By Dean Barker
​The #3 RCBL Shockers held off a late comeback attempt from the #2 Clover Hill Bucks for a 7-6 win in game two of the RCBL Semifinals on Monday, July 31. The win evened the best-of-five series at 1-1.
 
“They (the Shockers) knew it was a must-win, they had a bad taste in their mouth after last night,” Shockers head coach Nolan Potts said. “We knew we had Kirk (Messick) going today, we knew he’d keep us in the game and give us a shot, but that’s a good team over there.”
 
Kirk Messick picked up the win, throwing seven innings and giving up six earned runs on nine hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
 
“They’re a really good hitting ball club, and my defense was behind me like they always have been, and (I) just went as long as I could,” Messick said.
 
Matt House pitched two innings and gave up no runs with no hits, no walks and three strikeouts to get the save.
 
“I just trusted the defense, I mean, I can’t go in throwing balls, I had to go right at them and let the defense do their work,” House said.
 
Jaden Isidro gave up six runs (five earned) on eight hits with a walk and four strikeouts in six innings to take the loss. Will Waller gave up one earned run in two innings on three hits, one walk and two strikeouts.
 
The Shockers got on the board first with a Luke Keister sac fly to right to plate Frankie Ritter.
 
Clover Hill responded with a bases loaded single from TJ Johnson to take a 2-1 lead in the top of the second.
 
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the fifth, Bodie Pullen ripped a three run triple to right field to give the Shockers the lead back. Keister grounded out to second to bring in Pullen and make the lead 5-2.
 
“Ever since the playoffs started, I’ve been trying to have a better approach, really trying to be short to (the ball), put a barrel on the ball and just let it go,” Pullen said.
 
Kaden Spaid added to the lead in the sixth with an RBI single to left field.
 
Alex Knicely’s sacrifice grounder to shortstop, along with Josh Eberly’s RBI single, cut the lead to 6-4 in the top of the seventh.
 
After a leadoff triple from Pullen, Keister singled to left to make it 7-4 in the bottom of the seventh.
 
John Siciliano’s single to right in the top of the eighth cut the lead to two. With the bases loaded, Kyle Carlson grounded into a forceout at second to cut the lead to one, but Clover Hill could do no more.
 
The Shockers had seven runs on eleven hits with no errors and six runners left on base. Pullen led the way, going 2-4 with three RBIs. Keister was 1-3 with three RBIs. Spaid was 1-4 with an RBI. House was 2-4. Frankie Ritter went 2-5. Dawson Russell went 1-2. Harrison Madagan and Nick Arnold were both 1-4.
 
The Bucks had six runs on nine hits with two errors and six base runners stranded. Johnson led Clover Hill, going 2-3 with two RBIs. Siciliano was 2-4 with an RBI. Carlson went 1-3 with an RBI. Eberly was 1-5 with an RBI. Knicely went 0-4 with an RBI. Lucas Bauer was 1-2. Jose Rocha and Kevin Navedo were both 1-5.
 
Game three will take place at Buck Bowman Park on Wednesday, August 2 at 7:30 pm.

By Dean Barker
​The #1 Bridgewater Reds scored two go-ahead runs in the eighth to take game one of the RCBL Semifinals 5-3 over the #4 Grottoes Cardinals.
 
Chris Huffman struck out fourteen in nine innings to get the win. Trey Deane gave up two runs in three innings to take the loss.
 
In his first game back from a sprained ankle, Derek Shifflett hit a go-ahead RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, and Brett Tharp laced an RBI triple to bring in Shifflett. Caden Swartley was 1-3 with three RBIs, including a two run home run in the second.
 
Game two will be at Mountain View Park in Grottoes tonight at 7:30 pm.
 
The #2 Clover Hill Bucks utilized a seven run fifth inning to take down the #3 RCBL Shockers 14-4 in eight innings.
 
Jackson Sherman threw five innings with just two hits to pick up the win. Cam Comins gave up seven runs in four and two thirds innings to take the loss.
 
Bodie Pullen homered on the second pitch of the game for the Shockers, and hit a two run shot in the third to make it 3-3. The Clover Hill bats brought in seven runs in the fifth, all with two outs. Alex Knicely singled in the eighth to end the game. Kevin Navedo led the way, going 2-5 with five RBIs and a two run homer.
 
Game two will be at Spotswood High School tonight at 7:30 pm.

By Dean Barker
The #1 Bridgewater Reds defeated the #8 Elkton Blue Sox 23-6 in seven innings. With the win, the Reds advanced to their seventh straight RCBL semifinal, while the Blue Sox finished the season winless at 0-30. Due to the game not being covered by Pointstreak, no further statistical information is available.
 
