Late Saturday Night Contest Sees Braves Over Gens
In a ball game that didn’t get started until 8:30 due to wet field conditions, the Braves outlasted the Generals in a tightly contested Saturday night showdown.
Both teams started their offensive nights with runs in the first frame. In the top of the first, Cole Swiger singled to center to start the night for Staunton. After a walk to the next hitter, Staunton elected to play small ball early on and sacrifice the runners to second and third with one out. After a Braves strike out, Will Simoneit hit an infield single to the hole at shortstop to bring in the first run of the game.
The Generals would answer right back. Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) singled to start the night. Bruno Teramoto (New Mexico St) drew a walk to create a carbon copy of the top half of the inning. Chase Cheek (Duke) then went to lay down a sacrifice bunt, but placed it so perfectly that he was able to beat the throw for a bunt single. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) was able to bring in the first General run by taking a pitch off his back for an RBI hit-by-pitch. The bases were still loaded with nobody out when the next hitter rolled into a double play. It did, however, give the Generals the lead at 2-1.
Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) was the starter for the Generals on Saturday night. After giving up a run in the first, he was able to settle in a bit. With 4 hits and 2 walks, he did have to pitch himself out of some jams, but was able to do so masterfully with 6 strikeouts. It was after his 5 innings were up that trouble set in for the Generals. With the new pitcher in the game, the Braves struck for runs in each of the next 3 innings.
In the 6th, the Braves were able to work their first two on by a walk and HBP. They decided to go with the small ball route again and laid down a sacrifice bunt. Justin Beyer (Wagner) was the new pitcher in the game and tried to force a throw into third base, but ended up throwing the ball into left field, allowing a run to score and runners to second and third. After Beyer walked the next hitter, his night was done. The left-handed Bryan Wilcox (FGCU) came into the ball game to try and get out of the jam. He did just that by getting a shallow fly ball to left for out number one and a 4-6-3 double play for outs 2 and 3 to not allow another run to score. The score was now tied at 2-2.
Unfortunately, the 7th didn’t go as smoothly for Wilcox. After a leadoff single, the runner came all the way around to score on a double into the left field gap. Wilcox managed to strike out the next hitter, but that would be the end of his night. He would give way to Matt Nickles (Randolph-Macon). Nickles wouldn’t be able to strand Wilcox’s last runner as he surrendered a two-out RBI single to Brycen Thomas. The score after 7 complete was 4-2.
In the 8th, there was more of the same. A leadoff single started things out for the Braves. Nickles then got what looked like a 6-4-3 double play ball to delete the runner from first. Umpires came together and ruled that the throw pulled the first baseman from the bag. Cole Swiger would make the Gens pay for the mistake by ripping a double into the left center gap for an RBI. After a groundout to second base to move Swiger to third, he came in to score on a wild pitch. That put the Braves on top by 4 and they were never threatened in the late innings.
The Generals were only able to muster 6 hits total in the game. This marks the 8th time in 14 games that the Gens were held to 4 runs or less.
Key Performers for Staunton:
- Cole Swiger: 4-5, RBI 2B, 2 R
- Eric Conner: 1-4, RBI 2B, R
- Braves Bullpen: 4.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K.
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston): ND, 5 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-4, R
- Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary): 2-4, 2B
The Generals will have to sleep fast as they take on the Purcellville Cannons at home on Sunday night at 7 PM at Kate Collins Field.
General Bats Continue to Struggle In Loss to Turks
Waynesboro allowed 4 unanswered runs en route to their 4th loss in their last 5 games on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Park when they took on the Turks. Saturday made it 6 out of their first 9 games with 4 runs or fewer.
The Generals started out with a big inning right away in the top of the first inning. Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) started things out with a single up the middle. 2 batters later, Chase Cheek (Duke) hit a chopper to the second baseman, who proceeded to throw the ball into left field trying to force a play at second. This moved both Montenegro and Cheek into scoring position. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) delivered a 2 RBI triple into the right field gap and then came around to score on a groundout to second to make the score 3-0.
The Turks would answer in the bottom of the second. After singles by Whelton and Castillo, Brycen Braswell hit a two RBI single, but was put out trying for second base. Tyler Thompson (Austin Peay), the starting pitcher for the Generals, was able to maneuver his way around further trouble in the second. However, Harrisonburg went right back to work in the bottom of the third. After a one out single, Thompson became a bit wild, delivering a few wild pitches. The last of his wild pitches was on a dropped third strike that allowed the tying run to score. That would be the end of his night after just 2.2 innings.
Bryan Wilcox (Florida Gulf Coast) came on in relief of Thompson to finish the 3rd. He threw a relatively clean 4th with only a two-out single given up. Wilcox began the 5th with 3 out of the first four batters being put on via the free pass or hit-by-pitch. Even though he had loaded the bases, he managed to strike out David Craan for the second out. The next hitter was Paul Castillo. In a 2-2 count, Wilcox induced a short pop fly in foul territory that was destined to get him out of the inning. A bit of miscommunication set in and the ball dropped for a foul ball. His next two pitches were balls to walk in the eventual winning run. Hunter Shuff (USC Aiken) then came in for Wilcox and was masterful in his 3.1 innings.
The Generals struggled to figure out Turks starter Kyle Arjona who moved to 2-0 on the year by pitching deep into the ball game. Only 3 Generals tallied hits and the lineup tallied 11 strikeouts throughout the night.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Kyle Arjona: W (2-0), 8 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 9 K
- Cameron Irvine: 2-4
- Paul Castillo: 1-3, R, RBI, BB
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-4, R
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-4, 2B, R
- Hunter Shuff (USC Aiken): 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
The Generals will be back in action tomorrow night when they go on the road to take on the North Division leading Front Royal Cardinals (9-2) at Bing Crosby Stadium.
Two Eagles Heading to Waynesboro
Waynesboro, Virginia
Two Florida Gulf Coast Eagles will be making their way from sunny Fort Myers, Florida to Waynesboro, Virginia this summer. Those Eagles will be catcher Alex Brait and left-handed pitcher Bryan Wilcox as the Eagles’ coaching staff, headed by Dave Tollett, even features a former General in volunteer assistant coach Ryan Breen.
Alex Brait – Catcher
A native of Viera, Florida, the 6’4 207-pound sophomore was a key bat in the Eagles lineup during his freshman season, earning 2017 ASUN All-Freshman Team honors. Brait ranked 3rd on the team with a .296 average, while adding 5 doubles and 2 home runs. In 2018, Brait earned the first ASUN Baseball Player of the Week honor after hitting .400, collecting 9 RBI’s and producing a walk-off it. His current 2018 totals sit at a .351 average, 3 doubles, 2 home runs and 12 RBI’s.
Bryan Wilcox – Left-Handed Pitcher
A native of Davie, Florida, the 6’1 161-pound freshman came to Florida Gulf Coast as a top-500 player nationally and the 18th best left-handed pitcher in the state of Florida according the Perfect Game. Wilcox was also named a 2017 Perfect Game Honorable Mention All-American and Florida Regional Honorable Mention. Early in his 2018 season, Wilcox is 1-0 with a 1.23 ERA, 12 strikeouts and opponents’ batting average of .083 over 7.1 innings.
Waynesboro Amateur Athletics Inc is a 501(c)(3) corporation. Your donation is greatly appreciated. Visit waynesborogenerals.net for more information and game schedules.
