Gens Suffer First Loss

Covington churned out nine runs on 12 hits to hand Waynesboro their first loss of the season Tuesday night in front of a nice crowd at Integrity Home Mortgage Park at Kate  Collins Field.

Covington jumped out to a very early lead by scoring one in the top of the first inning. Christian Torres would sting a single to center field, move to second on a wild pitch, and score on a Matthew Cocciadiferro single to center. It was the first of four RBI on the night for Cocciadiferro.

Waynesboro would respond quickly in the bottom of the frame to tie the game at one. Kobe Lopez (Florida International) would lead off with a single that just got over the leaping second baseman. After the first out was recorded on a pop fly, Kobe would steal second base to get into scoring position. After a strikeout by Covington’s starter Bo Brutti, Wes Clarke (South Carolina) would deliver, like he has so many other times already this season, with a single up the middle to drive in Lopez.

The game remained close even after Covington scored a run in both the 3rd and 4th innings. In the 3rd, back-to-back singles and a runner moving up on a throw would have runners at second and third with one out. Christian Torres would drive in a run with a ground out to the second baseman. In the 4th, Tom Caufield would come up with a 2-out RBI single to get the score to 3-1.

Unfortunately for the Gens, the 5th inning was really the deciding factor. After a single and a walk to lead the inning off, a Matthew Cocciadiferro double into the left field corner drove in both runs. Cocciadiferro proceeded to steal third base and would be brought home on a single by Tyler Sanfilipo. Sanfilipo would be brought around to score on a double by Joe Fortin for the 4th run of the inning. Finally, Tom Caufield would come up with another 2-out RBI single to get the score to 8-1.

For good measure, Covington would add one more in the sixth inning to make it four straight frames with a run. Christian Torres would double, move to third on a wild pitch, and score on another RBI by Cocciadiferro. That brought the score to 9-1 after six complete innings.

Finally in the bottom of the 7th, the Generals were able to crack the code of Bo Brutti a bit. Elijah Quiceno (Gannon U) would lead off the inning getting hit by a pitch. Santiago Garcia (Alabama St.) would walk to get runners at first and second. Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast) then drilled a single to center field to drive in Quiceno for the first run of the inning. A few batters later, Seth Cannady (Florida International) would triple in two more runs to get the score to its final tally of 9-4.

Key Performers for Covington:

Matthew Cocciadiferro: 2-4, 2B, 4 RBI, SB

Christian Torres: 2-3, 2B, RBI, 3 R

Tom Caufield: 2-4, 2 RBI

Michael Rotenberry: 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K

Key Performers for Waynesboro:

Wes Clarke (South Carolina): 3-4, 2B, RBI

Seth Cannady (Florida International): 1-2, 3B, 2 RBI

Christian Proffitt (Florida Gulf Coast): 1-2, RBI, 2 BB

Dylan Nix (Young Harris): 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K

Daniel Casto (Memphis): 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

 

The Generals have Wednesday night off but will be back in action on Thursday night when they travel to Rebel Park to take on the Rebels. It will be the first time that head coach Zac Cole has been back to the field where he won the 2018 VBL Championship. First pitch is set for 7:30.

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