The #2 Clover Hill Bucks defeated the #7 Montezuma Braves 14-1 in seven innings to advance to their second straight semifinal. The Braves concluded the season 11-19.
 
Sam Imeson struck out five in seven innings to get the win. Will Craig gave up six runs to take the loss.
 
The Bucks had four home runs, one from Josh Eberly on the second pitch of the game, one apiece from Kevin Navedo and Alex Knicely in the second, and a fourth inning shot from Luke Shifflett.
 
The #3 RCBL Shockers beat the #6 Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks 13-3 to advance to the semifinals, while the Diamondbacks finished at 12-18.
 
Matt House pitched nine and struck out six to get the win. Parker Heinemann gave up eight runs to take the loss.
 
Dawson Russell was 2-4 with three RBIs, including a home run, to lead the way for the Shockers. Bodie Pullen was 1-4 with two RBIs and a home run.
 
The #4 Grottoes Cardinals beat the #5 Broadway Bruins 14-5 to head to their first RCBL Semifinal since 2020. The Bruins end the year at 13-17.
 
Andrew Baugher struck out six in six and a third innings to get the win. Micah Canterbury gave up three runs in the first three innings to take the loss.
 
Every Cardinal reached base safely at least once. Clayton Michael went 2-4 with five RBIs to lead the way for Grottoes, who led the whole way. Broadway scored five in the seventh, but could do no more.
 
The #1 Bridgewater Reds will host the #4 Grottoes Cardinals in the best-of-five RCBL Semifinals starting tomorrow at 6:30 pm. Teams will alternate home field advantage each game.
 
The #2 Clover Hill Bucks will take on the #3 RCBL Shockers in the semifinals, starting tomorrow at 7:30 pm in Clover Hill.

By Dean Barker
​The Grottoes Cardinals held off a Broadway Bruins comeback for a 6-4 win in game one of the RCBL Quarterfinals.
 
Tucker Garrison had seven strikeouts in six innings to take the win. Kody Dobbins gave up six runs on twelve hits to take the loss.
 
Dalton Nicely led the way for the Cardinals going 3-5 with three RBIs, including a sixth inning two RBI single which proved to be the game winner. The Cardinals had four in the second. The Bruins put three on the board in the fourth, but would get no closer than one.
 
These two teams will play again tonight at 7:30 pm in Broadway.
 
The RCBL Shockers handled their business with an 11-1 seven inning win over the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks in game one.
 
Kirk Messick held the D-Backs to two hits in seven innings to get the win. Logan Stump gave up seven runs to take the loss.
 
Harrison Madagan went 3-4 with two RBIs to lead the Shockers. Connor Houser (1-4) and Kaden Spaid (1-3) also had two RBIs.
 
The Shockers will look to close out the series at the Diamond Club tonight at 7:30 pm.
 
The Clover Hill Bucks walked off the Montezuma Braves 5-4 in the first game of the RCBL Playoffs.
 
Tucker Hrasky held the Braves silent in the last two innings to get the win. Trevor Mitchell gave up two late runs to take the loss.
 
With two on and one out in the bottom of the ninth, Jose Rocha singled to left field to give the Bucks the walkoff win.
 
The Bucks will try to advance to their second straight semifinal with a win at Montezuma tonight at 7:30 pm.
 
The Bridgewater Reds opened their title defense with a 15-2 eight inning win over the Elkton Blue Sox.
 
Eric Yankey threw three innings with four strikeouts for the win. Aidan Baker gave up eight runs to take the loss.
 
All but one of the starters for Bridgewater had at least one hit or one RBI. The Reds had three home runs, including a grand slam from Brett Tharp to end the game in the eighth.
 
The Reds will seek to head back to the semifinals tonight in Elkton at 7:30 pm.

Bridgewater Reds pitcher Chris Huffman broke the strike out record on Tuesday night against the Elkton Blue Sox ending the season with 91 K’s. Huffman started the game with 81 strike outs, 6 behind the previous record holders, Kris Lalk from the 2018 Elkton team and Nolan Shaffer from the 2013 Montezuma team, both with 87 K’s. The league started keeping statistics using PointStreak in 2013.
​
The all-time documented strike out record still belongs to two-time RCBL Pitcher of the Year Kirk Messick with 131 K’s in 2007. According to a 2007 Daily News-Record article, Messick lead the league with 131 K’s in 85 2/3 innings. Stuarts Draft’s Brandon Zollman finished with 95 K’s the same year.

By Dean Barker
The Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks got out to an early lead and beat the Montezuma Braves 18-8 in a game for the #6 seed.

Tommy Weaver (1-0) had a no-hitter until the sixth inning, striking out eight with no runs, two walks and just one hit to get the win. Weaver was also 1-3 with four RBIs at the plate. Dylan Weatherly gave up five runs to take the loss. 

