Generals Blast 3 Homers in Regular Season Finale
The Generals came out hot in the early going on the road in Staunton to push them towards a 13-5 victory in the last game of the regular season.
Marcus Ragan (Arkansas Little Rock) wasted no time getting the offense up and running. He doubled into right center on the second pitch of the game. After being bunted to third, Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) hit a high fly ball to center field for a sacrifice fly for the first run of the game. This set up the 2-out, nobody on, situation that Andrew Orzel (Wofford) stepped to the plate to. Orzel would hammer a ball over the trees that stand behind the left field fence. He and his teammates were still getting settled back into their seats in the dugout when Bo Seccombe (Faulkner) unleashed on his first home run of the summer in just his second game with the club. The score after 1 full inning of play was 3-0 Generals.
The Gens didn’t stop after the first inning. They continued in the 2nd where they left off in the first. Staunton managed to get the first two hitters out in the inning. Trey Polewski (USC Aiken) didn’t allow the Gens to go down easy. He singled to left field. Marcus Ragan followed him up with his second hit in as many innings. After a pitching change, Hunter Johnson (JMU) hit a line shot over the centerfield fence to make the score 6-0.
After nothing going on for either side in the 3rd, the 4th proved to be fruitful for the Gens. Chris Brady (Patrick Henry CC) started things off with a walk and would move to second on a sacrifice bunt. Marcus Ragan would come up with his 3rd hit of the night, this time for an RBI single. Hunter Johnson would move Ragan to third with a single but would be thrown out at second trying to stretch it into a double. Tyler Bielamowicz would step in and deliver a 2 out double to bring in Ragan. Orzel would single to right and bring in Bielo for the third run of the inning. The score as 9-0 going into the bottom of the 4th.
The Braves would finally get on the board in the bottom of the 4th when Eric Connor hit a solo home run to centerfield. Then in the 5th, they’d tack on another run via the solo home run. This time the culprit was Bryson Parks. Then in the 7th, the Braves would start to make things interesting. Gens fans can’t help but remember the 9-2 lead they blew to Staunton earlier on in the year. They would start to have flash backs in the 7th. The Braves would start the inning off with a double, a walk, and a wild pitch to get two runners into scoring position. 2 batters later, a single would bring in a run and put runners at the corner with one out and the score at 9-3. After a walk to load the bases, Tyler Thompson (Austin Peay) would stride to the mound out of the bullpen to try and limit the damage. He would get the hitter to roll a slow ground ball to shortstop for out number 2, but another run was able to score. Runners were again at the corners, this time with two outs and the score at 9-4. A groundball with eyes would make its way through the infield to put up the third and final run in the inning. The score after 7 innings was a much closer 9-5 tally.
The Gens wouldn’t allow the comeback this time though. They bounced right back for 4 runs in the top of the 8th. Trey Polewski would work his way on with a walk and would be bunted to second. Hunter Johnson would bring in Polewski with a single and would move to second base on the throw. After a Jackson Webb (UCF) walk and an error by the first baseman on a grounder by Andrew Orzel, Bo Seccombe would come through with another huge knock. It was a bases clearing triple by Seccombe that would bring the score to the 13-5 mark that it would finish with.
Key Performers for Staunton:
- Eric Conner: 1-4, HR
- Bryson Parks: 1-3, HR
- Jeremy Cook: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Marcus Ragan (Arkansas Little Rock): 3-4, 2B, RBI, SB
- Bo Seccombe (Faulkner): 3-5, HR, 3B, 4 RBI
- Andrew Orzel (Wofford): 2-4, HR, 3 RBI, 2 R
- Hunter Johnson (JMU): 3-4, HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
- Justin Beyer (Wagner): W (2-1), 3 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
- Tyler Thompson (Austin Peay): 2.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K
The Generals finish the season at 24-18, 4 games better than last year’s record. They have earned the 3rd seed in the South Division and will begin the playoffs Sunday night at CVille Weekly Ballpark when they take on the 2nd seeded Charlottesville TomSox. The playoffs series are all best-of-3 format.
Generals Get Back to Winning Ways On the Road In Harrisonburg
In the final game before the All-Star Break, the Gens faced an important “swing game” for their record. If the Gens won, they’d have a record above .500. If they lost, they would have a record of below .500. The Generals would win the ball game to make it 5 wins in their last 6 opportunities.
