Late Game-Tying Rally Was Not Enough for Montezuma to Hold off Bridgewater

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