Zach Roberts went 3-5 with four RBIs and two walks to lead the way for the D-Backs. Every starting Diamondback had at least one hit or RBI. 

The Bridgewater Reds closed out the regular season with a 12-0 thumping of the Elkton Blue Sox in seven innings. 

Chris Huffman threw four innings and struck out ten. Brett Tharp (1-0) pitched two scoreless innings to get the win. Brandon Mullins (0-2) gave up two runs to take the loss.

Corbin Lucas was 2-3 with five RBIs to lead the way, including a two run home run. Lucas has now homered at least once three games in a row.

The Grottoes Cardinals beat the Clover Hill Bucks 10-5 to close out the regular season. Due to the game not being on Pointstreak, statistics are not available.

The RCBL Shockers beat the Broadway Bruins 14-10. 

Jaden Click went 3-6 with three RBIs to lead the way for the Shockers. Harrison Madagan was 2-6 with two RBIs, and also pitched. Due to technical difficulties, complete statistics are not available.

Playoffs

The #1 Bridgewater Reds (22-6) will host the #8 Elkton Blue Sox (0-28) again in game one of the RCBL Quarterfinals on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 pm.

The #2 Clover Hill Bucks (19-9) will host the #7 Montezuma Braves (11-17) in game one of the RCBL Quarterfinals on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 pm.

The #3 RCBL Shockers (19-9) will host the #6 Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks (12-16) in game one of the RCBL Quarterfinals on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 pm. 

The #4 Grottoes Cardinals (16-12) will host the #5 Broadway Bruins (13-15) for game one of the RCBL Quarterfinals on Thursday, July 27 at 7:30 pm.

All first round games will alternate home field. The series will be best of three, and take place from Thursday to Saturday.

By Dean Barker
​The Bridgewater Reds held the Elkton Blue Sox to two hits and mercy ruled them 10-0 in eight innings to clinch the 2023 RCBL Regular Season Championship. With the win, the Reds improved to 21-6, while the Blue Sox fell to 0-27.
 
Derek Shifflett got the win to improve to 9-0, striking out three in two innings. Sam Garber pitched the first four innings, striking out four and giving up just one hit. Tony Fornadel (0-2) gave up four runs to take the loss.
 
Corbin Lucas got it started with an RBI double to left in the third, and hit a solo home run in the fifth. Lucas was 2-4 with two RBIs. The Reds scored four in the third, and a Grey Sherfey RBI single ended it in the eighth.
 
The Blue Sox and Reds will be back at it again on Tuesday, July 25 at 7:30 pm. They will also face off in the RCBL Playoffs.
 
The Montezuma Braves shut down the Clover Hill Bucks 6-2 to eliminate them from regular season title contention. With the win, the Braves improved to 11-16, while the Bucks fell to 19-8.
 
Blake Argenbright (1-0) pitched an inning and two thirds with no hits to get the win. John King (0-1) gave up four runs to take the loss.
 
The Bucks scored a run apiece in the first two innings, including a home run from TJ Johnson in the second, but could do no more. JT Stevenson went 1-2 with two walks and two RBIs. Dylan Rankin went 2-4 with two RBIs.
 
The Braves will host the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks on Tuesday, July 25 at 7:30 pm. The winner of that game will be the #6 seed in the playoffs and play the #3 RCBL Shockers, while the loser will be the #7 seed and play the #2 Clover Hill Bucks. The Bucks will play the #4 Grottoes Cardinals on Tuesday, July 25 at 7:30 pm.

​Derek Shifflett of the Bridgewater Reds and Clover Hill Bucks shortstop Kevin Navedo were named RCBL Week 9 Pitcher and Offensive Player of the Week, respectively.
 
Shifflett went 3-0, throwing 382 total pitches and 22 strikeouts.
 
“(The key was) a good defense,” Shifflett said. “The comradery and connection with this team… we’re all here just having a good time. It’s pretty easy to pitch when you get a lot of runs, and it’s just been a fun year.”
 
Navedo was 14-26 (.538) at the plate, leading the league in hits (14), home runs (7) and RBIs (16). At the Montezuma Braves on Thursday, July 20, Navedo went 4-4, hitting four home runs for nine RBIs.
 
“I am happy that I was able to help my team go 5-1 on a busy week full of games that we needed to win,” Navedo said. “And I couldn’t be more proud of what the team did this week”

By Dean Barker
​The Bridgewater Reds swept their doubleheader with the Grottoes Cardinals 4-0 and 12-3. The Reds improved to 20-6 while the Cardinals fell to 15-12.
 
