landis was 1-3 with an RBI, and Sibert was 1-1 with an RBI. The Braves will travel to the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks on Saturday, June 17 at 7:30 pm. The Bruins will host a double header against the Clover Hill Bucks on Saturday, June 17 starting at 5 pm. To sweep the first place Bucks, Bruins head coach Bryce Strawderman says his team will need to perform better on the mound. “We need two quality starts, we’ve got our number one and number two (pitchers) going tomorrow,” Strawderman said. “Just being able to put together quality starts, (and) limit free bases.” By Dean Barker The Elkton Blue Sox took an early lead and stayed competitive with the RCBL Shockers, but were unable to pick up their first win in a 9-6 road loss on Wednesday, June 14. With the win, the Shockers improved to 5-3, while the Blue Sox fell to 0-11. “They (Elkton) made us earn it, they didn’t give us this game, and you know, a lot of kudos to them,” Shockers head coach Nolan Potts said. “I know they’ve been struggling a little bit their first year back, but it’s a talented team, and they’re going to give some people some problems as the season goes on.” Caden Sawyers picked up the win to improve to 2-0 for the Shockers, pitching an inning and two thirds and giving up three earned runs on three hits with three walks and a strikeout. Pearce Bucher pitched five innings and gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits with a walk and two strikeouts. Kirk Messick pitched a scoreless ninth with a strikeout to pick up the save. Taran Baker took the loss for the Blue Sox to fall to 0-2, giving up five earned runs on seven hits with a walk and no strikeouts in an inning and a third. Landon Bruce pitched the first four innings, giving up two earned runs on five hits with three walks and no strikeouts. The Blue Sox got on the board first in the second inning with a sacrifice fly from Ryan Wright. The Shockers retaliated in the bottom half with a bases loaded RBI sac fly from Kaden Spaid, followed by Harrison Madagan coming home for the second run during a rundown at first. Hunter Shifflett would plate two with a two RBI single to center in the top of the fifth, giving Elkton a 3-2 lead. With two on and two out in the bottom half, Bucher hit a ground rule double to tie the game at three apiece. With runners on the corners in the bottom of the sixth, Frankie Ritter reached on an error at second base and the go-ahead run came home. Nick Arnold followed it up with an RBI double, and Connor Houser’s two run single to right made it 7-6 Shockers. Tyler Stobbs drove in one with a single to right, and with the bases loaded, Pedro Mendez was hit to cut the lead to two. Stobbs would come home on a wild pitch to make it a 7-6 ballgame. Luke Keister would respond with a two run single in the bottom half to make the score 9-6, which is how the game would end. “In that situation, I was trying to hit the ball to the right side, hit it hard and hopefully score a guy and get the other guy to third base,” Keister said. “I just got lucky, got a pitch I could drive to right field, and the ball dropped and we scored two runs.” The Shockers had nine runs on fourteen hits with one error. Houser was 3-4 with two RBIs. Keister went 2-5 with two RBIs. Ritter and Bucher were both 2-5 with an RBI. The Blue Sox had six runs on nine hits with an error. Shifflett went 1-4 with two RBIs. Mendez was 2-3 with an RBI. Wright was 1-3 with an RBI. Stobbs was 1-4 with an RBI. The Shockers will be back in action when they host the Grottoes Cardinals on Monday, June 19 at 7:30 pm. The Blue Sox will travel to the Clover Hill Bucks on Friday, June 16 at 7:30 pm. Bridgewater Reds pitcher and shortstop Chris Huffman was named RCBL Week 3 Player of the Week. Huffman went 2-0 on the mound and struck out 27 batters (a league best) in 13 innings. At the plate, Huffman had five hits to lead the league. “I just tried to, you know, get ahead of hitters, keep us in the game, and when I had two strikes… putting them away with my putout pitch,” Huffman said. This is the second time this year a Bridgewater Red has won the award, as Derek Shifflett won for Week 2. “I think it says a lot, we have a lot of good players, and I think that was a big reason, you know, that we do have a chance to, you know, repeat this year,” Huffman said. “We have a lot of guys that came back this year, and you know, they played really well last year too, and it seems like they put in the work in the off-season to make sure they were prepared for this year.” Huffman spoke more on his week three and other subjects on Episode 3 of The Rocktown Rundown. By Dean Barker The Montezuma Braves did all they could to erase an early 8-0 Bridgewater