The Generals would get on the scoreboard in the very first frame and would never relinquish the lead after that. It started when Chase Cheek (Duke) drew a 1-out walk. He eventually stole second base with 2 outs in the inning to put himself into scoring position. Alex Brait (Florida Gulf Coast) would bring home Cheek with an opposite field double to move the score to 1-0.
The Gens would not score in the second, but they would tack on a run in both the 3rd and 4th innings. In the second inning, the run would be scored after the first two hitters of the inning. Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary) would walk to start the inning. He would steal second base and eventually score on a single by Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss). In the 4th inning the Generals would once again start things off with a walk. Jackson Webb (Central Florida) would walk. After the steals of second and third on consecutive pitches by Webb, it drew in the infield for Harrisonburg. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) would hit a grounder to the shortstop. When Webb bluffed a few steps, it pressured the shortstop to charge the ball to try and prevent him from scoring. However the ball caromed off his glove into left field. The score after 4 innings was 3-0 in favor of the Generals.
Evan Gillespie (Faulkner) was impressive on the mound. He went 3.2 innings without surrendering a hit to start the game. He had worked 4 shutout innings when he came to a bump in the road in the 5th inning. The Turks would score 2 off of him to tighten the score to 3-2. 2 runners would be on for Harrisonburg with two away in the inning when the newest Turk, Orynn Veillon, drilled a triple into the right centerfield gap. Gillespie would retire the next batter and end his day after 5 stellar innings.
The Generals would answer right back with a run to provide the Waynesboro bullpen with a little more breathing room. It began with a 1-out double by Dalton Wingo (Central Florida). Andrew Orzel would single to drive in his second run of the night to make the game 4-2. The Gens would then turn to Fred Villarreal (Houston) for middle relief and he wouldn’t disappoint. He threw 3 innings, gave up 3 hits, but no runs and struck out 4. He would hand it over to Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee) for the ninth. Harper-Cook would continue to pitch well and would lock down the save.
Key Performers for Harrisonburg:
- Orynn Veillon: 2-3, 3B, BB, 2 RBI
- Andrew Llewellyn: 2-4
- Cam Irvine: 2-4, 2B
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Evan Gillespie (Faulkner): W (2-0), 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 4 BB, 2 K
- Fred Villarreal (Houston): 3 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K
- Alex Harper-Cook (Tennessee): SV (1), 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-5, RBI
The Generals (14-13) will fire things back up after the All-Star Game this weekend. They’ll start with Woodstock on the road on Monday. Graham Ashcraft (Mississippi State) will be on the hill.
Royals Surge In Late Innings To Post Comeback Win Over Gens
The Generals were up 4-1 after 6 complete innings and seemed to be in control. However, the Royals were able to get to General starting pitcher Evan Gillespie (Faulkner) to tie the game, and eventually go on to win.
In the very first inning, the Royals were able to score on a fielder’s choice ground out. Gillespie did a nice job limiting them to 1 run. In the bottom of the first, Winchester got the first two hitters out to start the inning. However after Chase Cheek (Duke) was hit by a pitch, he stole second and moved up to third on an errant throw. Andrew Orzel (Wofford) was able to single through the left side to bring in Cheek. After 1 complete inning, the score was tied 1-1.
In the bottom of the second, the Gens put up 3 runs all with 2 outs. Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) singled to center to bring in 2 runs and to continue his hot streak. After a Royal error that moved Gabe to third, Chase Cheek singled to right field for the third run of the inning. The score was 4-1 and would stay that way until the 7th.
In the 7th inning, Winchester started with a lead off single. Gillespie was still in the game and had been mostly dominant after the rocky start. After a strikeout, the Royals added another single to bring the tying run to the plate. Gillespie was able to get another strikeout for the second out of the inning and all signs pointed to him getting out of the inning. Jordan Huntley from Winchester had been seeing the ball well, but Gillespie had him in a 1-2 count. But when Gillespie hung his changeup, Huntley deposited it over the left field fence to tie the game in the top of the 7th.
