EVHS BASEBALL: Rough start
Posted: Thursday, March 19, 2015 12:15 am
By Ron Counts rcounts@starexponent.com (540) 825-0771 ext. 166
A soggy diamond forced King George High School's baseball team to push its home opener back a day, and cost the Foxes home field advantage.
The Foxes looked right at home Wednesday on a blustery afternoon at Eastern View, though.
King George put seven runs on the board in the first inning and limited the Cyclones to four base hits in an 11-4 rout that was called in the top of the sixth inning because of fading daylight.
"This is huge for us," King George manager Thad Reviello said. "We've got three returners. Everybody else is up from junior varsity. This is the first time we've been on a field. Are there things we need to clean up? Yes, but I couldn't be happier with this kind of effort."
The Cyclones' ace, AJ Stead, had a tough outing in his first action of 2015. The senior lefty walked three runs across the plate and gave up five runs before being pulled with just one out in the first inning.
"AJ just couldn't slow down, and his mechanics were off," EVHS manager Danny Nobbs said. "We stuck with him as long as we did because usually if he's off early, he can find it, but he just couldn't find it today."
The Cyclones (0-1) live by the saying, "control the controllables," but Nobbs said anxiety took over Wednesday.
"It probably has a lot to do with this being one of the first days we've been able to be out in the sunshine, but I told the guys after the game it was like somebody gave them a case of Red Bull," he said.
"We were just all over the place," Nobbs continued. "Guys were missing fly balls in the outfield, throws were off to first and hitters were way out in front of pitches. Especially at the plate, we've got to be more patient."
Rudy Morrow plated a run in the first in between a trio of charity runs, and the Foxes' leadoff batter, Zach Johnson, scored three more runs to put King George (1-0) up, 7-0, after a drop in right field.
Finishing 2-for-3 with two walks and getting on, on an error, Johnson's on-base percentage Wednesday was 1.000, which Reviello said is exactly what he's looking for from his leadoff man.
"Because we haven't seen live pitching, I wasn't sure about the lineup," Reviello said, "but you absolutely want your leadoff guy on base, and that's what he did today."
Johnson finished with four RBIs for the Foxes, while Morrow went 2-for-4 with an RBI and got on base thanks to one of the Cyclones' six errors.
Eastern View chipped away at the lead all the way through the fourth inning, when David Laird — who is verbally committed to Radford University — plated a run with a double.
Josh Pittman scored the Cyclones' first run with a sacrifice fly in the first, and leadoff batter Zac Tocker brought a run across with a blooper in the second.
Jacob Settle brought a run home with a sacrifice grounder in the third, but throwing errors allowed two runs to score in the third and fifth innings that kept the Cyclones from making it a game.
Freshman Zach Thomas came in for Stead in the first and pitched 2 2/3 innings without giving up a hit. He struck out four, walked four and gave up three unearned runs.
"He showed a lot of poise, which is surprising for a freshman, who didn't expect to pitch, but found himself on the mound in the first inning of his first varsity game," Nobbs said.
King George 11, Eastern View 4
EVHS 1 1 1 1 0 — 4
CCHS BASEBALL: Devils find the gaps
Posted: Thursday, March 19, 2015 12:15 am
By Ron Counts rcounts@starexponent.com (540) 825-0771 ext. 166
Culpeper County’s baseball team exploded for eight runs in the fourth inning Tuesday and opened the season with a 15-5 slaughter-rule victory over visiting James Monroe.
Pinch-hitter Will Dietz opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth with an RBI-single that dribbled down the third-base line, and leadoff batter Zach Bullard broke the game wide open with a two-run double that made its way to the fence in left field.
"I thought that hit really helped bring the momentum back to us after JM made it a close game," CCHS manager Billy Mitchell said. "I was really pleased with how a lot of our guys swung the bat, but especially Bullard and [Matt] Hall. I thought they did a great job of making contact when it mattered."
Matt Shuck, Jermaine Butler and Bullard all scored on errors in the frame, and the Blue Devils (1-0) batted around, with Shuck giving them their 10-run lead with a sacrifice grounder.
Bullard finished the game 2-for-2 with a walk and was hit by a pitch. Second baseman Matt Hall went 3-for-3 with a walk and four RBIs, and twice brought runners home with the bases loaded.
“I just wanted to put the ball in play and give the runners a chance," said Hall, a senior. "It felt good to get out and play, and when we're clicking, our lineup can be pretty dangerous."
Hall put Culpeper’s first points on the board with a two-run single with a bases juiced in the bottom of the first inning. He brought two more runs across with the bases loaded in the second to put the Devils up, 5-0.
“Matt did exactly what I was looking for, and that was make consistent contact with runners in scoring position," Mitchell said. "I couldn't have scripted it any better than that."
After Culpeper gave up three unearned runs in the top of the third, Butler put the home team up, 6-3, with an RBI-single in the bottom of the inning.
James Monroe (0-1) continued pressing the action in the top of the fourth, as catcher Hunter Stevens cut Culpeper’s lead to 7-5 with a two-run double.
"That's not the same old JM," Mitchell said. "I want to tip my cap to them. I knew coach [Rich] Serbay would have them ready to play, and they were ready to play."
Mark Grimsly got the start on the mound for Culpeper, and held on to earn the win with three strikeouts in 2 2/3 innings. He didn’t surrender a base hit.
Reliever Ashby Berry came in with two outs in the third and went the rest of the way, surrendering one base hit while striking out four and walking two.
“Ashby came in throwing harder than I've seen in a while, and his off-speed stuff was good when he used it," Mitchell said. "Mark is going to be fine. He just needs time on the mound instead of in a gym. All the guys just need reps."
Limited practice time due to wet fields left both teams looking a bit rusty in Tuesday’s season and Conference 27 opener. The Yellow Jackets and Blue Devils combined to give up 22 free bases (hit batters and walks) and commit 12 errors.
Culpeper is in action at home again Thursday, with Orange County coming to town.
Culpeper 15, James Monroe 5