Reds lead, including a seven run top of the ninth, but a tenth inning Grey Sherfey walkoff single gave the defending champs a 14-13 win on Monday, June 12. With the win, the Reds moved to 8-2 and kept sole possession of first, while the Braves fell to 4-5 and stayed in fifth place. “(The key to the win was) persistence,” acting Reds head coach Dennis Miller said. “They don’t give up, I mean, it’s the county league.” Derek Shifflett got the win for Bridgewater to move to improve to 3-0, pitching 10 innings and giving up eight runs on eight hits with seven walks and ten strikeouts. At the plate he was 2-4 with an RBI. Landen Campbell started the ninth and gave up five runs on three hits and two walks. Shifflett gave the Braves credit for mounting a comeback. “They put the bat on the ball, I mean I felt like I didn’t have my best stuff tonight, but sometimes it’s like that, but you’ve got to give it to them,” Shifflett said. “They swung and they put it in play, and (13 runs) is pretty impressive, so that’s one heck of a comeback.” Will Craig took the loss for the Braves, giving up one run in two innings on three hits and one strikeout. Elijah Dunlap started the game for Montezuma, giving up nine runs (five earned) on twelve hits with two walks and three strikeouts in three and a third innings. Bridgewater batted through the lineup in both the first and second innings for a total of eight runs. Liam Simpson’s three run blast in the first got it started, and Mason Luck’s infield fly dropped to bring home the fourth run. In the second, RBI singles from Chris Huffman, Nick Griffin and Matthew Wine made it 7-0, and a run came home on a dropped third strike to make it 8-0. With the bases loaded in the top of the third, a walk to Isaac Sumpter, a single from Tyler Smith, and a two run single from Tristan Gordon cut the lead to four. Bridgewater responded by bringing home Brett Tharp on a passed ball in the bottom half. A two RBI double from Marshall in the fifth made it a 9-6 ballgame, but a sacrifice grounder from Huffman and a single from Simpson would make it 11-6 in the bottom half. A bases loaded walk to Shifflett and a sac fly from Noah Cornwell made it 13-6 in the bottom of the sixth. With the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Smith would bring them all in with a double to center, and with the bases loaded again, a Rankin double cut the lead to one. Blake French’s grounder to short was bobbled, allowing the tying run to come home. The Reds would strand Simpson at second in the bottom half. The Braves failed to capitalize with two base runners in the tenth. Luck doubled to lead off the tenth, and Sherfey ended the game with a walkoff single to center. The Reds had fourteen runs on twenty one hits with two errors and fourteen runners left on base. Mason Luck was 5-6 with two RBIs to lead the way for Bridgewater. Liam Simpson was 4-6 with four RBIs. Nick Griffin was 3-5 with an RBI. Sherfey was 1-2 with the winning RBI. The Braves had thirteen runs on eleven hits with an error and eight runners stranded. Tyler Smith led Montezuma with a 3-6 night and four RBIs. Dylan Rankin was 2-5 with three RBIs. Tristan Gordon was 2-5 with two RBIs, and Owen Marshall was 1-4 with two RBIs. “I think the players saw in themselves tonight (that) we have the ability to be down but not be out, to fight through it, to keep playing ball,” Braves head coach Chris Rush said. The Reds and Braves will both travel to the Broadway Bruins for their next games, the Reds on Wednesday, June 14 at 7:30 pm, the Braves on Friday, June 16 at the same time. By Tyler Carney
The Clover Hill Bucks held off the Grottoes Cardinals in a great game Monday Night. A solid team win that stayed close the entire way and never saw more than 1 run scored in a single inning as the Bucks won 4-3. The Bucks got off to a hot start as Josh Eberly would hit a triple on the first pitch of the game. He would then score on a double from Kevin Navedo. However the Cardinals would tighten up and get out of the 1st without any more damage. The next two at bats for both sides were uneventful as all 6 batters would get out in order. The Cardinals would tie the game on a Witt Scafidi sacrifice fly ball that scored Dillion Nicely. The Bucks would take the lead back in the 3rd off a Luke Shifflett sacrifice fly that would make the game 2-1. The Bucks would extend their lead to two in the 4th. TJ Johnson hit a double and would reach 3rd and he would easily score on a sacrifice fly from Alex Knicely. The 5th would then stay scoreless on both sides, however the Cardinals had a runner on but a smart play from the Bucks catcher as he fielded a ball in play to tag the batter who thought it went foul. After some