The Gens had no answers for Winchester’s bullpen in the 7th, 8th, and 9th. The Royals, on the other hand, would tack runs on in the 8th and 9th innings to provide insurance. In the 8th, the Royals scored 3 on 2 hits, 2 walks, a wild pitch and a General error. In the 9th, they tacked on one more for good measure by way of the sacrifice fly. That would bring the game to its final score of 8-4.
Key Performers for Winchester:
- Jordan Huntley: 2-4, HR, 4 RBI, SB, BB, R
- Samyr Santos: 3-5, RBI, 2 R
- Trent Sidwell: SV (2), 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss): 2-5, SB, 2 RBI
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 1-3, BB, 2 SB, RBI, R
- Evan Gillespie (Faulkner): ND, 6.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 5 K
The Generals will look to bounce back Saturday night at home vs. the Staunton Braves.
Evan Gillespie’s Outing Spoiled in Loss to Cannons
Gillespie held the Cannons scoreless through 6 full innings Sunday night.
Evan Gillespie (Faulkner) shined on Sunday night against the Purcellville Cannons. However, a lack of run support ended up costing the Generals late in the game.
Both Gillespie and Will Guay, the starting pitcher for Purcellville, pitched well in what proved to be pitchers dual. The first run of the game came in the bottom of the 3rd for the Generals. Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary) worked a one out walk, Tanner Thomas (Virginia Tech) sharply singled, and Andrew Orzel (Wofford) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the clean-up hitter Chase Cheek (Duke). Cheek was first pitch swinging and hit a sinking line drive to left. Purcellville’s left fielder made a nice sliding catch but wasn’t able to throw out a speedy Kyle Wrighte on the sacrifice fly. The Generals would end up getting two more runners in scoring position, but failed to cash in. That seemed to be a theme throughout the night. However at this point, the Gens led 1-0.
Gillespie didn’t give up a hit until the top of the 4th, but still faced the minimum after he was able to pick the runner off at first base. He managed to get his 4th straight inning with only facing 3 batters. He had thrown 6 scoreless innings when he toed the rubber in the 7th. He gave up a leadoff walk that was sacrifice bunted to second. The runner then managed to steal third to set up Kam Armstrong for a sacrifice fly. The score after 7 was 1-1.
After a 3 up 3 down inning in the bottom of the 7th for the Generals, Hunter Shuff (USC Aiken) entered the ball game. After getting the first out, a swinging bunt started things off. After a fielder’s choice by Purcellville’s leadoff hitter Kenny Oyama, Christian Garabedian stepped in to face Shuff. Oyama would eventually steal second to put himself in scoring position. 3 pitches later, Garabedian smoked a ball down the left field line to plate the go ahead run in the top of the 8th.
The Generals would mount a small rally in the bottom of the 9th, only to fall a bit short. The final score in the ball game was 2-1
Key Performers for Purcellville:
- Christian Garabedian: 1-4, 2B, RBI
- Will Guay: 5 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- Anthony Zimmerman: SV (2), 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Evan Gillespie (Faulkner): 7 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
- Tanner Thomas (Virginia Tech): 3-5
- Tyler Trovinger (Oakland): 2-4
The Generals will travel to CVille Weekly Ballpark to take on the Charlottesville TomSox on Monday night. Nathan Schneider (St. Mary’s) will be on the mound.
Generals Snap 3-Game Skid In Win Over Front Royal
The Generals had lost 3 straight games to drop under the .500 mark coming into the game Sunday night against the Front Royal Cardinals at Bing Crosby Stadium. The bats came alive for 13 hits to propel them to a win over the North Division leaders.
The scoring started in the top of the 3rd. With one out in the inning, Dalton Wingo (Central Florida)
Dalton Wingo: 3-3, 2B, HR, 3 R
connected on his 2nd homer of the season to begin his fantastic night at the plate. Then in the third inning, Jackson Webb (Central Florida) led off the inning with a single, stole second, and was brought into score on a Chase Cheek (Duke) grounder that couldn’t be handled by the second baseman. The lead after 4 complete innings was 2-0 in favor of the Generals.
Once again, the 5th inning began with a lead-off single. This time it was Tyler Bielamowicz (Houston) getting things started. Dalton Wingo then doubled off the wall in left field to put runners at second and third with nobody out. Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary) came through next with a single to score Bielo. After the RBI single, Gabe Montenegro (Southern Miss) hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Wingo. Going to the bottom of the 5th, the Generals led 4-0.