Chris Huffman (6-1) struck out nine to get the win in game one, and Derek Shifflett (8-0) struck out four in four innings to win game two. Trey Deane (0-2) gave up four runs in game one to take the loss, and Tucker Garrison (5-4) gave up ten runs to lose game two.
 
Noah Cornwell ripped a two run double in game one to cement the win for Bridgewater, and Corbin Lucas hit two home runs for four RBIs in game two.
 
Bridgewater will host the Elkton Blue Sox at 7:30 pm on Monday and Tuesday, July 24 and 25 to close out the regular season. The Cardinals will host the Clover Hill Bucks on Tuesday, July 25 at 7:30 pm.
 
The Clover Hill Bucks came back in both games to sweep the Broadway Bruins, 8-7 and 6-5 in eleven innings. The Bucks improved to 19-7, while the Bruins fell to 13-14.
 
Jaden Isidro (3-0) held the Bruins to four hits in four and two thirds innings to win game one, and Tyler Conley (2-0) struck out five in three and a third innings to win game two. Grant Landis (0-1) gave up four runs to lose game one, and Dalton Benson (1-1) gave up the walkoff to lose game two.
 
The Bucks scored four runs in the eighth of game one to take the win, as Kyle Carlson’s RBI single proved to be the game winner. Koice Quintanilla scored the walkoff run in game two. Due to technical difficulties, more information is not available.
 
The Bucks will travel to the Grottoes Cardinals on Tuesday, July 25 at 7:30 pm. The Bruins will host the RCBL Shockers at the same date and time.
 
The Montezuma Braves beat the Elkton Blue Sox 14-4. The Braves improved to 10-16, while Elkton fell to 0-26. Due to technical difficulties with Pointstreak, no other information was available.
 
The Braves will host the Clover Hill Bucks on Monday, July 24 at 7:30 pm. The Blue Sox will travel to the Bridgewater Reds on Monday and Tuesday at 7:30 pm.

By Dean Barker
​The RCBL Shockers came back from down 5-2 to defeat the Clover Hill Bucks 6-5. With the win, the Shockers improved to 17-8, while the Bucks fell to 17-7 and fell out of a first-place tie with the Bridgewater Reds.
 
Jaden Click (1-1) pitched the last two and two thirds innings and struck out five to get the win. Sam Imeson (4-3) gave up two runs in the ninth to take the loss. 
 
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Dawson Russell singled to left to bring home Luke Keister and Kaden Spaid and give the Shockers the walkoff. 
 
The Shockers will travel to the Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks for a double header on Sunday, July 23 at 4 pm. The Bucks will host a double header with the Broadway Bruins on Saturday, July 22 at 5:30 pm.
 
The Broadway Bruins produced a 18-7 offensive onslaught against the Grottoes Cardinals. With the win, Broadway improved to 13-12, while the Cardinals fell to 15-10. 
 
Colin McGuire (2-0) gave up six runs in six innings to get the win. Adam Dofflemeyer (3-2) gave up fourteen runs to take the loss.
 
The Bruins scored eight in the first and never looked back. McGuire and Ozzie Torres both went 4-5 with three RBIs. Broadway had 21 hits on the evening. Every Bruins batter had at least one hit or one RBI. 
 
The Bruins will travel to Clover Hill for a double header with the Bucks at 5:30 pm on Saturday, July 22. The Cardinals will travel to Bridgewater for a doubleheader with the Reds on Saturday, July 22 at 5 pm.
 
Nick Griffin took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the Bridgewater Reds beat the Montezuma Braves 7-4. With the win, the Reds improved to 18-6 and took sole possession of first place, while the Braves fell to 9-16.
 
Griffin (2-3) pitched six innings and struck out four to get the win. Dylan Weatherly (0-1) gave up five runs to take the loss. 
 
Bridgewater scored two in the first and third, one in the fifth and two in the sixth. Chris Huffman and Noah Cornwell were 1-3 with two RBIs. Cornwell hit a two run blast in the sixth.
 
The Reds will host the Grottoes Cardinals for a double header at 5 pm on Saturday, July 22. The Braves will travel to the Elkton Blue Sox on Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 pm. 
 
The Stuarts Draft Diamondbacks slaughtered the Elkton Blue Sox 22-2. With the win, the D-Backs improved to 10-15, while the Blue Sox fell to 0-25.
 
Chaz Harvey hit a two run home run and Zach Roberts hit a solo home run for Stuarts Draft. Due to technical difficulties with Pointstreak, no other information was available from this game. 
 
The Diamondbacks will host a double header with the RCBL Shockers on Sunday, July 23 at 4 pm. The Blue Sox will host the Montezuma Braves on Saturday, July 22 at 7:30 pm.