discussion, including some with coaches, the umpires ruled him out. The Cardinals would get back into the game with a run in the 6th as they loaded the bases and shortstop Clayton Michael would work a walk, walking in a run. The Cardinals would tie it in the 7th as Dylan Nicely would get an RBI single and an error in center field would allow Garret Huffman to score from first evening the game 3-3. The Bucks would score the winning Run in the 8th off of their 3rd sacrifice fly of the game from John Siciliano. Tyler Conley would then shut down any offense for Grottoes and end the game on a ground out. Grottoes’ pitching saw Adam Dofflemyer get the start, striking out two and allowing three runs. He would be replaced in the 5th by Lucas Cash who would strike out three but would allow the 4th and winning run giving him the loss. Noah Burtner would close the game coming in in the 9th striking out two while only allowing one hit. “ Pitching is something I’ve been happy with but we have got to start hitting better from here on out, “ said Cardinals Manager Tim Nicely, “ we couldn’t string any hits together.” On the other side the Bucks would start Jaden Isidro who’d strike out three and only give up one run earning him the win. Sam Imeson would come in the 5th inning and strike out two and give up two runs. Tyler Conley would come in the 9th and as mentioned before shut down the hopes of extras or a walkoff for Grottoes. He retired the side in just four batters allowing only one hit earning him the save. “ A good team win. You gotta find a way to win these tight games pitching shut down when we need to,” said Bucks Manger Kevin Chandler “ We found our way to win, we are playing good ball but gotta clean up the little things executing those better going forward is what we need.” The Cardinals(4-5) will look to get back to .500 at home June 14th against the Diamondbacks(3-6) who are coming off of a big win against the Reds. The Bucks(7-2) will look to try for a 3rd win in a row at home June 16th against the Elkton Blue Sox who are still winless. By Tyler Carney Elkton fought back valiantly against the Cardinals but came up short on a rainy night in Grottoes. 10-8 was the final but the Cardinals led 8-2 at one point in what turned out to be a thrilling game. The Blue Sox started the game firing getting two runners on base with a single from Devin Powell and an E6 that got Dusty Cash on, a triple into the gap from catcher Ty Mauer who showcased some incredible speed would drive in both runs quickie getting the Blue Sox ahead 2-0 but Mauer would end up stranded. The Cardinals would strike back quickly however, scoring three of their own in the first. Off a RBI single for Dillion Nicely and a RBI double from Natty Solomon who would steal 3rd. After stealing third a E2 on an attempted throw to second would allow Solomon to score, ending the Cardinals runs for the inning. Elkton would get out of the inning after only three batters and the Cardinals would widen their lead with 2 more runs in the second. Those runs both came on a 2 RBI double from Dillion Nicely. Elkton would again go down 1 2 3 and the 3rd would see 3 more runs for the Cardinals. This time it would be Luke Tomajcyzk with an RBI single and Garrett Gargano with a 2 RBI single to extend the lead to 8-2. Tomajczyk would hit another RBI single in the 4th to make it 9-2. However the Cardinals would then step off the gas. The top of the 5th lead off with Elktons 8 hole hitter Mitchell Gaskins who would also end the inning and have two at bats. Gaskins would score on a base loaded E6. Dusty Cash would then step up and hit a 2 RBI ground rule double after the center fielder nearly made a great play on the ball. Next Mauer would then hit another 2 RBI triple, and the scoring onslaught would finish off when a bobbled bunt attempt from the 3rd baseman would allow the batter to reach and a runner from third to score. The inning would end with the 10th batter, Gaskins, who had a run, struckout. The score was now 9-8. Perhaps the inning was a wake up call for both teams as good defense and pitching locked up both lineups. Cameron Irvine of the Cardinals would add an insurance run on a RBI groundout to 3rd that scored Dalton Nicely. That score would stand as the Blue Sox were never able to get another run home. “Today was a good game of baseball, you saw our hitting come along,” said Elkton Manager Mike Sutton, “ It was one of those days you play good enough to win and just don’t” Sutton also believes as the summer goes along and he gets all his players in the bullpen and lineup Elkton will compete more often. “ Defensively we made some mistakes, couple that with some bad pitches they were able to make some good plays,” said Grottoes