The Cardinals wouldn’t go away quietly. Evan Gillespie (Faulkner U) was throwing a gem, but would stumble just slightly in the 5th. After getting the first hitter of the inning to fly out, Gillespie gave up a walk and 2 doubles to the next three hitters. However, he would do a nice job working out of the inning with the last double being left stranded at second base. The lead was still intact at 4-2 Waynesboro.
In the top of the 6th, the Generals would make it 4 straight innings with a run. Tyler Trovinger (Oakland) would start the inning off with a single to left. 2 batters later, Dalton Wingo would contribute his third hit in as many at bats. That brought Kyle Wrighte to the plate with runners at first and second with 2 outs. After going down 0-2 in the count, Wrighte scorched a double off the wall in right field to bring in both runners.
Matt Nickles (Randolph-Macon) would sub in for Gillespie in the 6th. He worked a perfect two innings, facing the minimum 6 batters. After 7 complete innings, the Generals led 6-2.
In the bottom of the 8th, the Generals ran into some trouble. The inning seemed to be all but over after recording outs on the first two hitters of the inning. However, Spencer Packard drilled a home run to start a string of 5 straight 2-out hits. Christian Avant hits a double 2 pitches later, followed by Kendall Small hitting a no-doubter to right field. The Generals would then bring in Patrick O’Shea (St Mary’s) for the struggling Jacob Weirich (Southern Miss). O’Shea would surrender 2 straight singles and his night would be finished as well. So with 2 outs in the inning, Coach John Jeanes (Chipola) would turn to his closer Gio Soto (Florida International) for a four out save.
Soto came on, got out of the inning, and then threw a dominant 9th inning to lock down his 3rd save of the year.
Key Performers for Front Royal:
- Andrew Burden: 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI
- Spencer Packard: 1-3 HR (1)
- Kendall Small: 1-4, 2-Run HR (1)
Key Performers for Waynesboro:
- Chase Cheek (Duke): 2-5, 2 SB(3)
- Kyle Wrighte (William & Mary): 2-4, 2B, 3 RBI
- Dalton Wingo (Central Florida): 3-3, 2B, HR(2), 3 R
- Evan Gillespie (Faulkner U): W (1-0), 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K
- Gio Soto (Florida International): SV(3), 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
The Generals (5-5) will be looking for back-to-back wins tomorrow, Monday June 18th, when they take on the South Division leaders, the Charlottesville TomSox (8-3). Come out this week and support your Generals. They will have home games Monday and Tuesday (Charlottesville both nights), Thursday (Strasburg), Saturday (Staunton), and Sunday (Purcellville).
Bring your friends and family to Kate Collins field for some high-quality baseball this week. Hope to see you there!
Faulkner Pipeline Continues
Waynesboro, Virginia
The nations’ premier and top-ranked NAIA baseball program, Faulkner University, will be sending two impact arms to Waynesboro this summer. Right-handed pitcher, Alex Carrillo, and left-handed pitcher, Evan Gillespie, will be joining forces with current Faulkner and Generals’ assistant coaches Mike Correa and Tucker Willard.
Alex Carrillo – Right-Handed Pitcher
A native of Riverside, California, the 6’0 190-pound junior made his way to Faulkner following a stellar career at East Los Angeles College where he finished his 2017 season with 64 strikeouts over 70.1 innings pitched. Currently for the Faulkner Eagles, Carrillo boasts a 1.56 ERA with a 4-0 record and 1 save over 40.1 innings pitched. Carrillo has 45 strikeouts and has held opponents to a .204 batting average.
Evan Gillespie – Left-Handed Pitcher
A native of Princeton, New Jersey, the 5’10 210-pound junior made his way to Faulkner following a short stint at Coastal Carolina University. Prior to Coastal Carolina, Gillespie starred at Mercer County Community College where he was named an Impact D-1 JUCO Transfer by Perfect Game. Currently for the Faulkner Eagles, Gillespie boasts a 3-1 record and 4.00 ERA over 36.0 innings pitched. Gillespie is holding opponents to a .248 batting average and registered 32 strikeouts.
Waynesboro Amateur Athletics Inc is a 501(c)(3) corporation. Your donation is greatly appreciated. Visit waynesborogenerals.net for more information and game schedules.
