Shockers Advance to Semifinals Two Days After First Pitch

By Mitchell Broughton
In a decisive game three at Rebel Field, New Market defeats Elkton 6-3 to advance to the semifinals after multiple rain suspensions.
 
Originally scheduled for Wednesday August 5th, the Shockers and Blue Sox got through five complete innings when a thunderstorm in the area postponed the game in the top of the sixth inning with an Elkton runner on first and a 2-2 count for the batter, no outs, and a 5-3 New Market lead. The game could not be resumed until last night when New Market ace and All-RCBL left-handed pitcher Darrell Thomspon took the mound following his 19-strikeout performance in game one.
 
Thompson picked up right where he left off on Sunday, throwing the final four innings for New Market and grabbing the save. He struck out ten batters, gave up only two hits and zero walks.
 
On Wednesday, it was Reilly Owen who started on the mound for the Shockers. Owen’s last outing resulted in a complete game win, and he started out the game riding that momentum against the Elkton lineup. In his four complete innings, Owen struck out seven batters. In the top of the fifth he struggled to find his fastball which resulted in a few costly walks, leading to the three Elkton runs. Michael Prosperi came in to relieve Owen with two outs, and while it took a few batters, got the Shockers out of that jam with their lead still intact.
 
New Market held the sometimes lethal Blue Sox offense to only five hits. Jack Marshall had two and Hunter Powell, Lee Carneal, and Tristan Gordon all had one. The Shockers got their offense going off of twelve hits. Grant Thompson led the team with two RBIs and Nick Goode had two doubles in his first two at bats. Frankie Ritter, Matt House, and Ty Bennett all had a pair of hits for New Market as well. 
For Elkton, this was their final game of 2020 as they have been eliminated. The Blue Sox finished the season with a combined record of 7-17.

New Market advances to the semifinals again after getting eliminated in the first round by Elkton in 2019. The Shockers, being the second seed in the playoffs, will face off against Grottoes in the next round. New Market swept the Cardinals in the regular season, beating them three times 14-8, 6-5, and 11-3 back in July. The first game of that five-game series will start tomorrow August 9th at Rebel Field.
 
FINAL: Elkton 3 New Market 6. Win: Michael Prosperi (4-0). Loss: Elliot Erkel (2-3). Save: Darrell Thompson.