manager Tim Nicely, “We faced some adversity today with the conditions and we fought through a big inning, but we need to swing that bat better going forward.” As for pitching Adam Dofflemyer would start for Grottoes and he’d only give up two runs and pitch well until the 4th. In the 4th Trey Deane would come in and do well until Elktons monstrous 5th inning. While his defense did not help him, he would be relieved at the 5 ⅓ mark by Evan Cash who saw the Cardinals out of that 5th. Cash would end up earning himself a win and would pitch until the 8th where Noah Burtner would earn himself a save pitching well. On the Elkton side, Colby Cave got the start, however Grottoes’ hot start at the plate saw his day end quickly and Jacob Wakefield would come in in the 3rd. Wakefield would start shaky but would pitch well enough to give Elkton a chance in the game. He would earn the loss as the 9th run was scored on him. Garrett Critzer would finish the game coming in in the 7th finishing the game out. Grottoes now 4-2 will face the top placed Bridgewater Reds(6-1) on Friday at home hoping to avenge their opening day loss. Elkton now 0-9 but almost got a taste of it will face Broadway (4-1) at home also on Friday. Shockers veteran pitcher Kirk Messick threw a complete game shutout last night against the Montezuma Braves in a 5-0 victory. The RCBL 2021 Pitcher of the Year scattered six 6 hits with 3 walks 4 strikeouts. When asked what was working - "I was able to locate my pitches pretty well and keep hitters off balanced. I have to give a shout-out to Matt House for stepping in and calling great ball game.” Shockers coach Nolan Potts said “Kirk was dialed in from the very beginning of the game. When he keeps the ball down in the zone and is able to change speeds, he’s a tough guy to make consistently solid contact off of. He threw a ton of strikes and allowed our defense to make plays behind him. The plan definitely was not for him to go all nine innings, but the fact that we never had to get anyone loose in the bullpen goes to show how dominant he was against a good hitting Montezuma team.” The Shockers improve to 3-3 with the win and are off until Monday when they travel to Broadway. The Braves fall to 3-4 and will host the Grottoes Cardinals on Saturday. By Dean Barker The Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks jumped on the board early and never looked back in an 11-1 mercy rule win at the Elkton Blue Sox on Tuesday, June 6. With the win, the D-Backs improved to 2-5 and snapped a five-game losing streak, while the Blue Sox fell to 0-8. “Our pitching’s been well throughout the season, we just needed to put some runs on the board,” Diamondbacks head coach Les Sandridge said. “So we were able to piece that together tonight, and that’s what happens.” Jacob Grabeel picked up the win for the Diamondbacks to improve to 1-0, pitching a full seven innings and giving up one earned run on three hits with one walk and five strikeouts. “I just pitched to them… they kind of made it easy on me by hitting some rollovers, and I just trusted my defense and went after them,” Grabeel said. Taran Baker took the loss for the Blue Sox to fall to 0-2, pitching six innings and giving up nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits with four walks and eight strikeouts. Donald Seekford pitched the seventh and gave up two earned runs on two hits with two walks and a strikeout. Cody Bartley would give Stuarts Draft a 1-0 lead with a two out RBI double, plating Ryan Farris in the top of the first. They’d add two in the second with a leadoff homer from Jacob Grabeel and a fielder’s choice grounder from Wyatt Wood. Elkton would cut the deficit to 3-1 in the bottom half with a balk to Jacob Hensley to score Ty Mauer. Farris led off the third with a triple to center, and Caden Richter would score him with a single to right. With the bases loaded, Landon Lightner would drive in two with a double to right. Logan Duff would plate another with a sacrifice fly, and Wyatt Wood’s single to left made the score 8-1 through three. With runners on the corners in the fourth, a wild pitch from Baker would allow Farris to score the ninth run for the Diamondbacks. With the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, Wood would single to the third baseman, and Nate Wayne would drive in one with a sac fly to center field to make it 11-1, which would be how the game ended. The Diamondbacks had eleven runs on eleven hits with two errors and six runners left on base. Farris was 3-5. Wood was 2-4 with three RBIs. Grabeel and Duff were both 2-3 with an RBI. Bartley went 1-2 with two walks and an RBI. Lightner was 1-3 with a walk and two RBIs. Richter was 1-4 with an RBI. The Blue Sox