Gens Fall to Staunton On the Road

A trio of 3 run innings by the Braves put enough distance from the Generals to take down Waynesboro in comfortable fashion. While Waynesboro scored in 5 of the 9 offensive innings, it wasn’t enough to keep up with Staunton.

The first of the 3 run innings from the Braves came in the bottom of the first inning. The first hitter of the game doubled to left center to start things off. He was moved to third after a sacrifice attempt was botched by the General catcher. After a stolen base, runners were on second and third when a sacrifice fly was hit to center. The throw from center got away and allowed the runner from second to move up. The next Staunton batter doubled to right center to drive in another run and make it 2-0. The final run scored came 2 batters later on a 2 out single to right.

The Gens would respond with a run in the top of the second. Bryce Teodosio (Clemson) led the inning off with a hit-by-pitch. 2 batters later he stole second to put himself in scoring position. After Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St.) was hit by a pitch, Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) drove a double right over the center fielder’s head for the first run of the ball game for the Gens. Unfortunately, they would strand Bruno at third. After 2 complete innings, the score would stand at 3-1.

In the bottom of the 4th inning, the Braves would unleash their second 3 run inning. It started with a 1 out walk. The next hitter would single and move runners to the corners with 1 out. When starting pitcher Evan Gillespie (Faulkner) would pick the runner off of first base, a run-down would ensue. When the runner from third took off for the plate, the General shortstop fired home and the ball scooted away from the catcher. So a run had scored and the runner that was picked at first went all the way to third. Trey Jacobs would follow all that up with a first pitch, 2-run homer for the Braves. The score was now 6-1 in favor of Staunton.

The Gens would bounce back in the top of the 5th to score another run. The Generals loaded the bases with nobody out in the inning. Tyler Bielamowicz would start things with a walk, followed by singles by Jackson Webb (UCF) and Alex Webb (Chipola) to load them up for the 4 through 6 hitters with nobody out. It looked to be the big inning the Generals would need. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) would hit a bleeder into center that would drop, but Alex Webb would be putout at second base for the first out. It would go as an RBI fielder’s choice for Orzel. The Braves starter Buckshot Flynn would then work a strikeout and a ground ball to get out of the inning with minimal damage. The score was 6-2 after 4 and a half innings.

The Braves would then put up their third and final 3 run inning to basically put the game out of reach. They got things started with a single and a walk to put runners at first and second. After a sacrifice bunt to move runners into scoring position, the hitter would come through with an RBI single to put runners at the corners. When the runner from first took off to second for a stolen base attempt, the throw from the catcher was a low one and the ball hit the lip of the infield and came up and caught Jackson Webb in the face. As the ball bounded away, the runner from home scored. After a wild pitch, an RBI groundout would be enough for their third run of the inning. The score after 5 complete would be 9-2.

The Generals would score 1 in each of the 6th, 7th, and 8th innings to tighten things up. In the 6th, Keegan Morrow (UAB) doubled to start things off. After a single by the newest addition to the team Dayton Beasley (Middle Georgia) to move Morrow to third, Tyler Bielamowicz came up with an RBI sacrifice fly. In the 7th, Alex Webb would start things off with another single. He would be followed by Andrew Orzel’s league leading 17th hit-by-pitch to put runners at first and second with nobody out. Keegan Morrow would drive in Webb for the only run of the 7th. In the 8th, another 2 out RBI single by Andrew Orzel would tighten the score to 9-5. However, in the bottom of the 8th the Braves would add a run on a 1 out single to move the score to 10-5. That ended up being the final.

Key Performers for Staunton:

• Trey Jacobs: 2-5, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, 2 R
• Brandon Hernandez: 2-4, 2B, SB, RBI, R
• Bryson Parks: 3-4, 2 SB, RBI, 2 R
• Eric Conner: 2-4, 2B, RBI, 2 R
• Buckshot Flynn: W, 5 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K

Key Performers for Waynesboro:

• Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston): 2-3, 2B, 2 RBI, R
• Alex Webb (Chipola): 3-5, R
• Keegan Morrow: 2-4, 2B, RBI, R

Waynesboro (21-16) will take a much needed day off Thursday and will be back at home to take on the Charlottesville TomSox in a big South division matchup Friday night at Kate Collins Field.