had one run on three hits with two errors and four runners stranded. Colt Mauer was 1-3 with an RBI. Jacob Hensley was 1-3. Ty Stobbs went 1-1 with a walk. The Diamondbacks will look to keep the energy going at home versus the Clover Hill Bucks on Friday, June 9 at 7:30 pm. The Blue Sox will look for their first win at the Cardinals on Wednesday, June 7 at 7:30 pm. To win that game, Elkton head coach Mike Sutton said his team will need to hit better. “Just got to get the base hits falling again; we didn’t hit the ball near as well as we’re capable of,” Sutton said. “That’s going to be the big thing, is getting some base hits to fall and putting some pressure on their pitching and defense.” By Tyler Carney
The Bridgewater Reds took care of business avenging their only loss of the season 7-4 over the Clover Hill Bucks. An exciting game was the battle for outright first in the league with both teams sitting at 5-1 coming into the game. Great pitching and hitting on both sides kept the game extremely competitive throughout. After a scoreless first two innings where both starting pitchers would nearly go 6 up 6 down, the top of the 3rd came up. Bridgewater would score 5 runs and all nine batters would hit. The first would be an RBI single from Brett Tharpe bringing in Jordon Yankey who reached on a walk and stole 2nd and beat the throw home. Noah Cornwell would bring Tharpe in on a long RBI single and he too would eventually cross the plate on a Corbin Lucas RBI single. Grey Sherfey would also hit an RBI single bringing in Chris Huffman who singled earlier in the inning. Corbin Lucas would steal home from 3rd after a Sherfey steal attempt would cause the Bucks to try and throw him out at second allowing the Reds to do the double steal move. The Bucks were not going away quietly as their bottom of the 3rd would see them jump right back into the game with 3 runs. After a two out walk to Lucas Bauer and some aggressive base running Kevin Navedo would drive Josh Eberly in on an RBI single. Navedo would then get to third off a steal and a wild pitch and a wild pitch/passed ball saw Bauer would score. The odd inning would end after one more RBI single from Luke Shifflett the Reds would get out of the inning after that. The Bucks would bring it within one in the bottom of the 5th on an unearned run from Josh Eberly off another passed ball capping off another weird inning where four Bucks would strike out but Eberly would beat the throw off the dropped 3rd strike and eventually score. However the Bucks would not get another run across. The Reds would score another unearned run in the 7th as Brett Tharpe scored on an error by the second baseman. They’d cap their day in the 8th on a sacrifice fly from Yankey that would score Liam Simpson from 3rd. As for pitching Chris Huffman would start for the Reds and dazzled with 16 total strikeouts including the strikeout where the runner reached. Huffman would throw 115 pitches, 82 being strikes and go a full 7 innings and was replaced by Derek Shifflett. Shifflet wouldn’t allow a run in his two innings of work only facing 8 batters as he went through the Bucks quickly to secure the win. Huffman and Shifflett have become a dominant one two punch for the Reds and that’ll be key in their title defense. “It definitely helps having Derek and Corbin guys that know lineups around me,” said Huffman when asked if he did anything differently before his 16 strikeout performance, “ I just feel that if I’m having control over all four of my pitches I’m gonna have a good night.” For the Bucks Payson King would pull the start and did not give up any runs but had a quick day that looked as if it was a planned quick day as he was relieved by Sam Imeson in the top of the 3rd after one out. Imeson would have a rough start giving up 5 runs but settled in really nicely after that controlling his stuff well. Tyler Conley would replace Imeson in the 8th after two outs but the bases were loaded and his fresh arm would see them out of the jam. Conley would then finish the game. “We just gotta take care of the little things going forward,” said Huffman, Shifflett followed with “ We gotta ride the wave, keep the momentum high and we got a good pitching staff to do it.” The Reds now 6-1 will look to ride that wave Friday on the road against a talented Grottoes Cardinals team who is 3-2 and likely to be 4-2 going into Friday as they take on the struggling Blue Sox Wednesday night. The Bucks now 5-2 will look to bounce back also on Friday on the road against a Stuarts Draft team that had been struggling but looked good in their last game mercy ruling Elkton in 7 innings moving them to 2-5 on the young season. |
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